My Benin Blog - Hayley Howard

Going to get a little self indulgent here - you’re welcome to skip this bit if it gets too soppy :)  Many of you don’t know me so you don’t know how much I was dreading going to Africa.  I really wasn’t happy with the thought of living in ‘bad’ conditions for two weeks.  Also (I’m now pretty ashamed to say) I’ve always avoided children - especially dirty, scruffy children - and definitely no physical contact with friends or strangers unless really necessary!   But I would happily have stayed in Benin for weeks or months longer if I could have and carried on living in the new way I did while I was there.  Hugs, talking to strangers, smelly children…. no problem!

Yes, it was dirty and it was probably all the things I thought it would be, but it was also the best place I’ve ever been.  You can keep Disneyworld, posh hotels, paradise beaches, etc.  I’d choose visiting Benin over all of them any day of the week.  I was only with my new friends for two weeks but I’ll always count them as friends - and will never forget them.  They taught me so much about things that matter.  I know I’ll end up back as I was before I went away (was going to list all my faults here but the list got too long so I’ve deleted it ) but I hope I can remember the feelings I brought back with me.  A friend asked me if the experience had changed my life just a few days after I got back.  I told him I didn’t know.  For the first week or so I was too upset to think straight about how I felt.  But yes, it has changed my life.  I can’t let it takeover my life though.  I try not to think about it too much during a normal day because, like now, I just get sad.  Not sad that my friends and people live there in the conditions they do.  But sad because I can’t be there with them.  The thought of Maclau starting school last week and me not being able to see if he coped with it is heartbreaking.  And not seeing Bernadette in her new clothes (I got her some traditional African dresses made)… who will she show them off to the first time she puts them on?

It’s hard to talk about the experience with friends and family because I can’t really put things into words.  It sounds pretty daft to say I felt homesick when I got back here, but that’s how I felt.  I felt at home there.  Why??  

Anyway, I’m waffling now.   I’ll update you as soon as I know more…

If anyone wants to email me then feel free (hayley@redkiwicatering.co.uk ).  If you’re local to Colchester and want us to come along and do a talk in your school or club, or you want to come to one of our fundraising evenings then again, please get in touch.

Ok, ok…. I’ve been nagged quite enough now.  Here’s a few thoughts and updates - I’ll post again after the next committee meeting with further news, ok?!

Been back home for two weeks now.  I think a lot of the reason I’ve not updated the blog is because the blog was special for me while I was over there…. and by writing this now I’m home just doesn’t feel right.   But there are things to update you with so I promise to post every now and then with news from Benin.  Firstly though can I just say a huge, huge thank you to all of you who’ve contacted me, read the blog, donated money… and put up with my ‘homesickness’ (for Benin!) since I got back.

Anyway, thinking back to the last day in Benin.  Apart from making me feel so sad that I’m not still there, I have a great memory of the last day.  I wrote before about Justin who had been trafficked and we were trying to get him back home.  Well, lots happened - mainly shouting, screaming and threatening to call in the police to be honest, and we all lost heart on the Saturday and Sunday.  Really thought that maybe we wouldn’t see Justin again and that we’d let him down.  But eventually at about 6pm on the day we were leaving we had visitors arrive at the hotel.  It was Justin, his employer, aunt and parents.  Justin was so pleased to see us - we’d seen him the day before at his aunt’s house (we think he was supposed to stay hidden but he came out of the house to greet us) and it seemed like he really trusted us to help him.   He still had the shirt on that we’d given him days before when we met him so I guess that’s the only shirt he owns.  He was nervous but also full of smiles and cheeky grins.  Another one of those children you can just take to…. even though I couldn’t understand a word he said. 

His family joined us (the whole team were there as it was the last evening) and there was lots of discussions and interpreting.  As always, we didn’t lay any blame with Justin’s parents.  Penny told them that we didn’t judge them as we realise how difficult their lives are and that we were just thankful they’d come to see us and given us the chance to help them.  It’s strange but when you tell the story at home that his parents let him go (whether he was sold or given away), it’s natural to think badly of them.  But when I was there and they sat with us at the table I didn’t feel any anger towards them.  Just sadness that this sort of thing has to happen.  His mama was visibly relieved when Penny spoke to her and it was obvious we had no bad feelings about what she’d done. 

