Monday, April 18, 2005
Met a very interesting couple today. Amy and Ben Hathaway are Brits who have been in Africa for two and a half years now. Ben is the Headmaster at Isamelo School, and Amy teaches there. Along the line they visited the Starehe Home for Children – the place where I was hoping Myrna could serve if she had come to Africa – and got hooked. They have adopted two cute little orphaned kids, ages 1 and 3, and have decided to stay in Africa indefinitely to start a home for orphaned/displaced infants. They are currently negotiating to buy a large house in Mwanza for their operation, and writing grant proposals and contacting potential donors.
As they explain it, there are already facilities for kids who are older than toddlers – they are photogenic and so fund raising is simplified. But infants have a different set of problems and needs, and there are few facilities for them. The problem usually arises when a mother dies in childbirth. The extended family would normally be expected to step in if there is a crisis like this, but unless some relative is already nursing there is no source of food for the infant, and formula is too expensive for most families. This problem is increasing with the incidence of AIDS, as AIDS is a major contributor to maternal death.
Amy and Ben hope to keep infants for 2-3 years until they are healthy and strong and eating solid food and then return them to their families or communities, or provide adoption services if that is not possible. Keeping fathers involved is seen as a priority since especially if the father remarries, the new wife may not look favorably on taking back a child from a previous woman.
For the record, their contact information is: AmBenyHathaway@hotmail.com, and www.foreverangels.org (which may not be up and running yet), and cellphone 255 748 591808. Maybe we might spend an afternoon with them when my family is in Mwanza in August.?
You know, when you step out of a routine and reach for something improbable, it is amazing how many people you find doing something similar, something exciting, something rewarding. I think most of us have no idea what circumscribed lives we live until we step outside of whatever cozy rut we live in and look around.
By the way, I moved Hodie And The Six out to the bathroom last night. The squealing was too much for me, and Hodie seems happy there. The kid’s eyes are still closed, but they seem to be getting along with less confusion and squeaking.
As they explain it, there are already facilities for kids who are older than toddlers – they are photogenic and so fund raising is simplified. But infants have a different set of problems and needs, and there are few facilities for them. The problem usually arises when a mother dies in childbirth. The extended family would normally be expected to step in if there is a crisis like this, but unless some relative is already nursing there is no source of food for the infant, and formula is too expensive for most families. This problem is increasing with the incidence of AIDS, as AIDS is a major contributor to maternal death.
Amy and Ben hope to keep infants for 2-3 years until they are healthy and strong and eating solid food and then return them to their families or communities, or provide adoption services if that is not possible. Keeping fathers involved is seen as a priority since especially if the father remarries, the new wife may not look favorably on taking back a child from a previous woman.
For the record, their contact information is: AmBenyHathaway@hotmail.com, and www.foreverangels.org (which may not be up and running yet), and cellphone 255 748 591808. Maybe we might spend an afternoon with them when my family is in Mwanza in August.?
You know, when you step out of a routine and reach for something improbable, it is amazing how many people you find doing something similar, something exciting, something rewarding. I think most of us have no idea what circumscribed lives we live until we step outside of whatever cozy rut we live in and look around.
By the way, I moved Hodie And The Six out to the bathroom last night. The squealing was too much for me, and Hodie seems happy there. The kid’s eyes are still closed, but they seem to be getting along with less confusion and squeaking.
