“They have just put out the coffee” Jake informs me.
And as I start to make my way to the table, I hear the sound of a truck drawing closer and a ‘beep beep’ which indicates it is time for them to leave. I rush outside again just to see them walk out the gate and they shout “have a good day dear” to which I hastily reply
“Stay safe and hurry home”. They are gone.
Today I have arranged for myself, Katie and Chelsey to have another trip to the Bon Samaritan Orphanage. I arranged for Yves to send us a driver to take us to Cabaret. After seeing how improved Johnny and Jeffty were when I went back with Tracy, I was keen to get back to check on their, and the entire group’s, progress.
The prep started the night before when I gave the team a run through of what to expect and what was needed of my 2 new recruits. When the group heard about all the children, all at once, they jumped up and ran to their tents. Bag after bag joined my donations. Case after case was thrown at my feet and eager, animated expressions appeared on their faces. Clothes, toys, food, formula, vitamins, baby wipes, electrolytes, the list goes on and on. Everything that was going to make a difference we had managed to assemble. Everything we could possibly need was laid out in front of us.
We took Justeland just in case we had any translating issues, got lost or just needed a reassuring presence. We piled into the car and set off. 20 mins along the road we were informed that we needed to buy gas so we scraped $52 together and handed that over to our driver and were on our way.
The girls hadn’t been this far away from the city centre yet and were enjoying the view / scenery on the way to Cabaret. Suddenly we felt the car starting to pull and slow down, then it stopped. Once again I had jinxed our transport (having got a flat tyre on the way to Club Indigo). We were informed that we had bought ‘bad gas’ which meant that it had been diluted with water and wasn’t particularly healthy for the car engine. We stretched our legs and let the driver tinker under the bonnet and in no time we were on the move again. Excitement and disappointment began to creep over me. I couldn’t wait to see the kids again, especially Johnny and Jeffty, but I also knew that this would probably be the last time I would get to hug them and enjoy the fun of playing with the other children.
We dragged the cases into the camp and explained to Madame Ruth and Lucien what we had brought – 1 weeks’ supply of clothes, hydrating capsules and tabs, nappies, baby wipes, vitamins, water etc. I also explained that they would be receiving weekly visits from each GVN group, with the same supplies to give them confidence that this would hopefully be an ongoing occurrence and that we wouldn’t abandon them.
When we began to administer the Pedialyte tabs, food, vitamins and worming tablets, the children all formed a circle each waiting their turn. It had been a while since I had seen such well behaved children. I had Jeffty and Johnny on my knee whilst the girls went round the circle. Then all of a sudden, the boys were taken off me and I was handed a baby girl instead. The boys were taken away to one of the tents and I didn’t see them again. I was angry at this as both had looked as if they had taken a giant step backwards. I was hoping that they were not being punished as they had received more of mine and Tracy’s affection previously. I was also angry that the rest of the group were now being given the food and nutrients we had brought which meant the boys were missing out on this and obviously, their state of health was going to depreciate. With nothing that could be done, I helped Katie and Chelsey and kept the small girl on my hip.
We then got out all the toys and games we had brought and the kids were allowed 30 mins of fun with us. At that point I learned that the baby I had been handed was Lucien's and he wanted her to get all the attention. He also introduced me to another 3 year old girl who was also his and I was encouraged to play with both of them. I made sure that all the children got my attention and the benefits of the items we had brought on each of the 3 days we had visited. My only concern now was that Johnny and Jeffty were going to miss out. Before we knew it, it was time to leave. We all hugged and made our way to the car. I had completely forgotten how overwhelming the time at the orphanage could be and when I turned around, both Katie and Chelsey were shaking, trying to hold back the tears. It didn’t last long; once in the car, they let the rivers of tear flow. It is such a mixed emotion; the children fill you with so much joy and love but at the same time break your heart when you have to leave them .
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