Back to the Watoto: The Resiliency of Children

I couldn't sleep well last night, despite our packed day. Something sat in my craw, many questions I had during the rescue that instinctively, I knew I shouldn't have asked, as a foreigner. Why had the social worker "revoked" the admission of the two year old Mercy? Our policy is to take siblings, and while I know we are not licensed to take girls under two years old (we need a nurse on staff to do this), since when does a social worker have the power to make this hefty decision at the last second? Why had the hospital had these children for 1, 3 and 4 years? How long had the other children we saw in their cribs been at the hospital? Why hadn't the DCO referred these children to WWC or other Rescue Centers, earlier? What kind of hospital keeps children and doesn't send them to school? This is completely against the law, one thing I am certain about. The administrator we were welcomed by seemed to want to know more about where Tony, Penina and I were from, rather than discuss the children we were about to rescue. He made blatant remarks about Penina's physical appearance, vocallycontemplating which tribe she is from. He wanted to know about Tony's family and how he got involved with me. He expected a discourse about President Trump from me, and asked multiple personal questions. I simply responded "I am not political" and offered nothing about my personal life. I laid awake wondering what is really happening internally in this hospital. We were told they had 70 children, but saw 10. Where were the others? Does the DCO have answers? Is the CDO even aware? This hospital was founded by an Italian Missionary, and she has lived here for 40 years. This should give the hospital credibility, and my skepticism is on high alert. This is Kenya, where lives are expendable.

A child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn’t been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.

~ Pablo Casals

Tony came to Nyumba Yangu at 7:30 this morning as I was packing to go home. I only have two carry on bags this trip, so packing was more precise than usual. Tony asked me if I was ready. "I'm supposed to be ready? Give me 30 minutes." Tony and I are mentally tired. We both looked at each other and laughed. "Sit down Tony, I have questions I want answers to." After discussing the above, we both decided it best that Tony go to the DCO with Grace and Anna (required after intakes) without me. My suspicions would have been written all over my face.

Meanwhile, Penina, Wambui and I would hit the markets and purchase clothes for the 6 children who came empty handed.

The women and I blazed the markets fast and furiously. We had a blast! All the clothes you see on the tables come in to the vendors are collected every Saturday, in Mombasa. I try to hit the ones with fixed prices, because its a waste of my time to stand around bartering. For the bartering, I gave Penina 3K ksh ($28USD) to use to barter on any items we might want from other tables - her bartering skills are as hilarious as Tony's. At one point I dragged her away after she had negotiated a price on winter jackets. After loading up a pile for the children at 150ksh (CHEAP!!) the woman saw our pile grow and must have decided: hmmmmm.. no, the 150 ksh is for one jacket only. I threw the pile down thinking, no way was I doing business with this woman. She came after me when I said "Hakuna kuuza!!" (No sale!!) I kept walking, and never looked back.

Meanwhile, Tony found us in the market, looking surprised at the shopping we had just done, 3 huge bundles. "Yes, Tony, you know us women, we mean business when it comes to these children." He and I left the women to finish up and headed for the airport.

Tony's meeting with the DCO and the girls went well, though the DCO wants to hold a family conference with the Grace and Anna's mother. "Good luck with that" I announced. We both sneered at the thought, given their mother's questioning us about whether or not the girls are in school yet. Switching gears, Tony told me he had asked the social worker at the DCO's office for contacts for our four new children. "What do you mean? We were told there were no parents? Did you ask them all the questions we talked about? Did you get a contact? What is going on?"

A spirited, unruly student is preferable. It’s much easier to direct passion than to try and inspire it.

~ Joan Desmond

Not only did Tony get a contact for our little boy, Kosgei, he called the number while he was waiting on the DCO. Apparently, this child has a mother and a father. For the first number, no one picked up. On the second, a woman answered the phone. She professed not to know about any child, so Tony asked her if she had any grandchildren. She said no, "not that I know about." Pressing on, Tony informed her that this child had come to the hospital 3 years ago, and the mother had walked out, leaving him behind. The woman acknowledged that she had a daughter, but claimed her daughter never told her she had given birth. "You have two weeks to come to WWC and pick up your grandson, or the boy goes up for adoption." The grandmother began furiously backpedaling, and pleaded with Tony to give her time, because of course she would want the little boy to come live with her. She "can't believe her daughter or son would do such a thing."

In a world where lives are expendable, and children are abandoned at a hospital after birth or put in plastic bags freshly out of the womb to die, I believe nothing until proven wrong, and applaud Tony for his action today. Further, after asking the DCO our questions about the hospital, the DCO was dumbfounded. She was unaware that the hospital has 70+ children and infuriated that the decision to revoke the child we were to take, was made without her knowledge or consent. She is scheduled to visit the hospital tomorrow, and the outcome will likely be serious for this facility. It's highly unusual for the DCO to take urgent action unless warranted.

I got up to say good bye to all the children this morning, before leaving for school:

The little ones were still sleeping, so I headed back for coffee. It wasn't long before I heard the unmistakable sound of happy little voices, laughing and delightfully screaming, in the distance.