Anyway, we’ve offered (and now paid) for Justin to start school in his parent’s village and support his parents with money each month to help with food for the family (we’re looking for a sponsor if anyone wants to help him - it’ll be about £15 per month I guess).  While the adults carried on talking and discussing the important stuff, Emma and I sat there with Justin (while he ate my dinner - don’t imagine he’d eaten at all that day).  It was explained to him what was going to happen and after a few minutes he poked Emma and made a circling motion with his hands.  He had a huge cheeky grin on his face so we asked Matthew to interpret.   Justin obviously had more important things on his mind than being rescued, being sponsored and being fed.  He was asking for a bicycle!  It put everything back in perspective.  He may have had a terrible life, but he was a normal kid - chancing his luck!  We’ve now promised that if we get a good school report in April (when the team visit him next), he’ll get his bike and he was over the moon. Three more times he made his bicycle sign before he left - just reminding us I guess.

So just 90 mins before we had to leave the hotel to come home, Justin and his parents (Justin holding his mum’s hand) left the hotel.  It was like an end to a film.  Fantastic feeling.  Thinking back now still makes me pretty emotional.  That boy now has the chance of a good life…. if we hadn’t given him 5 mins attention when we met him he would still be living a terrible life. 

I haven’t got updates on all the children as we’ve not had a charity meeting yet as we’ve all been so busy catching up on work, but I do know that baby Daeso was released from hospital last week :)   That’s another brilliant success story and again something we’re all proud of.  She’d be dead now without doubt.  I honestly thought she was going to die on the journey to hospital - she looked like she’d given up.  Being three months premature and not having eaten properly for 2 weeks it’s pretty amazing she was still alive when we found her.  I’ve got friends who will say it was down to God that we found her in time and before I went away I would probably have got quite annoyed with that explanation.  But now?  You know it just doesn’t matter.  If people want to think it’s God’s work that’s fine with me.  I saw so much faith in Africa that I don’t have the right to decide or even speak about whether their beliefs are right or wrong.  

The little boy with meningitis and water on the brain had his operation and as far as I know he’s still recovering.  There were baby twins (don’t think I even got around to writing about them), who we thought had a chest infection but it turned out they had pluresy.  They’ve both been treated and left hospital too.  I must get a list together as there were so many others that I didn’t get time to write about and they all deserve a few words at the least.

It’s Saturday night (well, early Sunday morning) and I didn’t write yesterday as it was too late when we got back and then dealt with the visitors waiting at the hotel.  I can’t even remember who they were last night now…. but every night without fail there’ll be someone waiting for us needing help. 

The last two days have been more laid back than the first 10.  Both yesterday and today we spent the morning trying to sort out the problem with the young boy who was trafickked (Justin) and then went on to the orphanage (now named Project Hope).  Everything is just so complicated here.  Twice we’ve spoken to the man who has Justin and the man (supposedly his uncle) who ‘gave’ the boy to the man (you know what I mean :)) and each time they seem to be stalling and making excuses for not handing him over.  The story they’re telling us just doesn’t ring true - it’s like they’re hiding something.  Anyway, today we told him we’re not wasting anymore time.  He has to be at the hotel tomorrow at 11am with Justin and Justin’s father, or we call the police.  We’ve taken the man’s work details (he had a security pass for where he works so we took the details down) so in his mind we might cause him big trouble.  Not convinced we’ll get it sorted tomorrow but we’ve tried our best.  If it’s not finalised before we fly tomorrow night then Daniel will carry on when we’ve gone. 

There are hundreds of ‘Justin’s’ out here but you know what it’s like when a child stands out for some reason?  That’s Justin.  We only found him because he stopped to look at the ‘yovo’s’ giving out clothes to a family (one of our sponsored families).   He was pretty shy at first (may not have seen a yovo before), but we called him over and he smiled and shook hands.  He was over the moon when we gave him a shirt and then took his photo.   As I say, there’s hundreds of children here just like him who work from dawn til dusk for no money and very little food.  I’ve learnt to switch off from the bigger problem and work at it bit by bit.  If we can get Justin either back to his parents and supported into school, or to Project Hope and into school, then we’ve changed his life and that’ll do for a start.

Yesterday afternoon we went to the orphanage as we’d collected Bernadette from hospital in the morning and she was getting tired.  Malclau was really excited to see us and we had lots of cuddles and kisses.  He’s started to repeat things more and more - I’ve been saying ‘good boy’ to him each time he’s been good and he copied me twice yesterday.   Still just keep looking at him and smiling when he does anything that a ‘normal’ boy would do as it’s such an amazing change.  He also called me Mama :)   All women are ‘Mama’ here but it’s the first time he’d said it to me, so yet again another kiss and cuddle for him.

