Mission Malawi: Caleb, Crisis Nursery (again!) and Meds

Our plan today was to order and get the first batch of medications from Intermed. That worked out well, except they are out of praziquantel - the treatment for bilharzia. I was told that none is expected for 'a few months'. We then went to exchange money (to pay for the medications). Again, thanks to the donors who are making this possible! It is easy to spend a lot of money at a pharmacy, even when you are buying wholesale. We had a few errands to run, then home and to the airport. When we got home, I had an email from Dr. Jessica Best - who was scheduled to arrive today. The airline had changed her connections, leaving her only 25 minutes to connect in Ethiopia. She didn't make it. She should be here tomorrow. However, that left us with an afternoon unexpectedly free.

First stop was to go see my 'grandson' Caleb at Chipiti orphan home at the edge of Lilongwe. It is run by Children of the Nations. My daughter, Mandy, sponsors him. COTN tries to have 3 sponsors for each child. All of these kids have stories that are heart breaking - this is Caleb's story as relayed by the COTN workers. His mother was the victim of spousal abuse, to the point she became 'insane' (I am guessing head injury of some sort). Since she was not in her right mind, men took advantage of her. Her oldest son, Thomas, was referred to COTN when he was 6 days old. She gave birth to him and then disappeared. He was found, at 6 days, only have water (not even clean water) for nourishment. He just turned 3 years old. Somehow the mother ended up in Zambia, pregnant and having another baby - father unknown again, but suspected to be Zambian. The mother could tell authorities enough that they could track the first son to COTN, so Caleb was placed in the same home at age ~ 1 month. I was also told that the mother has now died - pregnant again but hit by a truck and both Mom and baby died. So sad for these little boys. However, they are in the loving arms of house parents and aunties, and under the watchful eye of COTN. They are some of the lucky ones. Last time I say Caleb he was about 6 months old. Oh, my, how he has grown! I brought him a little toy train (engine) and a simple set of cover-all shorts. He was shy but slowly warmed up. He was napping when we got there so was a little 'bleary eyed' at first. His brother Thomas come out and greeted each of us with a smile, a greeting, and a handshake. The children at Chipiti are obviously loved and they are well cared for. This was a totally unannounced visit (per our usual) and we always find the children well, everyone happy and well fed, and surroundings neat and clean. If you have ever felt the urge to change the life of a child, consider sponsoring a COTN child!
Of course, Katie and Meredith needed some more baby time, so we went back to Crisis Nursery for a bit. We only had 4 children with us today, and I felt we were getting the see their individual personalities emerge. Beatrice is small and unable to sit unaided, but very interactive and tries to roll over. Spireno is all boy and kept making a break out of the play area. Rose is quiet and wants to play one on one. Martha - on my, she is everywhere, laughing, tumbling, she has no fear but she does have the cutest dimples!! After our time there, we got petrol ($80 for the little Rav 4), Meredith picked up a couple more curios from the post office curio dealers (an experience that everyone should have once!) and we were on our way home. We did have a nice downpour - enough to cool it a little and settle the dust. We even got dinner cooked before the water went out!
Enjoy the photos!

Praise / thanksgiving:
COTN and the wonderful work they do
Folks like my precious daughter, Mandy, who decided to sponsor a child and change a life
The donors and aunties at Crisis Nursery, who care for those wee ones.
The wonderful folks in the US who have donated supplies, medications and money to make this mission happen!