From my wonderful learning experiences in the orphanage
system of Zim, I have gotten to feel like Santa Claus every time I walk into my
orphanages with a bag full of bananas and see the kids go, well… bananas. I have spent hours reading to little ones who
didn’t speak my language but wanted to sit on my lap and hear my voice. I have watched in horror as some of my kids
have stolen the handful of stickers my visitor timidly clutched and run off to
hide. I have learned not to play beauty
parlor with seven year olds, lest I get a hair brush stuck in my hair. I fought for a baby that eventually died, who
I will admit I possibly could have saved had I done things differently and a
piece of my heart remains broken. I have
been peed on. Pooped on. Vomited on.
I have had rushing thoughts of HIV fly through my head as I dealt with split
lips and bloody noses. I have seen the
anarchy that a hundred unsupervised children can reek. I have bathed babies while their caregivers
looked on. And I have watched the
mother-less mother each other.
If you want to know where I learned the most in Africa, look no farther than the orphanage. You have heard me mention some of my orphanage experiences,
and I consider the time I’ve spent in them to be some of the biggest
gifts I will ever receive. Stick
with me. This month I’d like to introduce
you to some of the most amazing souls I got to meet in Zim, each with their own
story, and their own tiny hope. These
were truly the hardest people to leave behind.