We bought Bernadette a mattress and settled her into her room.  It’s basic to say the least…. a mattress, bare floor and a pile of possessions (not hers) covered by a cloth.  A mama sleeps in there with her (on the bare floor til we delivered grass mats today).   Sounds terrible I know, but over here it’s just normal.  Many people who sell things by the roadside live and sleep in their ’shops’.  This could be a bench with a roof and maybe a cloth hanging down.  A family will sleep in there - on the floor mainly.  The ’shops’ (they’re more like market stalls from hundreds of years ago) never close.  If the owner is sleeping then you just wake them up! 

Surprisingly I don’t think there’s much theft here.  On our travels we’ve seen patches of small red pepper like vegetables laying on the roadside drying out in the sun (hundreds at a time).  We jokingly said to Daniel we could stop and take some and he was shocked.  He just said ‘But they don’t belong to you?’   How great life would be here if people had the same attitude.

One reason that crime is so low could be the prisons.   If someone gets sent to prison (or just to the police cells from what I can make out), they’re stripped naked and chained by their foot in the cell.  The person who sends them to jail (who made the complaint against them) is responsible for sending in food for them!  I know it’s not very PC to say it, but I’m sure the thugs who terrorise OAP’s in the UK would think again if they knew they’d get treated like that.  I’m all for it…. perhaps I’ll run for government

This afternoon was sad.  We went to Project Hope and delivered lots of food, grass mats, cooking utensils, etc.  Many of the children helped carry the things in from the van and they were  obviously so proud of the new bits and pieces.  Giving an African child a toothbrush for example, is like giving one of ours a new Xbox or Nintendo.  (No, maybe not.  The African child would be far more appreciative of the toothbrush.)  

We won’t be going back there tomorrow so I knew I’d have to say good-bye to all the children today, but obviously Malclau and Bernadette were going to be especially difficult.  I sat with Bernadette just before we were leaving.  She was really tired as the medication she’s on is quite powerful at the moment (once they get her back on track it’ll reduce to a better level).  So I just stroked her face til she fell asleep.  She didn’t know I was crying so that was good.  (Then Penny came bounding in to say goodbye to her and woke her up….. tut )  

Matthew and Daniel explained to Malclau and the others that we were going away for a long time.  We all agree that it’s best to tell children the truth for things like this.  I don’t know how much Malclau understood but there weren’t anymore smiles or kisses from him.  He came to the door of Bernadette’s room and just looked at me.  I got up and gave him a cuddle and held his hand to the gate of the orphanage.   I’m glad it was dark because I couldn’t have smiled even to make it better for him.  

I know for sure that he’s now in a place that’s 100% better than where he was two weeks ago.  I looked over at him earlier today and he was sitting cross legged by the side of one of the mama’s and a couple of the children, helping to sift the maize that we’d just bought.  Just a normal family thing to do over here but he’s never experienced normality, or a family, before and it was another ‘one of those moments’ for me.   He saw me watching and gave me a big grin.  

There are other children in there with similar sad stories.  One little boy who’s probably about three years old was given in to us the day before yesterday.  When we saw him yesterday he was bewildered… sad, stunned and there were no smiles.  Already there’s a change in him today.  He’s not confident yet, but we saw a couple of smiles and him joining in with the other children.  There’s another boy, Maurice who’s about 9.  He’s a charmer!  Right from the start he was excited about being there (we’d spoken to him in one of the villages a few days before and asked if he wanted to come).  He’s gone from sleeping in his teachers hut/shack to a big place with lots of children, running water, plenty of food and a football.  He loves it. 

We leave here tomorrow night.  There’s still things to do tomorrow (Justin is the main concern) but there’s clothes to hand out still and we have four new orphans joining Project Hope.  We spent a couple of hours tonight trying to work out how we can pay for everything we need to (the major operations this time have been horrendous to the cash flow!).  We’ll need to do lots of fundraising when we get home to finish paying for the operations that have already happened and the ones who are waiting.  While we’re working out how to get the final £180 we need tomorrow for immediate medical bills, there are probably thousands of people across the world right now spending £180 on a single bottle of wine… :(   

A quick update on the little boy Leanda who were asked whether to let live or die (photo on here somewhere… he’s dressed in pink).  The doctor came tonight to tell us he had his operation and it all went well.  He has a drain in his head with the tube going into his stomach (not sure if that bit got confused in translation!).   The doctor is hopeful.  The boy’s head is slowly getting smaller as the water drains away but it’ll take time.

