Kulweela - Sweet

We have been at Namwianga for five days, and it still feels like home. It’s amazing to come back and see some of the same kids I cared for two years ago. There’s Seth and Dow, who were so tiny we didn’t know whether they would survive, and are now sweet, hilarious troublemakers. There’s also Mary, who we have nicknamed Mary Mary Quite Contrary, because she never smiles. I think I saw her smile maybe two or three times when I was here before, but we still love the little cutie anyway, and she enjoys being held. And then there’s five-year-old Jonathan, who is one of my favorites. We think he may have a combination of autism and cerebral palsy; he loves tickle games and just learned to walk this year, and he has the most adorable laugh I have ever heard.

I also love getting to know the new babies. I love the itty bitty room at Haven 1 (the yellow room). That room houses giggly Dennis, and Caleb, who has casts on his legs to correct clubbed feet. There are also Nicole, who is my favorite and fighting for her life, and precious Shannon (they were both born on March 27 of this year, and I’m taking them home with me). There’s also Louise, Wilma, Leah, Russell, and Layla.

I love the TB room at Haven 2, which houses the babies who either have or have been exposed to tuberculosis. Today, BWeave, Charissa, Lauren, Naiveen, and I conducted the first of our three feeding groups with the babies in this room. There’s Baby Ruth, who is absolutely beautiful and another of my favorites. Marcus, Joel, Sibajene, and Heath also share the room. It’s heartbreaking to see the effects of TB on these precious, happy little children. They are on average around eight months old, and several of them cannot hold up their heads during tummy time, cannot sit up alone, and have feeding problems.

We started the feeding groups by doing a developmental and feeding assessment on each of the children in the group. We evaluated trunk support, ability to hold their heads up and put weight on their legs, nutritive and non-nutritive suck, and speed of feeding with a bottle. We did some stretches and exercises on their faces and bodies, gave them some tummy time, and sang and read books with them. We also made contracts with each of the children in the group, saying that we will work hard but they have to work as well, and shook on it. We ended our class with a song and sat the children in their little seats so they faced one another in a circle and could look at one another.

We come back and enjoy Leonard’s cooking on the Veranda of the Hamby house at around 5 pm every day. Then, some local girls come over to play each day, so we play games, color, or play soccer with them (Pamela, Misozi, Chipo, and Brenda – I have a pictures of Brenda and Miso from 2009 that are hanging on my bedroom wall in the States). We sit and talk or play games in the evening. We are already having so much fun, and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead in the weeks to come, although I know 6 weeks will not be nearly enough time!