Me again, and it’s currently Wednesday night and we are sitting in our beds about to go to sleep. It is a torrential downpour outside, the first rain we’ve seen all trip, and the sound of it against the roof is extremely loud. Hoss just got back from running outside under a downspout as a makeshift shower. The mamas got a kick out of watching him prance around under the mini waterfall. Well I thought I would post a little more information about the orphanage that we are working in, Samaritan Village Orphanage Center.

The Centre was started in 1996 by a local Tanzanian woman who now lives in California. Since the start of the orphanage, more than 50 children have been admitted into the program. Most of these children were abandoned by the parents when they were infants. Over the past few years, more and more children are found abandoned in street corners, dust bins, guest homes, toilet trenches, and bushes. Many children in this condition do not make it through the night because of the weather and wild animals. For the lucky babies that make it through the night, they must wait on a stranger to find them and take them to a local hospital for treatment. Some of the babies are found to have brain damage caused from attempted abortions. Since abortion is illegal in Tanzania, some mothers attempt their own abortions during the pregnancy, however if it does not work out, the drugs they used can affect the baby after birth.

Once the children are treated at the hospital and treated for HIV and other diseases, they are then handed over to places such as Samaritan Village, where they will look after the children as they grow up. Samaritan Village is an orphanage which will also handle infants. Currently, they have a two week old, four week old, and two month old baby. Combined with the other kids, the orphanage takes care of 19 children.

These kids are provided food, clothes, and a place to sleep. Based upon their individual needs, they are also taken to school. Children that have suffered brain damage are taken to a special school that meets only a few days a week. But most importantly, these kids are given love, something that they haven’t experienced before. The seven mama’s and father’s that run the orphanage care for them as if they were there own kids, volunteering their own time to help these kids grow up in a loving environment.

As far as our job goes, we’re simply here to provide the mama’s with a break. These ladies work nonstop from the minute they get up to right before they go to bed. The least we can do is run around with the kids for a few hours and tire them out the best we can. We also help them with their homework at night and help the mama’s with chores around the center during the day. It’s been an incredible experience so far to see how wiling these mama’s are to sacrifice their time so as to make sure that these kids grow up the same as any other child.

Well, the rain is getting ready to ease up and it’s time that I head to bed so that I am rested up for another day of chasing kids around the yard while carrying two kids on my back. Thanks for all your prayers over the past week, I really appreciate it. I will be back soon to post the latest adventure. Friday we are trekking into the Serengeti (along with a few other places) so I’m sure I will have lots to talk about!