Day 30

A few days ago there was a big soccer game here: Senegal vs. Cameroon. We didn’t go, but we heard the game was tied 0-0 when the power went out!!! All the fans had to leave because they couldn’t see anything! Outside the stadium people were protesting the power outage by burning tires…? Some friends of ours drove through that area on their way home, and they told us later it looked like a war zone.  

This morning we went to the village of Malika to visit a trade school. The school teaches young men how to sew, make drums, make jewelry, etc. They are able to make pretty much anything out of any type of material, even trash. They made earrings and little angels from Coke, Sprite, and Fanta cans. They can sew bags, headbands, hair scrunchies, skirts, pillowcases, and laptop cases. I met the guy who does the sewing, and I watched a group of guys make mini drums. All of the proceeds go back to the person who made the item, and a portion of the money goes back to the business itself. They’ve even started selling their items to the United States. In addition, the owner’s son has designed motors to run on the oil of a seed that is native to Africa. No need for gasoline!

This afternoon Kari and I volunteered at an orphanage for babies whose mothers died in childbirth. The babies are only allowed to stay at the orphanage until they’re about a year old. This gives the families time to decide what they want to do with their child. Most of the babies end up going back to their families but are taken care of by a relative other than their immediate family. The babies who are not able to go back to their families are given up for adoption. Every Sunday the families go visit the baby to keep their relationship.

We were there for about 3 hours to help feed the babies then play with them. They didn’t let us take pictures, but the babies were so precious! I could sit on the floor and have about 3 or 4 of them climbing on me and wanting to be held or played with. One little girl was so attached to me, she would cry if I set her down for just a second. Playing with them was such a joy for me. Those kids are in need of so much love, and I’m so glad I could give that to them. We are definitely planning to go back one more time before I go home. I wish we had been able to go there sooner because that was definitely one of my favorite things I did here.  :)