The Havens
Stats. I am NOT a numbers person! But I became obsessed with
finding out a few things about The Havens, which is the orphanage in
Nanwianga. There are 3 buildings full of infants and toddlers who have
been abandoned or are without parents--(these numbers will change
tomorrow!); so, today, Haven 1 has 31 new borns and infants; Haven 2 has 27 toddlers, Haven 3 has 20 babies & toddlers who need medical attention.
Almost
all of the parents of these children have HIV, both positive and
negative. A very large percentage of the mothers have died, many during
childbirth. Some of the mothers who died were positive for HIV, some had
TB, retained placenta, malaria, cancer, and other reasons. Many
mothers were reportedly mentally ill; i.e., "she got mad". Sometimes the
infant is dropped off at the Haven because the family simply has no
means to care for the baby. There may be 10 children in one family.
Sometimes there is no formula and peanut water or a wet nurse is used.
I
find myself telling the babies, "You are so lucky." There are a few
times when the family returns to the Haven to get their child. So what a
great start these babies had! They are well fed. Their diapers are
changed, they are bathed, and vaseline is applied to their faces to
protect them from the dry air.
In the scheme of things, we play such a small part of these children's lives. I'm glad to be involved.
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