Just look at these joyous faces, less than 24 hours after being rescued! The resiliency of children never ceases to amaze me. Everything is new to these little angels : love, laughter, siblings, play, toys and a new home. They will watch their siblings, and their food consumption will naturally improve on a daily basis.

Education begins the moment we see children as innately wise and capable beings. Only then can we play along in their world.

~ Vince Gowman

Remember: everyone in the classroom has a story that leads to misbehavior or defiance. 9 times out of 10, the story behind the misbehavior won’t make you angry. It will break your heart.

~ Annette Breaux

The social worker's statement to us when we were leaving with these four children will stay with me forever. I am forcing it to the back of my head for now, because it is, frankly, unbearable for me to consider:

"The children only cry when they are hungry, thirsty or tired.

We do not pick up the children or cuddle them when they cry."

Because of my departure, I was not able to observe and study these children for long. Children being children, however, we can already see their tendencies, fears, wants and insecurities. Our social worker will be doing intervention work with Grace and Anna, and trauma work with all six children.

Kids deserve the right to think that they can change the world.

~ Lois Lowry

The greenhouse has been primed, drip irrigation is in place and the tomatoes are going in as I write. Michael from Kenya Seed Company will continue to work with us (gratis) as we go through our first harvest. The rest of our crops are growing as expected, with new onions being planted this week, as well. Tomatoes, peppers and onions will be our focus, moving forward - for consumption and sale to the markets. Cabbage, carrots, potatoes, sekuma and spinach will remain our staple crops, all of which are currently growing. The long rains are on the horizon, and might possible be starting early. One can feel the changes in the air, and we have planted accordingly, using seeds that do well in copious quantities of rain.

In this modern world where activity is stressed to the point of mania, quietness as a childhood need is too often overlooked.

~ Margaret Wise Brown

Due to an airborne virus while I was gone, we (and all the chicken farmers in our community) lost the majority of our chickens. We sold those which were unaffected and will consume the remainder. Unfortunately, there was no immunization for this particular virus. While this is a setback, we are following instructions on disinfecting the sanitizing the chicken houses and will start up the project again when I get back. We have been advised to concentrate on one specific brand, The Kari Improved Kienyeji Chicken. This particular species in Kenya are known to have superior characteristics such as growth rate and egg production. Importantly, they do not require select brands of chicken meal; they can eat maize meal and scraps from our shamba. Once we get the go-ahead, we will start with 100 chicks and and re-asses after 4-5 months as to how we will move forward.

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

~ Winston Churchill

The kitchen will be completed by Friday. I saw cement work I wasn't satisfied with, so I requested reinforcement in the area behind the gas stove and jiko. Otherwise, it is beautiful and will be painted when I return.

Michael, our smiling and gracious fundi, who has been with us since day 1.

Tony donated the cabinets which will also be painted

"Simmie, you weren't planning this trip, it was very last minute. You said Peter told you you should try and come 'next week'. Did Peter know something we didn't know? " My thoughts exactly, Tony. Peter has always been extremely supportive of my work here in Kenya, which requires multiple trips a year. (In fact, I'm headed back here at the end of March). He couldn't possibly have known what lay ahead during this week, and neither did we."

Tony and I shook our heads at one another, both of us acknowledging that this has been the busiest and toughest trip ever for both of us, and the most emotionally wrenching one we have had together. We got an enormous amount done in seven days, and worked tirelessly doing so. Tony likes to say his brain is tired, and for the first time ever, he announced one afternoon: I want to go home. "Go home, relax and switch off your phone" I told him.

If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?

~ Albert Einstein

There is always plenty of work to be done here at WWC, but for now, both Tony and I feel confident that we can take a momentary step back, enjoy the fruits of the week and feel very good about what has transpired thus far, with a sharp eye on the future.

I am returning March 28th, ready to begin the construction of the Community Center. The vision is to be a center of love, empowerment and sustainability, providing an environment for families in our community to work side by side with their children. We have commitments from the DCO (to lead therapeutic interventions), medical professionals, maternal health, agriculture specialists and local farmers, chicken farming, cooking, beading, woodworking/carpentry, computer basics, and tutoring and educational programs for all children from Class 4-8 during the months of April, August and December when schools are closed for the months.

Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family. ~Kofi Annan

From somewhere over the African Continent, I am coming home. It's been a brisk, exhausting and intense week, but one filled with the satisfaction of knowing that great work is being done by Watoto World Center. As June, the DCO told Tony, "We know WWC is doing the best work out there, because you are professionals." Thank you, June.

Let the child be the scriptwriter, the director and the actor in his own play.

~ Magda Gerber

I have Peter to thank for initiating this trip. I am deeply grateful for his suggestion, because otherwise, I would be waiting until the end of March. Between the greenhouse, harvests, kitchen repairs, dining hall repairs and rescues of 6 children and mandatory meetings between social workers and the DCO, we packed it in.

As always, I send huge thanks to you dear readers and supporters of my work here in Kenya. I am deeply indebted to each of you for your constant and loving support.

With much love,

Simmie, Esther and Rita