So I am not sure who is interested in getting these e-mails and who doesn't want to receive them anymore. If you do not wish to receive them feel free to let me know and I will take you off the list.
So Ghana take 2.....wow
Let me start off with say that there was no greater feeling than seeing those kids again. I can not even explain how it felt to walk through those gates and have those kids run towards me. That was the pure feeling of joy, and for those of you who have experienced joy (not happiness but a deep within you joy) you know the ecstacy that comes along with it.
They remember me. They remember my name. They remember my likes and dislikes and my fears. They know that I don't take (eat) fish. And they know that my middle name is Renee. They know that I have two older brothers named Scott and Craig. They know that the number of freckles I have will increase the longer I stay in the sun. They know me. Everything about me, and 11 months didn't change it.
They have all grown. A few of the boys like Moses and Emmanuel who were once shorter than me are now taller. Some of the babies are now moved to the toddler house and are speaking. Those who were not in school last year are back attending school. There have been so many changes yet something remains constant when I am with them. It is a steadfast feeling.
Most of the babies have been adopted. All of the children with HIV/AIDS have been moved to a new location where they are being treated. A few children have had their parents come back for them, this is both happy and sad. It is happy if the parents were short of money before but sad if it is the father that was once abusing his child.
I am back with my children again. Yesterday one of the older boys was joking around with me and he turned to me and said, "Claire you have a new baby, he is your last born" What he meant by this was there is a new child in the little boys house that just arrived yesterday. He then continued to tell me that Kwame Mensah (age 22) was my first born.
It was hard coming here knowing that Victor (21) had died since I left. I still find myself wondering what he is doing or thinking I see him out of the corner of my eye. There is a place that we used to sit outside at night and talk and since his death no one will sit there. I miss him and it is difficult but it helps to be with the people who were his life. His sister is not the same. She no longer jokes and barely speaks.
As for my living situation: the first night I went out and stayed in a place called Adenta. It is not far out of the city but it took 2 1/2 hours to get there because of traffic. This is where the new foster home for the boys is. The 6 boys living there just moved in two weeks ago. They are still getting adjusted and there are a lot of things that need to be fixed. Some of the lights do not work and the fans are not hooked up yet. A few walls still need to be painted and we need to buy beds for the boys. Right now they are sleeping on mattress pads on the ground.
The house is huge. There are enough rooms where only two of the boys would have to share a room. However, they are all sleeping in the same room as of right now because they are not ready to learn how to sleep in a room on their own. They are scared. So my first night I slept in a room with no fan on a mattress pad. I had a bathroom without running water and no light in it. I was burning alive.
Since then they moved me into a host house of a friend and the conditions are worse. No running water, I share a room with 5 other girls. The room is 12 by 16 feet. We are all bunked and two of the beds are used for two people. I sleep on a 2 inch foam mattress, so esentially I am sleeping on a wooden board. There is a dog that barks right outside my window and make it very hard for me to sleep.
My feet are sunburnt and have been bitten by some ground bugs. They are swollen up and are so hot I feel like someone is holding a match to my toes. I have not showered since I got here and I am not used to the heat yet. But none of this is compared to the joy I feel of being here. I can handle all of these conditions as long as I am with my kids. I am so happy. I hope that this update was sufficient.
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