A trip to the orphanage

Today our friend Sister Kimball, a missionary from our church, picked us up in her pick-up truck to take us to an orphanage. This is something that we have really wanted to do since we arrived here in Liberia. The kids and I packed up all the supplies that we brought with us to donate to this orphanage. We had toothbrushes and toothpaste, fleece blankets, children's books, soap, handmade baby hats, and handmade flower clips for the girls' hair. Sister Kimball was donating five twin mattresses. We looked like the Beverly Hillbilly's with all those mattresses crammed into the bed of the truck as well as tied to the top of the shell. The drive was beautiful with lots of vegetation on both sides of the road. The further we drove the worse the road became. Thank goodness we had four wheel drive because of all the mud and huge puddles that we had to navigate through. We made a short stop to pick up Quita, a Liberian woman who founded this orphanage. She too is a member of our church. What a beautiful woman both inside and out.Quita had tender heart towards all of these homeless children who either lost their parents during the war or got separated from them. She supports this orphanage with her own money which is very tight. The government is supposed to offer subsistence but none of the orphanages are receiving it. There is just enough money to pay the rent for a two bedroom house, teachers, cooks, and caregivers. The children eat one meal a day, mostly consisting of rice. There are currently 39 children living there and no room for anyone else because of the money issue.

When we arrived all the little kids were outside playing soccer with a tennis ball or whiffle ball. They were curious as to what we were doing there and what all those mattresses were for. They ran up to us with huge smiles on their faces and wanted to shake our hands or touch us. Their ages ranged from around 2 to 10 years old. We were then introduced to the staff and given a quick tour of the house. It was pretty spacious inside. There were two bedrooms for sleeping, one for the boys and one for the girls. Comforters, used as makeshift beds, were spread out on the cement floors. Close lines were strung across the living room with laundry hanging from them. I'm sure this was because it's rainy season.

Now it was time to show the children what we brought for them. MEG and GG gave a demonstration on how to properly brush their teeth and showed them how much toothpaste to use. The girl's did a great job and interjected their fun personalities into the demonstration. The kids thought they were funny! Next we passed out all the books and told them these were to share. We separated the children into four groups so that we could read to them. I was proud watching MEG, GG, MC, and Lawrence reading to these little kids. When it was time for us to leave it was difficult to say goodbye. We definitely want to go back for another visit soon. We are contemplating ways to help this orphanage in the future.

Love, Kim