Not long after I arrived in Uganda I started what was supposed to be 3 weeks of volunteering at an orphanage for babies called Sanyu Babies Home, but by the end of my first day I knew I had found my home. So right after my 3 weeks of volunteering was up, I moved into the home's guesthouse as a live in full time volunteer. The babies continue to change my life on a daily basis, and make me laugh ALL DAY LONG!
There are 52 babies here currently, ranging from premies to 5 years old. After age 5, they are either placed with a relative who is willing to take them in, or adopted, or worst case scenario placed into another orphanage. There are about 5 "Momma's" on at a time, 52 babies worth of laundry, cooking, cleaning, feeding, bathing, changing, and loving - so there is a ton of work to do all the time!! Some days can be nothing but exhausting, I can't deny that. These babies are desperate for love, so I guess more then anything else that's what I try to do, just shower them with all the love and kisses I can! (not a bad gig, right?!)
Although I am completely in love with all 52 of them, there are a couple that are extra special to me of course, and one that has entirely stolen my whole heart...her name is Eva. She is just a huge ray of sunshine in my day, everyday!
Me and my Eva
This is Miles - he is amazing!! He is 4 years old, and SO bright. He sings and dances constantly, and is my favorite of all to sit and talk to. I just love him!
This is Robert. He has been so, so very sick for several months now. They say that the doctors can't find anything wrong with him, but Sanyu struggles to pay their medical bills which leaves them with not the best choices in medical care. Last Saturday I was changing Robert and he had a diaper full of blood. I have asked if they will allow me to personally take him to the good hospital, which I am hoping they will release me to do this week. He is so weak and so sad all the time, it breaks my heart.
These 2 are twins - Shirina, and Mishirina. They also have 3 older siblings, there are 5 of them that were abandoned and brought here.
The other super cool thing about the guesthouse here is that new people from all over the world are coming and going constantly...I am getting to meet the most interesting and diverse people everyday. I have been super blessed with a girl named Grace - she is leaving me to go back to the states tomorrow but she has been the best Africa travel buddy a girl could ask for the last month. I will miss her so much!
Me and Grace on the back of a boda boda - our main means of transpo. Sometimes wonder if it's more of a death trap then anything...but we have to get around somehow! ha!
A couple of weeks ago Grace introduced me to these two men named Martin and Charles. They both grew up on the streets in the slums of Kampala called Kinsenyi. They both got out, got educated, and now want to go back and help others like them. They took me on a tour through the slums, like the real deal; crawling into holes, over raw sewage, into tiny metal boxes that are homes to 20-30 people...my heart could barely take it. After 3 hours in there, talking to the residents, spending time with the street kids, I knew I had to help somehow. "I will feed them lunch every Wednesday for the rest of my time here." - Is what popped out of my mouth. I don't know where it came from (the Lord of course) or had any idea what I was getting myself into...but I was committed!
Martin insisted that I be totally hands on, which is AWESOME! He wanted me to do all of the shopping (which was an adventure all on it's own) and hand over every dollar myself, so I would know exactly where my money was going. Last Wednesday was our first lunch, and it went SO WELL! I was beyond nervous the morning of, I thought I might throw up I was so nervous. These boys are legitimately starving, and totally wasted on drugs, so I was very worried that free food might create complete chaos.
I got a box of soap, I am hoping to be able to work on some real hygiene lessons with them over the next few months - most of them haven't bathed in many, many months, and almost all have never seen a toothbrush ever. So, first we distributed soap for them to go and bathe - that was a little hairy. It seems when you give them something tangible that they can "have," it makes them a little crazy. A few small fights broke out, but all in all everyone got a bath with no major injuries.
The food distribution was so smooth, everyone behaved, many were even sweet, some even openly thankful! It was awesome to see them all eat, just to give them a full tummy was more then enough to make me just want to drop to my knees right there and thank God for what He provided.
We ended up feeding about 50 boys, I imagine the number will grow as long as we can maintain it. It was pretty awesome!
Getting ready for baths...
A lot of the boys sleep in these crates at night to hide from the police - who beat them badly if they catch them out.
This is my buddy. His name is John Joshua. He is super scrappy - gets in a fight literally every 5 seconds, but he has the sweetest heart, and is so lovable, I just adore him.
All of the boys are covered in wounds like this. Martin and Charles bring in their friend Sally, who is also an ex street kid, now a medical student, to treat the boys as often as he can make it. They definitely struggle to get the right and enough medical supplies, but they do their best with what they have for sure.
Other then that...I have been struggling to beat the African sickness. I call it that because no one has any idea what it actually is, I am just always super sick! First they said it was malaria, then it was my anti-malaria pills, now I am just trying to stay healthy and beat the African sickness on my own. I think I am going to beat it this time! This place is amazing, but super hard on your body for sure!
I love you all, and am thinking about you and praying for you everyday. I promise I will try to get better about updating more often.
If you are interested in helping out with Wednesday lunches, that would be amazing! It cost about $1 a meal - so roughly $50 a Wednesday.
You can contact my sister Shannon at: 312) 622-2916 or: ShannonPenniall@hotmail.com
