Kids at the Hospital

I’ve started going with Cheryl this week over to the CURE hospital to play with the kids on the ward. They are SO much fun! They have a variety of problems – I’ll have to ask Bob to give you any idea what they are. They each have one guardian who stays with them and both the kids and the guardians have uniforms to wear. So far, we’ve colored, played with kitchen toys (I gave the kids pretend nsima – the local staple – and tea, and they got a real kick out of that!), played hand-clapping games, played with my hair, done puzzles, sung and played with stuffed animals. Kids are kids all over the world – they like to be like their parents. They all take cloths and want to strap the stuffed animals on their backs and carry them around like their moms.

They are all so beautiful. You look at their faces and see their innocence and enthusiasm and they are just so beautiful. I think at the hospital, they know they are loved, that someone thinks they are worthwhile. I think I’ll ask one day if I can take some pictures.

This is where I really wish I had more Chichewa. I needed a good book earlier in the 6 weeks. There is so much I want to say to the kids, but instead of saying things in English, I just gensture, grunt and use my bits and pieces of Chichewa. I know that if I had set my mind to it, I could have learned a lot of Chichewa in the last 5 weeks. I really wish I had. I’ll learn what I can this week and next, but that’s definitely one thing I would do over if I had the chance.

I’ll see if Bob and Cheryl want to write a bit about their experiences at the hospital. I’m still working on Dave too. He has some picture of the hospital now from one of the Icelandic students, so maybe it’ll get him going.

Love you all,
Sarah