Year 27, Day 108

Karim's Children Care Center

I am still entirely in shock that I am in Africa. Rehema picks us up from the Kilimanjaro Airport and we all climb into a jeep that would never in a million years pass the English or Canadian standards for a road-worthy vehicle. There are no seat belts and I am never entirely certain my door is closed. To make matters worse there are clearly no traffic rules and its a freakin' free-for-all on the roads. We are also repeatedly urged to keep all valuables away from the windows or someone will steal them, regardless of whether the vehicle is moving or not. I think I spent the duration of the drive in shock about my global location, and also dazed by the sights, sounds and smells of an active African city.

We make our trek through the city of Arusha, Tanzania, and out to the orphanage which is about 15kms out of the city, but the drive takes more than 45 minutes because the dirt roads are so terrible. The amount of dust I inhaled was incredible. The location is seemingly random and secluded, until you realize that the junk piles and shotty-looking structures everywhere are actually peoples houses. On a clear day you can even see Mount Kilimanjaro in the distance. We pull up to a gated building, and it becomes clear that even though they too are terribly impoverished, the kids we are about to help are the lucky ones. We arrive and find that 12 of the 14 kids are away at school, except the 2 babies: Ibrehim and Johnstone.

Within an hour of being there,
my heart is hooked as
Ibrehim falls asleep on me.

Mary E, Nic, Joe and I move into our room and find bunk beds and mosquito nets for all. "BUNKBEDS!? Room for so many activities!!!" We are already doped up on malaria pills, so the nets are just an added safety measure. After laying down for a team nap, I am awakened by the sounds of children singing and playing.

Nicole and I crawl out of bed and go somewhat hesitantly outside to where the children are... we just didn't really know what to expect. But people, I can absolutely guarantee you I will never forget the next moment for the rest of my life.

Johnstone,
is sweet and ubber fussy at the same time.
Always.

As soon as the kids spotted us, they came sprinting over at high speed and before I knew it, I was covered in beautiful little African children! They were hugging us, saying hello, asking our names, fighting to hold our hands, grabbing our legs, pulling us to come and play games. All 14 of them!!!!

It was ridiculously overwhelming, heart-warming, shocking, adorable and welcoming all at the same time. Initially it was nearly impossible to tell the children apart. Not even male from female! They all looked alike, had the same shaved heads (low maintenance, plus less likely to catch lice), and were even all wearing identical track suits. It took a few days to get them sorted, but so worth the wait. Each kid may have had a similar story - mostly orphaned from aids/hiv, but each kid was amazing and unique in his/her own way.

Asani, Onesmo, Hauwa, Sabrina and Antionia -
thankfully not all dressed identically.

Rehema founded the orphanage over 3 years ago as a means of coping with the tragic passing of her son, Karim, and the center was named after him. She started small, and eventually grew. She is working towards the dream of becoming a self-sufficient center. Once Rehema partnered with a Canadian advocate named Linda, and consequently with Bridges of Hope, a Lethbridge, Alberta - based development agency, things started happening and the center grew into what it is today. We found out after being there a week that the center was even featured on Oprah last year. 

To learn more about the Center's beginnings, check out this facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=51967053796&topic=7830

My special adopted Brother.