THE MAMAS

     I don't exactly know how many Ugandian Mamas work at Amani, and I don't even to pretend to know  all their names, but I do love and admire all those I come in contact with. They work very hard here. The Mamas that are in the cottages work 12 hour shifts, 3 days on, three off. I know Mama Sarah, the cook , works every day, the others I'm not really sure of their hours. But I try to show them love and respect every time I see them. Don't tell my husband, but I'm known by the Mamas as Mama Sweetie.
     Now first off, I'm really just an Auntie here, so to be referred as a Mama just melts my heart. And second, the sweetie part comes from (and this is the part my dentist husband can't know) the fact that every single day that I have been here, I have made an effort to hug and kiss and give a sweetie (piece of candy) to every single mama here. From the Mamas who cook, to those that clean, to those in the office, and of course to the cottage Mamas....I find them each and every day and tell them they are loved and appreciated.
     So in return I have earned the title Mama Sweetie.
     I think my sweetie budget has been bigger than my food budget.
     The kids, who like any child love and crave the sweeties too, KNOW that my sweeties are only for the Mamas. They see me give them to the Mamas every day, and unlike most everything else that they say "Also me " to, they now repeat what I always say....
     "These are only for the Mamas because they work so hard". And they don't beg me for a sweetie.
     But they do beg me for a hug and a kiss, and a story.
     P.S. I have not had a single sweetie since I have been here.  Because, to be honest, I'm kind of in it for the hugs and the kisses and the stories too.

CHAPATI

     One of the things I discovered that the children here do not have a clue about is food production. Each day their food is brought to their cottage already prepared by Mama Sarah. They eat it right away. Nothing is ever left over or kept for the next meal. #1 They don't really realize where food comes from or how it is prepared. #2 I learned (when I tried to explain that the Jack o lantern rotted and I threw it away) that they hadn't really seen old rotten food.
     So as a "field trip" I took our cottage of 16 boys, plus some visiting nurses, on a walk to see Chapatis being made. Its like a fried bread that they LOVE, and get a piece of occasionally as a special treat. But had no idea on how it was made. We feasted on 15 of them while watching him roll them out and fry more. ( $..20 each) Then I brought some of the dough home, and we fried it ourselves with my 2 school students. (And added some Nutella that a past volunteer left.) I'm pretty sure we could put Mr. Chapati man out of business if we opened a Nutella Chapati stand.:-)
     I will need to go back to Weight Watchers when I return after this discovery.

COUNT DOWN TO HOME

     I know it sounded like I was going to be gone a long time when I first talked about coming, but now that there is LESS than 2 weeks, I'm starting to get anxiety about leaving. Of course I am super excited to come home and see Bob and the kids, but I do want to press the slow mo button and enjoy every moment of the rest of my time here.
     For those of you following, I'm probably going to post a picture most every day because suddenly I feel an urgency to record these moments slipping by. So if you want to stop following now, its probably going to get boring, as its pretty much the same old same old. But oh how I have come to treasure the repitition and routine. Because the children thrive on it.
     What these kids have no clue about;
     They don't know what a bath tub is, nor do they know they have any choice but to sit and get a car wash scrub down each evening before bed.
     They don't know what a pillow, rug or fork is.
     They have never received a gift just for them, Christmas means the "cottage" gets a gift.
      The only posessions they consider their own are their PJ's, their 4 sets of clothes (underwear is a shared bin) one set of shoes and their bed.
     
      What these precious kids DO know is:
       Aunt Cathy comes in every morning and rocks each one individually, regardless of age, and now they sing with me, and line up for their turn.
       I do "this little piggy" with each 42 diaper changes a day, ( and 6 older boys when they are in bed with jammies on) and today the older boys said they had to learn, so they could do it when i left.(yes, the 5 year old can and do change diapers when needed)
      They do know I will read books every day, and ALWAYS, "We are going on a Bear Hunt", which is becoming more and more dramatic as the days go by. I have got to get that on video, as they each have a role in the story now.
       They do know Auntie Cathy worked very hard all morning pouring boiling water in every wooden bed crack in the cottage to get rid of the ladybugs. (Bed bugs)Then mopping up water and hundreds of dead bugs.
      And they do know I love them very much.
       And that kind of out weighs not knowing what a fork is...don't you think?
      Frank (not in my cottage) was sick tonight and the nurse was gone, so they asked me to watch him for awhile. What a hard job:-) :-) :-)