Also he updated us on baby twins we’d taken to him.  They’ve responded well to five days of treatment and have gone home healthy.

He had sad news about the little boy we thought had got cerebal palsy.  The specialist has seen him and says there’s nothing we can do for him.  He’s gone home with his mama - I can’t see he has long left to live as he was very weak.  I try to think that even in the UK he couldn’t have been saved.

I went to see Bernadette today, she’s looking great.  Typical teenager - had a few words with me because I hadn’t been to see her for two days and then checked I’d be getting her out of the hospital first thing in the morning!  She was full of hugs tonight which is a first for her.  She usually holds my hand and is really shy.   As with Malclau, I can’t bear the thought of saying goodbye on Sunday. 

While we were in Hevia we came across the first, blatant case of child trafficking we’d seen.   This little boy (12 yrs old, called Justin), walked past us as we were giving out the clothes to the sponsored family.  All he had on was a tatty pair of shorts that the elastic had gone on.  As usual, Penny called him over, and he politely said hello.  We found a shirt and some pants for him and you’d have thought we’d given him a thousand pounds.  We asked if he went to school but he said no, a man was training him to be a carpenter.  Straight away Penny was tutting…..!?   To cut a long story short, he’d been trafficked.  His parents were probably given a little money for him to go and work for this carpenter man.  We called over the wife of the carpenter and she was bl**dy awful.  Penny asked how much they paid the boy for working early morning til evening and she smirked.  She asked when he’d last been fed… and she smirked.  She asked if the woman and her husband knew that what they’d done was illegal…. and yes, she smirked.   We’re going back tomorrow (left the boy with a church friend of Daniels) to sort out the situation.  Hopefully we’ll end up taking the boy back to his parents and helping them to support the family on the condition they don’t sell their chidren anymore.  

Before I write about my adventures today, I want to remind my children of my usual saying… don’t do as I do, do as I tell you.  You’ll all be grounded if you do what I did today (yes, even the ones who have left home).

We couldn’t have the van today as the Pastor needed it for a family funeral so we had his car instead.  There was no way of fitting five adults and three children in it so I was ‘volunteered’ to go on the zimmy (motorbike) with Matthew.  This isn’t something I’d do in England - even with a crash helmet and leathers, but somehow I end up on the back of the motorbike, no helmet, short sleeved t-shirt - right in the middle of the chaos that is Benin traffic.   There’s thousands of bikes here (many are taxis) and I noticed that no-one holds on to the driver.  I didn’t know if it wasn’t the ‘done thing’ for a woman to hold onto a man on a bike so I got on and decided to hold on to my own knees for security and stability.  It didn’t really work.   The outgoing journey was, what’s the word….. ’an experience’ (and much better when I learnt not to look ahead - far too scary).   I had it all planned that when I fell off I needed to protect my head as much as possible - and just hope I didn’t roll into the swampy stuff by the side of the road.  So the outward journey was ok ish.  Had a numb bum by the time we got to the village of Hevia, but we hadn’t crashed so I was happy.

On the way the bike got a puncture so Matthew took it to the puncture repair guy at the side of the road…. he must have been about 9 years old :(   He’d got a little bucket with all the tools in and quickly got the tyre off, found the hole and then put some hot, sticky stuff (I don’t do punctures… that’s what men are for) on to the tube and got it all put back together again.  He worked like a little pro and I kept staring at him thinking of the children back home who wouldn’t know how to sort a puncture on their pushbike at his age (I had to stop staring when he started to look worried).

While I was waiting on my own (Matthew was over by the boy), there were a couple of African ladies selling drinks and sweets from a little stall nearby.  I don’t know how they’d learnt English but they came over and said the sun was too hot for me and to share their seat under the shade.  That’s the sort of reaction and treatment we’ve got from just about everyone here.  They’re so friendly and happy.  I sat down with them and then had another one of those moments I’ll always remember.  There was a little boy about 2 years old and he was a real cutey - confident, happy and friendly.  I sat there with him counting the bottle tops he’d collected in English and then French.  He kept repeating me and thought it was hilarious.  I was on my own in a busy African market, counting bottletops with a 2 year old who didn’t understand a word I was saying!  It was just wonderful.  I’d have been happy to sit there all day with the family.

