I got to work today and saw that there were two women and a small child sitting outside the clinic. This was odd because the clinic is closed this week. I figured that they had an appointment with a social worker. While sitting and having tea I heard the child cough a couple of times and it sounded like she had TB or some crazy, awful chronic cold. Beth told me that Faith would be taking the car and going to Nyumbani in Karen. This is the respite home where the social workers, doctors, nutritionist, or any of the combination can recommend that a child go. This can be reasons of severe malnutrition, bad home life, or parents not adhereing to the child's medical needs.
After about an hour we all pile in the car, four to the backseat again, which is super fun. Played with the baby a little bit on the 30 minute ride to Nyumbani in Karen. Sidenote- Karen is the nice/expensive suburb of Nairobi. There is no slum/informal settlement there, only the children's home that is run by Catholic nuns. When we get through the gates my first thought is, "Wow, this is an oasis." And it was. There was a gorgeous fountain and paintings on the walls of the buildings. All the buildings were really nice and clean, which is hard because dirt in Kenya goes anywhere and everywhere. The children were at recess when we got there so I saw them playing on the playground and on the football field. It was great to see them so happy and healthy.
We went straight to the intake center where some babies were and where they take measurements of the new children. In the room there were two cribs with babies in them and 3 other babies in small plastic chairs. These babies ranged from 1-2.5 years old and were the best mannered children I have ever met. They just sat in their small chairs and watched the adults talking. The babies in the cribs were smaller than the others and probably could not hold themselves up. One of the babies was smaller and just the happiest child ever. He was playing with his toys the whole time and making cute baby noises. The other baby was the complete opposite. For the first thirty minutes he just sat there staring at the blanket. Not moving, just staring. It was heartbreaking to look at him. After awhile I went over to him and tried to engage him in playing with a couple of the toys in his crib. Didn't really work that well. I got a couple of smiles out of him but not much. Then he started making small noises that I knew were about to turn into crying. I asked one of the nurses if it was okay to pick him up, which she said yes.
As soon as I picked him up he stopped making those horribly depressing noises. He saw the sun outside the window and grabbed hold of the windowsill. I leaned up against it so that he could look outside easier. I made a joke that we were making our escape, just really slowly. He still hadn't really smiled or even looked at me up to this point. What could I do? Other than make a fool of myself, complete with crazy noises, weird circling, bounciness, and playing peek-a-boo with my shoulder. Guess what? He smiled!!! It was amazing.
I kept on with this for about 30 minutes just enjoying watching him smile and stare at me like I was the craziest person on the planet, which could be true. I shared some secrets of the universe with him. I told him to listen to the nuns and not get into any trouble when he left the center. I told him not to chase after girls but instead focus on school. My wish for him was to go to college and then become a doctor. I wanted him to help the world that born him into such bad circumstances. I whispered that being HIV positive was not the end of the world, and that many people around the world live such normal lives with HIV. I wished for him to grow up and help fight the virus inside of him. Be a good man. Be a great man.
Not sure if he listened to me, but I like to think that he did.
After awhile he started getting sleepy. He ended up falling asleep in my arms with one hand on my neck. It is amazing to watch a baby fall asleep. One of the wonders of the world. They try so hard to keep their eyes open and watch you, but just can't help it.
After about 20 more minutes of watching this angel sleep I realized that we were leaving. I was so sad to put him down and leave him. I slowly put him back in his crib and silently prayed that he would make it in life.
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