Working in the children's home...

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When I first came to Ghana I spent everyday in the baby unit, where the children range from newborn to about 3 years old (although we’re not actually sure if the Aunties know the exact or proper ages of all the children because they told us one girl was 3 and a half, but a piece of paper that we saw said she was 1 year 1 month, yet she can walk properly and has a full set of teeth hmmm). To be fair it is quite hard to tell a lot of the children’s ages because they look quite under-nourished and are a lot smaller than they should be anyway. Some of the children who are about 2 wear donated baby clothes that are meant for 6 month olds because they are so small and thin. Also, the aunties do not always know the origins and backgrounds of the children because many of them were abandoned and must have had no official documents.

On my first day at the children’s home I told the Mother that I wanted to help out in all sections, but due to general disorganisation I was told to go to the baby unit on that day and no-one ever came to show me around the rest of the home. Not that I mind working in the baby unit at all, although it is physically and emotionally draining they are all so adorable and lovable and nothing makes me happier than making them smile (I know it sounds cheesy!), especially my favourite, little Herbert. On a typical day at the orphanage I get there between 8 and 8:30am and help dress the older toddlers (ages 3 and 4) in their school uniforms (which can be tough searching for clothes that aren’t too big and shoes which aren’t too tatty to actually walk properly in) and then walk them over to the on-site school building. Then I head back to the baby unit and we either take the children outside to play on a matt under the shade of a big tree, or if the aunties think its ‘too cold’(!!) we go in the inside playroom. For the aunties to think it’s cold, it just has to have rained the night before or be a bit cloudy. It’s still incredibly warm and humid. Crazy. I’ve even seen them putting beanie hats and woolly jumpers on the tiny babies, and then a blanket on top sometimes and when I feel them they are boiling so I pull the blanket off sometimes and try not to let the aunties see, because they truly believe the babies are cold and don’t like it if you don’t always do things the way they think it should be done.

One day I was the only volunteer in the baby unit and the Aunties wouldn’t let me take the children outside or in the playroom, so they all had to stay in their cots in the corridor. It made me so sad. Especially because my favourite, Herbert, who is normally a really happy, smiley baby, just looked really sad and was crying which wasn’t normal. I was also really tired, I just felt like crying! It was so draining because most of them were crying or wailing; they just wanted some attention but there was no way I could give them all attention at the same time. In the end I resorted to letting one of the bigger toddlers run around in the corridor for a bit whilst I held and played with one of the babies, and then put them back and let some of the others have a go. But they love the cuddles and attention so much that as soon as you put them down they start crying, which is hard! It doesn't seem like the Aunties ever play with the children or give them much individual attention, I dread to think how unhappy they would get when there's no volunteers there. When we get the children out of their cots to play (which could do with a clean, especially the mattresses!), the Aunties go on a break. I heard that a lot of them are volunteers and others get paid about 50cedis a month (just over 20pounds), so I guess maybe they don't feel like doing extra work and think covering the babies' basic needs is enough.

Anyway, at about 10am the children normally get a snack (usually biscuits and water), and then sometime after 11am we will start setting out the tables and chairs for the toddlers reday to have lunch. The smaller babies go down the other end of the corridoor and are spoon fed. The majority of the toddlers feed themselves (albeit messily), but some do need feeding. The newborn babies are bottle fed.
After they've all eaten, they have to "go to pot" as the Aunties call it, and have to sit on the potty until they poo. This is because its mainly towel nappies that are used and there's not enought rubber pants to go around, so the aunties don't want them pooing in the towel nappies - it's not nice! The children's home is run entirely on donations so occasionaly some pampers appear which are a godsend. After they've been to pot, we wash them and dress them, and if there is enough towel nappies then we put them on too. Sometimes the Aunties don't let us give the toddlers nappies because they save them for the smaller babies, but as soon as you put them back in the cot for their nap they inevitably wee!

I now go to the school on Tuesdays and Thursdays (but I always pop into the baby unit first to say hi to Herbert lol). The school starts at 9am, so the children run around in the courtyard whilst they wait for it to start. The courtyard is surrounded by about 6 classrooms. At 9am the kids stand in lines for their classes, say the Lord's Prayer in unison, sing various songs and then are asked to recite Bible verses by the teachers. I must say I was very impressed with how well they could recite them off by heart, with chapters and verses! Then everyone claps if they get it right. Most days the children will then sing Onward Christian Soldiers and start marching on the spot, then one at a time each class leads off and they march around the courtyard a few times and then march off into their classrooms, still singing. They all seem to get really excited by this! The lessons, if you can call them that, are extremely hectic, random and seemingly unplanned! On my first day in the school, the teacher was sitting at the desk asleep, and told me the kids were having playtime. From 9 till 12! I was basically used as a human climbing frame! I tried to keep them in order a bit by singing nursery rhymes and dancing but it was pretty hard to control 27 of them, to say the least. I was quite disillusioned after this day, but persevered and went back the next week which was a bit better and I really enjoyed it. The class I go in are aged 3-5, with one girl who is 6. We mainly do the alphabet and counting, sing nursery rhymes and they are learning to describe things about themsleves. A lot of them do not actually know how old they are which is quite sad. Sometimes in the afternoon I go into their house and they all get really excited!

I went to the orphanage this afternoon with some other volunteers to donate some things - mosquitos nets, pens, books, clothes, baby food, nappies etc and one of the guys wanted to donate some of his old football shirts, the kids were really happy with them! I took some sandles which are a bit too small for me and i've never worn, and the lady at the donation desk gave them straight to this girl who looked about 13, who was on her way back from school (the kids aged over 11 go to school off-site). She looked really pleased and gave me a shy smile and said thankyou. It was nice to see things being given directly to the children. The lady also handed out some pens and pencils to the children who were hanging around. After dropping the donations off, we went to one the the house where the children in my class live, as Callum had some sweets to give out. The children went mad! There were about 6 of us, and the kids were just jumping on us and clingling off us as usual, we had a lot of fun playing with them! It is very tiring though!

Anyway, I'm running out fo time for today and will update about the weekend soon! x x x

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