On the way to Hevia we all called in to the new orphanage to see Malclau.  He was so lovely and happy to see us.  He just kept looking at all of us with a big grin on his face.  I felt quite honoured he sat with me a lot of the time - and gave me lots of kisses which he didn’t used to.  He also had a couple of ‘proper’ conversations with two of the boys there.  He’s never done that before.  It was only a couple of word answers but they must have been in the right context which he didn’t seem to know how to do before (he just used to make noises or strange words when he got out of the old place).  The transformation in him is just so amazing it’s hard to explain.   After handing out more clothes, shoes, toys and a football (which went down well with all the children), we had to leave.  Yes, it was as painful as you think it was.  He was so sure we were there to collect him that he waved to them all shouting ‘odabo’ (goodbye).  Going back on Sunday for a last visit - not looking forward to it in the slightest.

We went to Hevia to visit a family we sponsor there (a widow and five children).  Gave them clothes and gifts from their sponsor family.  We met a young boy there but I’ll tell his story under the next post as it’s important.

By the time we left Hevia it was dark.  Again there wasn’t room in the luxurious, air conditioned car, so I was back on the bike.  The journey there was a little scary….. but coming back in the pitch dark (no such things as street lights), in rush hour (still cant get over they have a rush hour!) was pretty terrifying.  Especially as you can’t see the holes in the ground - you just feel them, ouch, and then hope the bike stays upright.  As we got onto the main road Matthew told me to put my sunglasses on.  It was pitch black??  The reason became apparent - the dust, fumes and dirt.   So I put these dark sunglasses on and obviously couldn’t see much except the headlights coming towards us and across us.  Without vision you lose your balance…. so I decided not to care if I offended anyone, I held on tight!!  (But I only screamed twice - once when Matthew screamed - and I only had five real heart stopping moments when I thought I was going to die.)

Had a good day today.  As usual there were sad bits but on the whole it was positive.  We went to a village called Avagomy.  Three hours each way in the hot sun and cramped mini-bus :(  Anyway, the welcome we got there made up for it.  Don’t know how long the children had been standing there but they were all lined up either side of the lane, clapping and signing for our arrival.  I got my camcorder out as it was one of those special moments…. but it had died (the humidity kills it every now and then).  Never mind, have got the memory.

We gave out clothes (that you’d all donated), pens and pencils and a prize for the best boy and girl in the school.  We also had a suitcase full of little toys and knitted teddies which were given out.  These toys (and some were just McDonalds Happy Meal toys) are the only thing those children have got to play with tonight - but they’re just so grateful.  As usual one or two brave little ones came over to us and sat on our laps.  I had a little girl about 5 years old.  Somehow she’d got two of these little toys.  Her friend was sitting behind us and didn’t have one and I was amazed that the little girl on my lap went over and gave her friend one of her toys.  Bless her!!  How cute was that?  I made sure she was spoilt for the rest of our visit.

The school was very ‘different’, but in a good way. Each separate class was built out of sticks and leaves.  We went into every classroom and all the children were sitting there quietly (after singing or saying something for us).  Some of the classrooms had a bit of wood up for a blackboard, some had ‘proper’ black boards (we bought some last year).  I gave some money for a new one from the money friends had given me, and the charity gave money for another one from money on the gift list.  This school is our next one to concentrate on.  The one in Ze is up to a good standard now so this is next on the hit list :)   We’ve asked the co-ordinator to get a price for material to make uniforms, we paid for 24 new children to start school and we left supplies that will hopefully last til we go back in April.

Usually we don’t give money to people here, we physically buy the things they need so we know it’s being spent on the right things.  But at this school there’s a positivity about it and they always get receipts so we trust them.   There’s not just the headmaster and teachers; they also have a Pastor and a Co-ordinator.  It shows in the children that the place is well run. 

We also gave money for two large sacks of maize and a goat (again from the wish list).  They were all so pleased it was humbling.  They’ll use the food for a good Christmas dinner.

I’ll get some photo’s on (well, I’ll ask Carl at CSNewmedia to get me some photos on - he’s been looking after the techy side for me as I’m pretty useless :)) as soon as I can as it really was a lovely place.  Basic, of course, but it just had a great feel about it. 

