more laughs, more cuddles and a zillion dirty nappies later..

Today was an amazing first full day in Kenya. I woke up at 5 (3am home time!) to sounds of laughter and the remarkably loud patter of 50 tiny feet. The oldest children (around 14 of them) piled in a taxi (yes.. one taxi!!!) and went off to school about 7.30/8. So i spent the rest of the day with the preschoolers and babies, just chilling, hanging out. I found some bubble liquid someone had given me to bring out – i never knew something so small called cuase such an incredible hype. The babies were obsessed. The pre schoolers were crazy. I made the mistake of letting Joy have a go at blowing some herself. Instead of blowing she just spat an incredible ammount, all into my open mouth. YUM.

Kobu chillin with his baby on his back

Before all the children eat their lunch they all sing a little prayer... the babies cover their eyes and repeat ‘amen amen amen’ its very very cute... hopefully this video will work of some of they older children having a snack. So yeh.. it was a chilled afternoon... dancing with Cobu was probably a highlight. Cobu is probably the stockiest toddler i’ve ever met in my life, and has the personality of an absolutely adorable but incredibly serious elderly man... until music is put on. Boy can this kid move. It starts with a little bum waggling... moving slowly down to the knees which start to wobble... then the hands go up in the air, he closes his eyes, sings to the music and sways in his own little world. I cannot do the description justice, its just too adorable. After lunch the staff climbed the tree and started knocking down fruit for the children to pick up and snack on... but the majority of the time the chickens got their first and were pretty furious to be pushed away by 11 fiesty toddlers.

Beautiful Chemu

Destiny dancing

Prince William enjoying his favourite part of the day

my babies! Kobu and Nandwas.. properly angry that i dressed them matching.

Grace and her pants.. which she wont take off her head.. and prince being jealous. 5 seconds after this picture he nose dived into the crib, ghrabbed the hat and climbed back over. I was so impressed with his agility that i didnt have the heart to tell him off

Gracey boo <3

Children praying over lunch

Everything just seemed so homly, ive settled in so fast and was really getting to a stage where i understood the status quo, the childrens personalities etc. Then at about 6pm tonight i was preparing Kates bottle in the kitchen and looked out the window to see a child protection van parked outside, with about 5 people ushering a little toddler forwards, brushing her off and telling her to stand tall. The little girl looked petrified. I cannot even describe how much my heart broke at that moment. The centre is currently at full capacity, but after much disagreement the child has been taken on a temporary basis. She came into the house, still not speaking a word, hands tightly clenched in little balls. The other children just stared. And stared. You’d think they’d never seen another child before! It took all our energy to keep oving them away from her while she was eating – the second you’d move one away, you’d turn around and she’d be surrounded by another 5. We have no information about the girl, other than that she was living on the streets and her mother is in no fit state to car for a child. She has sores all over her head. Will not speak to anyone. We dont even know her name. I sat beside her on the carpet tonight while everyone watched their nighttime film. I took her hand and she just stared at me. It just suddenly hit me that all the children here, despite being smily, chatty, loved, adored and content, all have seriously tough pasts that they live with. Many will never know their history or even their ethnic background, simply because there’s no way of knowing. It kind of hit home that this is real. These children are desperate for the care thats given here. After just a few hours we managed to get a couple of smiles out of her before bedtime. I cant wait to get up and see this little one in the morning, spoil her rotten with attention and generally try and make the next few days just a tad less terrifying for a toddler who probably has more scarring memories than most wordly middle aged people. For the praying sort – it goes without saying that this little girl needs as much peace and hope as she can get the next few days.

(This was supposed to be posted yesterday – i was mid writing and suddenly the whole connection went out, along with the lights. I could feel the cat at my feet and the children screaming but could literaly not see a thing. Managed to find the door... but forget about the step just behind it. Bruised face.The little girl is a lot happier today.. still not sure if she can actually talk, but we're bonding over peek-a-boo. If the morgan Lundy's are reading this, this morning i put her in gracie's litrtle dress you gave me. her smile was beyond anything ive ever seen and she just kept looking at herself and twirling. thankyou so much.)

Surreal

JAMBO.

wow. im here. i cant quite believe im chilling in africa, eating chapati, surrounded by chickens and listening to 25 screaming (in a happy way) little children. 

 Prince! (yes he did turn out to be a boy)

The last 24 hours have probably been some of my most crazy to date. It started when dad left me at heathrow and in a supreme-daddys-girl style i had a meltdown in the girls toilets. came out completely distraught to see a queue full of people looking at me with great worry. AWKWARD. so yeh... then i manned up... found my plane, flew to nairobi, made friends with a lovely local who fast tracked me through customs. Made friends with an indian man.. but later found out he was only interested in my pringles, which he certainly was not getting. so yeh.. all went smooth. until it was time for my connetion flight to kitale.

For starters i did the proper tourist thing of downing 2 bottles of water that i wouldnt be able to get through customs. Which meant that i desperately needed to pee. as you can see by the size of my bags... getting into a cubicle was FUN. shoved one against the door, put one on ma head. only to realise that the bag on the door was so heavy that it had pulled the door open while i was just sat there, baring all to the streets of nairobi.

so yeh. but flustered after that. but managed to check in (may i add they didnt once check my passport/bags/tickets. hah) and went to sit in the departure lounge. My flight was finally called and i got on the plane feeling all independant and smooth. Til they were doing the final checks 'to mombasa... all those to mombasa'..... thats when my brain (on ten minutes sleep in 24 hours) went.. mombasa? thats not kitale is it? had to casually back of the plane and leg it across the airport to the real one. that my friends, is why airport staff should check tickets.

So then i arrived in Kitale airport. Which is literally a field with a shed in. On the drive home it hit me i was in africa. AFRICA. it was hard not to realise when we had to emergency stop because 2 cows came hurtling out of the bushes having a bit of a wrestle, then decided to take on the taxi.

And then i arrived at mercy. The people here are just so beyond lovely. I got out the car and the staff and children all gathered round singing and dancing in welcome. The children are just gorgeous. the most easy going kids you can imagine. I felt a bit overwhelemed at first - what with the lack of sleep, malaria tablets and general culture shock. But prince came waddling up to me and we just sat and chilled for half an hour. I've never known a 1 year old just sit still, nothing to play with and just enjoy the attention for that length of time. just... adorable. all of them. The centre is huge, way bigger than i imagined, a really lovely place for these children to grow up. plus i get an ensuite (Y)

So thats it for today, im here, gradually getting settled. The children are all off to bed so i need to go and say goodnight. For those of you who are the praying kind... i may have slightly taken my malaria tablet quite late (MUM DONT READ THAT EVERYTHING FINE PROMISE XXX) so prayers that that one doesnt... cause issues. also continued prayers for my anxiety/safety/energy levels would be so appreciated. I have taken on a new role of climbing frame for 25 babies... and on my levels on energy at the moment is quite challenging!

I hope you're all well. please skype me (georgie-hallett .... not the one in finland) if you want to see the children/catch up. your time between 9-10 is best because thats their nap time.

So much love to you all

p.s. look after my mum xxxxxx

Countdown

In just over a week I'll be heading to Kitale, Kenya to volunteer at Mercy Rescue Centre - a charity that rescues abandoned or orphaned infants. Whilst there I'll be caring for the children, helping with the upkeep of the centre and teaching in the pre-school. I plan to use this blog to keep you all updated on my experiences and introduce you to the wonderful children I'll be living with. At the moment I'm still collecting clothes/toys to take out with me, so if you have any you're able to donate they'd be greatly appreciated.