Week 7 - I'm not a celebrity I'm just a white person that smells like baby throw up

Week 7 - I'm not a celebrity, I'm just a white person that smells like baby throw up

T.I.A. - This Is Africa

1. I used the restroom at one of our favorite hangouts and found dirty footprints on the top of the toilet seat, not the lid, the seat. Most restrooms here are squattys, a porcelain hole in the ground and sometimes flushes, and locals get confused on how to use a western toilet. At the orphanage we have these squatty toilets on the counters for the kids to get potty trained on. I will take pictures next week to give you a visual. Some places actually have signs of a person standing on a western toilet with a red line through it.
2. 80 water balloons cost the same as 25.
3. Jason picked up a baby that was wearing a cloth diaper. Big mistake, he got pooped on! Cloth diapers here have no plastic on the outside.
4. Amani, a little boy at the orphanage, came up to me holding his privates and crying. I proceeded to take off his pants and saw that the gigantic "safety" pin that was holding his cloth diaper on had come undone and was poking him on his privates. I immediately closed the pin and gave him lots of love and cuddles because that looked really painful. Two of the other boys saw this happen so for the rest of the day the boys kept coming up to me crying and holding themselves because they that was the way to get lots of attention. Try explaining that one!
5. When we want good food we go to Njiro center. There is a big courtyard with lots of tables and nine restaurants. What this means is that when you sit down you immediately have 9 waiters and waitresses throwing there menus on your table. They then stand all around and when you pick up there menu they come forward and when you put it back down they usually just walk away.
6. They have prisoner transfer trucks about once a week through down town Arusha. The prisoners on put in huge trucks, they look like cattle trucks with the small holes, and it races through town beeping it horn because it does not stop.
7. While waiting for Jason at the DMV I was writing some notes. A man, I presumed to be educated by the way he was dressed, walk up to me and was blow away that I was writing with my left hand. Being left handed is simply not an option here.
8. Jason goes "mosquito hunting" every night before bed. He takes his flashlight and all I see are flashes of lights and lots of clapping.
9. Security guards also wash and detail cars, and thats anyones cars that are on the compound.
10. This is the story of where I got the title of this blog from. I was on my way home for the orphanage with baby throw up all over and down my shirt, thanks to baby Frankie, when the dalla dalla pulled over. The conductor ran to the duke (very small convenient store) and left the door open. Well I was sitting right next to the door. A man that just happened to be walking by decided to come and shake my hand and talk to me. Then another man came up, and then another, in total 5 men where all trying to shake my hand. All because I white. It's weird but you get used to it, I guess.

Walk In Love updates

I have met a very nice man named Micheal that is building a baby orphanage in Arusha. Claire, the assistant director at Cradle will be the director at the new orphanage, Neema House. Neema House, an NGO, is possibly interested in being an umbrella for WIL. I have discussed this at lengths with Claire and we think we are a great fit! I will need a daycare and orphanage and she will need an outreach program. I have a formal meeting with Micheal in the next couple of weeks to see if he agrees. For all my friends and family that are praying for me please add this to your list. This could be the best opportunity to get WIL up and going as soon as possible!

I would like to introduce you to Noel (photo below). Noel came to Cradle of Love after being abandoned on the side of the road. After three months and police could not find any of his family and because it was December they gave him the name Noel. He was relatively healthy and it is believed that his family did take care of him until they realized that something was different about Noel, he has down syndrome. Unfortunately in Tanzania there is no place for children or adults with special needs in there society. Many parents are ashamed that there child is different which results in killings and abandoning there babies. Noels age has been approximated at 18 months, but I think that he is at least 24-26 months. He doesn't walk and he doesn't talk but this is not abnormal for babies of this age with Down Syndrome. My fear is that if he continues to a big kid orphanage he never will. Noel is getting too old and too big to stay at Cradle and there are no orphanages set up for children with special needs. If Noel goes on to another orphanage his future is very bleak. He will most likely be put in a corner and never learn to walk or talk, never go to school or be encouraged to do anything but sit there and be quiet. When I met Noel and learned what will become of him I decided that I would do everything that I could to help Noel get off that path. I have been working with the assistant director of Cradle, Claire, to come up with a good option for Noel. Claire has offered to have Noel come and live with her and her children, but she cannot do this without support. She already has 3 young children and a very small income. We are hoping to get a group of people together to sponsor Noel. It will cost $300 per month to give Noel a life where he will live with a family, go to school, go to good doctors and specialist, encouraged to be like every other child, he will be happy. Without this support his future is a sad one.

If your church group, sports team, etc, is interested in changing Noels future please email me at walkinlovetanzania@gmail.com

I will give you more information about Noel and a money breakdown.

Thanks for your support,

Aubree Packard

Walk In Love

Our week in Review

The long rains are here! More like monsoon season, but thankfully they decided to wait until the day we got our car. Well, Jason did have to walk in this crazy monsoon to get our car but at least we know that is the first and last time. I guess we will be using the backs of our dinning room chairs to dry our clothes for the next month.

Jason and the boys cleaned the car up really nice before taking pictures!

This is Njiro center. It has a lot of really good places to eat, a cinema, great supermarket and lots of little shops. We come here every Sunday because they also have the fastest wireless connection so we usually have our Sunday dinner and I write my blog.

Jason holds Kidogo so often that Kidogo now follows Jason around. Yesturday he tried to follow Jason out of the gate while he was on his motorcycle.

Jason with Claires children at the going away party. Claire is at the acting director of Cradle but will be leaving this week to start up her own baby orphanage. I am hoping that she and I can work together! Her baby orphanage and my outreach program.

This is my sweet boy, Noel.

Me and the babies! The little boy I am holding and the little girl in the seat were adopted this week! I am so happy for them!

Veggies for the week, not bad for $7!

Hope you all are enjoying the blog! Questions and comments are welcome!

Aubree and Jason