Friday, February 11, 2011

Nsanyu Babies Home

Monday morning I accompanied a team from the US to Nsanyu Babies Home.    It was started in 1926 for orphan babies up to three years old.  I was impressed with the organization and cleanliness of the place.
The first hour we were there we worked -- making beds, mopping floors,  folding and sorting a huge pile of clothes.  I didn’t mind because there was so much to do.
But finally, we got to go to the  area where the babies were. 
 Lynn and I went to a room with about 20 little ones--from just a few months old to young toddlers.  The hard part is that we were not allowed to take pictures or to hold them.  How can you work with babies and not hold them?  The reasoning was that when they are held, they want to be held all the time. Too many for 2 teachers to hold all the time. 
 We played and sang and talked to all of them.  We also got to help feed and brush their teeth.  The babies went swimming in little individual pools and just like most babies, they loved splashing.  I didn’t swim but I certainly got wet.
After we fed the children. it was time to leave.  They were so tired some of them were falling asleep as they ate.

2 comments:

  1. Well that is just precious! And wow, you are right - that must have been so hard being there with the babies and not being able to cuddle them up!

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  2. It breaks my heart that the babies aren't held. They are missing so much in their formative years.

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