Future Hope

Future Hope is the name of the orphanage where I am working 2-3 days a week. I went there for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Future Hope is a baby orphanage, and the thought of looking after babies, well...just feels right. Jane Mbogo, the woman who runs the orphanage is a really great person! She is caring for (with the help of 6 other ladies) 16 children between the ages of 3 and 8. Yes, that's right...no babies. She is currently trying to get registered, which is a long process (especially here in Kenya). Once registered though, receiving funding is easier - just like at home. People like to see a registration number to ensure the facility is legitimate, plus they can receive a tax receipt for their donation. I told Jane how much I wanted to look after a baby, but she said she would only get more babies in another month - I could come back then.
Well....the very next day, I had a call from Jane - a baby had arrived during the night! She believes that my wishes are what brought this child to the safety of her home.

Let me introduce you to Neema (pronounced like Emma with an "N"). Neema means "Grace" in Swahili.

Neema was 5 weeks old when she arrived at Future Hope and her story is tragic: Neema had been abandoned in a field somewhere. Nobody knows how long she was there, but a stray dog found her and carried her to the nearest home. The woman of this home opened the door to a barking dog...and a crying baby! She knew she couldn't care for it herself (she has 3 children of her own), so she called the police. The police searched the area for clues as to where she may have come from, and just found a blanket lying under a shrub. The police knew of Jane's baby orphanage and so this is how she came into our lives!


Neema was covered in a rash, which is healing now, and her skin is quite raw in all the creases (we guess from not being properly bathed and dried), but overall, she seems healthy. She was not underfed - she has all those beautiful rolls and bulges and creases (you know the ones that we are trying so hard NOT to have now?!).  She is eating VERY well! She doesn't like the dark, nor the cold, but neither would we if we had been left alone outside on a cold, dark night.

I have bathed her, fed her and spent time just holding her as she sleeps. Jane wants her held as much as possible right now to help her feel safe - I'm in!!
I have also been helping out around the house. Ironically, the day I first went there, the children and the helpers all came down with either the flu or the chicken pox! (Jane believes I must be an angel sent to them in this time of need - awww!) They have been very short staffed, so I have been doing dishes, hanging laundry and ironing. Yes...IRONING!! I ironed for 3-1/2 hours on Good Friday! The set up is hunching over a coffee table to iron - ooooh! I am going to be in dire need of a massage when I get home!

Neema is quite a happy baby. When I hold her, she makes funny faces and sometimes grins from ear-to-ear. Jane and the staff laugh at this. They say she must like my light skin - she can see me better than them! I think it's just gas... ha, ha!

Whatever the reason, she is just precious!!

 

I said in an earlier blog that I was looking for an orphanage to spend some time around "hope and innocence". Well, I have found Future Hope and little Neema - who could ask for anything more!

Love to all.