Book - Pages 20 & 21

We started out Tuesday in what was our typical fashion – a visit with Aiden. He interacted a little more, especially with the kids. He fell asleep again, so Ryan made the decision that the next time we come back, it would be the afternoon.

After visiting Aiden, we went to lunch with another Gladney family, Ryan & Cindy, at Makush. Since we enjoyed pizza so much the day before, we decided to try it again. We learned that just like in America, not all pizza is equal! The fellowship was great, the pizza – not so much.

After lunch, us, along with the two other Gladney families and Dereje, toured two of the government orphanages. Photos were not allowed.

The first, and probably the hardest emotionally was Kebebe Tsehay. It was for girls and boys ages 0-8. The very first room was the drop-off room. They kept all kids – irregardless of age – in this first room for one week for observation before putting them in age appropriate rooms. They said they get, on average, two babies a day. We saw that two had already been dropped off that day. The next room was the baby room. This was the orphanage that the police brought Aiden to before he got moved to Hilawe. He stayed here almost 2 months. In the baby room the baby/caregiver ratio was 1:10. There were probably 30 babies there and they had just sent several to private orphanages on Thursday. We only got a quick look at the toddler room because it was naptime. The special needs room was tough as well. It smelled very bad. That was the only room where a child cried when we left. The school-aged children were in school. The primary school was on the property. It was also a community school – not just for orphans. There were two classes – a Pre/K class and a 1/2 class. The classes got a recess while we were there. Alexa and I were busy pushing girls on the “swings” and the boys got to play a game of “football” (aka soccer). Ryan loved it!

Our next stop was Kechene, the girl’s orphanage. It was for girls’ ages 8-18. From the time we pulled up to the time we pulled out we were touched: our hair, our face, and our hands. The headmistress had just started there and she sat us in her office to ask if we had any questions. She told us that the orphanage currently had 349 girls (by the time we left, it had 350 girls – one was dropped off by the police while we were there). They had two dormitories – one for girls 8-13 and one for girls 14-18. The younger girls didn’t have as many beds and most beds had a pillow at the head and foot. Someone asked about this and they said that when they don’t have enough beds, the girls double up on the bunk beds. They oldest girls’ dorm was surprisingly covered in pictures. The pictures were mainly of Selena Gomez and Beyonce. One of the girls asked me if I liked Lady Gaga. She made a face when I said I didn’t. I’m not sure of her stance. Several of the girls knew some English, but not enough to carry on a conversation. One girl, Emma, stayed pretty close to Alexa and me. She said we matched (I think she meant favored). She was surprised we were all there together. There were four girls, including Emma, who had been learning their cultural dances. We went to their “studio” (a dark room in a cellar) to watch them perform. Emma explained, through Dereje, that at the boys’ orphanage, they had costumes and could go into the community to perform and get paid. The girls didn’t have that opportunity because they didn’t have traditional clothes to wear. Guess what, now they do! Ryan was determined those girls should have just as many opportunities as the boys!