When I arrived at The Nest on Thursday Rachael yells from
the feeding mat ‘Jambo Bernie’!! It was
so sweet and I think it caught everyone off guard that she remembered my name
and it was an amazing feeling and put an extra spring in my step and what a
great way to start my day. Rachael is
the oldest child at The Nest and normally a kid that age would be sent down to
Limuru Nest. But she is 85% blind and
The Nest just thinks that she wouldn’t get the attention needed with all of the
older kids and to what she gets with us with the babies. I understand that she is going to hospital
next week for an operation, so I am not sure what is expected from that-but she
is a very smart kid and picks up things so quickly that I hope that she gets
some more eyesight back so she can see what a wonderful and loving environment
she is currently living in.
Some of the ladies are starting to get to know me more asking
more questions. I like it and don’t mind
answering them as they get to know me more and I like that I am slowly getting
accepted into their group. When I arrive
now at The Nest they all have big smiles and hellos and they make me feel
really welcome which is great. I will be
sad when I have the 11 weeks off for my trip in September and it will also seem
like I will have to start all over again when I come back in January, well
maybe not from scratch, but it will feel like it I am sure. They were asking how long I was here for-was
I looking for a job-do I have brothers and sisters and when I said no I was an
only child, they were shocked and said that I need to have babies to carry on
my name as I am the only one left to do that at the moment. They said I should have at least 4 babies and
when I said I was too old for 4 babies it begged the question on how old I was
and they started at 30-33-34-36 and then they jumped to 40-which isn’t far off
the mark, but they were shocked and modified my baby making to 2 babies and I
could adopt 2 babies and that seemed to keep them happy with that plan and
since it was June already I needed to make sure I was pregnant by the end of
the year to start the process off. It
was so sweet, even though we were making fun; there really was seriousness
behind what they were saying.
All the house mothers are using my name now. It’s like they had a meeting to discuss
things and my presence came up and they have all taken the time to learn my
name. Everyone was using it today and it
fluffed my feathers a little more and its nice when people do use your name and
I have always known that and tried to remember names and use them and it was
nice to be on the receiving end of that this time and to know how it feels
makes me more determined to remember and use everyone’s names that I meet and
not just at The Nest. Even Irene, the
director always says hello and after her shock that I was living at Ruaka,
making out it was some ghetto in Nairobi, we have a joke now that I survived
another week at my place. It also
compelled her to tell me that some people tried to get into The Nest on Tuesday
night, but luckily the night guards were alert and they scared them off which I
said was good news and even though she agreed she said they would be likely to
return, but with a gun this time and it could get ugly. The Police turned up yesterday and they told
Irene there had been a shooting at Runda, which is a mzungu suburb down the
road from me and a security guard was shot dead on the week-end. Yes it sounds like a dangerous place and
needless to say I don’t head out of my place after dark-in my immediate area
and if I am coming home late at night from somewhere, Steven always makes sure
I am inside my gate before he drives off.
Yes you do need to take care here, that is not in doubt.
There were no mzungu’s except me on Thursday and it made
a nice change. Friday was a different
story as there were 3 mzungu’s already there when I arrived who I hadn’t seen
before and I was watching Matthew with one of them and it just made me think
what the babies think of different people holding them all the time. Not so much the house mothers, they know them
by now, but mzungu’s. There is a
positive that they are getting used to different people at a young age but then
the downfall of not having a stable routine of carers-I wonder if this could be
detrimental to the child? I guess if you
think of what the alternatives are of the children living on the streets, not
being taken care of at all or properly, this is a pretty good backup plan, even
if it does mean that they may have a lot of mzungu’s pass through the doors
each week. At the end of the day the mzungu’s
are passing on love and affection and that has to be a good thing all
round. I was hoping to see Cassie again
this week as she flies home to Canada on Friday night but she didn’t turn up either
day which was a shame but we are friends on Facebook, so we will keep in touch
as I do think that she will return back here, with family here and her wanting
to teach once she finishes university, I think Africa has captured another mzungu
soul and who can blame her.
As the weeks go on it is interesting to watch and observe
that the House Mothers have their favourite babies. There is an unspoken chain that when one of
‘their’ babies is crying they know who to hand the child to, assuming that they
are not already with a baby. That is one
thing, they don’t neglect or dodge a child for their ‘favourite’ but if they
are free and their baby starts to cry you can place money on who will go and
fetch the child. I don’t think it is a
bad thing, as like any human being in the planet you are going to click with
people more than some and I dint think that babies are that different, even at
their small age. Do I have a
favourite? I don’t think so but I really
do like Lennie. He is a tiny 10 month
old baby who is always full of smiles and to me he looks like a tiny miniature wise
old man. He is now at that age where his
legs are just kicking all the time and he is one of the many babies that only
cry if they need something. He is a
little trooper and if I had to say I had a favourite he would be at the top of
my list, not that I have a list……
Elsabe wants to take one of the baby’s home, just to give
them a break and a getaway, and as it works out Ema is the only baby that
hasn’t left the orphanage since arriving.
There are a few steps that need to be taken before you can be given
permission to take a baby for the day.
One of the many conditions that must be met is that you need to have
bonded with the baby for a while, the baby must be on the adoption list and of
course The Nest has to also approve the set up.
Unfortunately Ema’s mother has not approved for him to be on the
adoption list so he can’t be taken out of the orphanage-even if it is only for
the day. The ironic part to the story is
that Ema is at The Nest because his mother abandoned him 4 months ago. It seems a little rough for Ema, but I guess
the laws are in place to protect the baby and the mother even if she hasn’t
done the right thing. Apparently the
mother is receiving counselling in prison, so it could be a good thing and
eventually the best result would be for the child to be reunited with his
mother if she has received help and is ready and able to take her son
back. We will have to see-but as it
stands at the moment he can’t be taken off site which is a shame for him.
There are currently 2 babies that are on the adoption
list and have been allocated approved parents.
I’m not sure what the time frame is from the approval of the courts,
getting to see the child they have been allocated and then when they are
actually allowed to take them home. The
‘to be parents’ come to The Nest when time permits them to bond with their babies
just waiting for all the red tape to be passed and all the paperwork to be
completed. So all the best
to Angel and baby Bakita in the coming months. Some good news this week was the departure of the twins,
Samson and Faith. They weren’t there on
Thursday and when I enquired where they were I was told that they had been returned
to family. This was great news as it is
what The Nest is primarily all about, but these babies are always returned the
days I am not there so I don’t get to say goodbye, but then I think that it may
just be a blessing in disguise as I think it maybe a little harder to say that
goodbye. It hit me then that you just
never really know who will be in The Nest each week. When I leave on Fridays you just never know
who will be gone and also any new additions that may be picked up. Speaking of which, I was there on Thursday
when a new baby was bought to The Nest.
Her name is Mercy and she is 5 days old.
She is so tiny and just a small precious bundle of joy. When she arrived, she was bathed, weighed,
checked over and the clothed and a few of the smaller babies sleeping spots had
to be moved around so that Mercy could have the newborn bed until she gets a
little bigger. It all seems like just
another day in the office. Babies leave
back to biological families, some to new families and the possibilities of new
countries and then the arrival of new members to The Nest. It is the nature of the business and I need
to keep that in mind and at the end of the day I am there to help support the
house mothers and the babies and I will continue to do that as I LOVE what I am
doing at the moment.
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