ANOTHER WEEK BEING SELFISH

     This week FLEW by. I think its because I spent the whole week just being selfish. I rocked all of the boys a little longer than usual each morning, because it felt good to snuggle, I read extra books before lunch because their attentive looks warmed my soul. I  And added a new slower version to my "this little piggy " routine because I just wanted to hear them laugh longer, and I told longer than normal bedtime stories because I just didn't want the day to end. And then I sat here knitting Christmas stockings for the Schroeder kids, kind of feeling selfish. I'm not home cleaning or doing chores or taking care of my family. I'm not helping out in the church or coffee shop. I'm not making meals for any sick friends or organizing a bible study.
     And then God whispered to me....my child, your hands are my hands.  Your voice is my voice. Your presence is my presence. My hands have been stroking their backs. My voice has been calming their souls.
     It rained alot alot alot yesterday. I guess roads were washed out, but in my little world it only meant hundreds of diapers NOT drying on the line
     Got Milk?  Go to the Diary!  
     Couldn't find my shoes for awhile. Although most of the time I am barefoot anyway.
     Had an outing for icecream today. I REALLY enjoyed it......(and I think the kids did too:-) :-) :-) :-))
     Practicing up for story time when I see the grandkids later this month!!!!!
    

MY LITTLEST 6

     Let me introduce the last of my 16 Cottage A boys.  From left to right in the first picture:
     Noah was abandoned by his mother who has a mental illness. He came to ABC at 2 months.  I think because he is the youngest in the cottage, and alot of my activities are more focused with the older boys, I seem to not spend as much time with him, as others. But because he seems to be a volunteer favorite, he does get plenty of attention.
     Salim, also a volunteer favorite (and carried around too much if you ask me), was given up by his parents who are unable to care for him. He was brought malnourished at one year old. Again, he isn't one I spend a whole lot of time with.
     Joel has a similar situation, brought in by parents who could not care for him, and he was malnourished, although now, appears really healthy and active. Joel, like Freddy, likes to play jokes on me, and can often be found as my side kick.
     Phillip was born 2 months premature with Cerebral Palsy, and his mother died in childbirth. His father is also no longer living. I spend quite a bit of time with Phillip, as I try to do stretching exercises with him daily (as explained by his physical therapist). He has an ear piercing scream when he chooses to use it, but most of the time is pretty fun to be with.
     Patrick's mother, who is suspected to be mentally ill, is unable to care for him, and brought him to Amani at one year. He is kind of a quiet kid, plays by himself well, and doesn't seem to cause the common problems...grabbing toys away, biting, crying for attention, etc.
     Keith is a hard kid to get to smile. I have to work hard to get him to laugh. He was brought to ABC by his great grandfather who could not care for him, at 1 1/2 years old. I enjoy spending 1 on 1 time with him. He's sober, but doesn't really seem as unhappy as his face looks. He loves to prop his head up when i do story time. I will try to see if I have a picture of that pose.
     Tomorrow I'm going to make a list of some of the things these kids have NO CLUE about.
     What they do KNOW, is Auntie Cathy will be back tomorrow morning to love on them again.:-) :-) :-)

ONCE IN A LIFETIME

     For those of you who know me well, except for the Dominican Republic and visiting family, I prefer not to repeat returning to the same place. I see that there is a big world out there...adventures and wonders galore!  So to be honest, although I love love love it here, I cannot say, in all honesty, that i will be back. Being here are Amani Baby Cottage MAY be a once in a lifetime experience. I will have to see where God leads me next.
     BUT I do KNOW I experienced a once in MY lifetime event yesterday, by watching a total solar eclipse here in Africa. Word has it over 30,000 people came to Africa just to view it. And here I already was!
      And while maybe they had special equipment and scientists to explain each step....
      I had 16 of my sweetest friends in Africa with me, xray film to view through, and a view overlooking the Nile. Does life get better than this? I think not. And I won't even lie.....drinking a Fanta afterwards was like icing on the cake.

FUN FUN FRIDAY

     That is what I call our Friday school day, where I try to do some educational stuff a bit more creatively. The children here have really NO concept of food variety or production. They have about 10 different foods that are placed in front of them, prepared and rotated breakfast, lunch and dinner. (mostly, rice, beans, corn mush, porridge, sweet potatoes, lentils and once a week chicken.) So today we walked to a farmers field to see corn growing, came back to draw some illustrations after looking on the internet, then popped corn. I don't know what popped more: the corn or their eyes watching it through a clear lid.
     I had an outing with Keith this afternoon. Rode a Boda Boda to town . ( he wasn't so sure about that), had ice cream...which at first he did not like and was kind of shocked by its coldness.  He had vanilla, I had a lime/pineapple smoothie. He did finish the bowl, however.:-) :-)
     Perfect ending, to a perfect week.