Cradle of Love

After class yesterday, the girls and I decided to stop by the Cradle of Love Orphanage on our way home. It is located in between MS-TCDC and ADRA (Laurie I believe that is where you said that you guys stay when you come to Tanzania?) What a rewarding experience. When we walked through the gate, we were immediately greeted by one of the workers who grabbed our hands and blessed us for coming in to visit. She was so sweet and so happy to have us there. We were told that the children were in the backyard. When we walked to the back of the facilities, we saw approximately 30-40 babies and toddlers all under the age of 2. When we arrived, it was juice time. As soon as we sat down, we were embraced by about twenty sticky, happy babies. They were so happy to have us there and to play with them. I'm sure we looked strange to them because we looked different then their Mama's that volunteer to take care of them every day. It was so much fun to just play and hold babies and to have fun after a day of class. 

Most of the babies that are in Cradle of Love have HIV/AIDS or other medical conditions. A couple of the children had Down's Syndrome, but boy were they happy. There were about 8 Mama's there to volunteer to help take care of the children throughout the day. Although it is sad to think that these babies have started out at a disadvantage in life, without parents and with HIV, I am hopeful that someday each of them will be adopted by a loving family. I hope someone is able to give each of them the happy life they deserve. It was so fun to get to know each of them, all having their own personalities. Each of the babies know their own names and most know "No" in English (maybe because it is shorter then hapana). They were even nice enough to wander into my backpack that I set down and bring me the items they found. We left the facilities covered in juice and drool, but it felt good to know that we were able to help that day, even if it was only for a short while. We will definitely be going back when we are able to help play with the children or to help the permanent volunteers there with cleaning and feeding.