The bad bits?  Well, as usual we asked if there were any sick children.  A few were brought forward and we were able to treat a couple with the first aid kit we’d taken for them (yet again from the gift list!).  One little girl aged 10 (Leah) has an infected sore on her leg which we cleaned and covered.  When we started asking questions though it became obvious she’s very probably got Sickle Cell.  We’re getting a blood test done but all the signs are there (we have another sponsored child with the same condition).  This means she’ll probably only live another 2-3 years over here.  As she couldn’t understand us we had to talk about her illness to the headmaster with smiles on our face so she didn’t get worried.  There was also a little boy we noticed with what looks like cataracts on his eyes.  He’s only about eight but Penny says she’s seen quite a few children here with the condition.  Why?  Do any of you know?  He’s seeing the doctor soon and we’ll take it from there.

Not had updates on any of the other children or situations today.  As far as we know Leanda had his op today - we’ll find out tomorrow.  When we got back here, there was a widow and two of her children waiting to be taken to our new orphanage.  So after driving all day Daniel had to drive a bit more (another half hour each way) to get her there.  In the new orphanage we have 4 widows at the moment.  The idea is they’ll all help look after the orphans (including Bernadette and Malclau).  They’re all really nice and so grateful for a proper place to live.   One of the widows was living with her children in someone’s half built house with a bit of rag and metal as a lean too roof in one room as shelter.  She and her children now have a room with electricity, a bathroom with a shower (unheard of for most people here) and a safe yard for the children to play in - and we’ve paid for them to go to school.

We’re going to see Malclau in the morning.  Can’t wait!  He’ll go hyper when he sees us - but what about when we leave him? :(  Going to be tough.  I guess we’ll only see him once more after that before we come home.  We’ve decided not to bring him back here to the hotel anymore but just visit him in his new home.  I think there’ll be tears….!

ps. There are new photos in the blog, starting back at the ‘Daniel’ post.

Can’t describe how your emotions change so quickly here.  We were on a high this morning because of the court case, then within an hour of getting back here we get asked whether to let a baby live or die.  The doctor came to see us to say that baby Leanda (who has meningitis and water on the brain) is very ill.  (See new photo further down the blog.)  He’s got hold of the only surgeon in Benin who can perform the operation to drain the fluid but he leaves on Thursday for a holiday.  Leanda won’t live til he gets back.  So he simply asks if we want them to do the operation tomorrow.   Of course we do!  But it’s £650.  But, what choice do we have?  How can we turn around and say, no, sorry, we don’t have the money so forget it?  We’ve held this little baby.  We told his mama we’d help her.  Ohhhhhhhh, it’s not fair. 

Anyway, the op is going ahead.  We’re borrowing the money and will just have to fundraise harder when we get back.  My way of thinking was, is paying the mortgage one month as important as keeping the baby alive?  Mortgage or baby’s life….?  But we’ll have to eventually say no.  Our lives still have to go on in the UK but that leaves a horrible, selfish feeling inside.  

Penny and Maureen say they usually treat far more children than we have this time, but usually they just need anti-biotics or basic medicines - not complicated life saving operations!  Guess it means the work we’re doing is working.  In one village (can’t remember if it was Ze or Glo), they had to treat 120 children on their first visit.  This time I think there were 5 (one serious).  

It probably sounds hopeless but it isn’t.  I’m just feeling fed up I suppose - I got so excited earlier that I’ve tired myself out and not handling the ‘bad’ bits today as well as usual.  When you see the difference in the kids we do help it’s just fantastic.  For example, baby Dae-so.  We went to see her yesterday in the hospital and she’s doing great.  She’ll live - what more can you give a child but their life?   We have a sponsor for her (who knows it’ll be for 18 years) so she’ll get support that will change the life she would have had.  Well, actually, she wouldn’t have had a life.   When we got to the hospital (we took three more, less seriously ill babies with us), I didn’t recognise Dae-so’s mum.  I’m sure she’s 10 years younger than she was last week!  She’s so happy - giving us hugs and ‘merci’s’.  Guess she must feel there’s been a miracle.  These white people came from nowhere and have saved her baby and are promising to help support her.  (Hey, that’s what I need to find!!  I need someone to come from nowhere and say they’re going to support me Anyone know of any fairy godmothers looking for a good cause??!!) 

Also tonight there was more excellent news and we’ve changed another little girl’s life.  Justine is 7 years old and totally deaf.  Penny found her last time and got tests done while she was here with an audiologist.  We took the results to a local guy in the UK (I’ll get his name as he deserves a huge thank you), and he made hearing aids for her.  Tonight they were fitted and apart wondering what the hell was going on, she’s really happy.  She can hear for the first time in her life.  Again, how amazing is that? 

 Photo : Children in the ‘old’ orphanage that we can now get into a proper place, thanks to the court case today.

 Fantastic news!! The lawyer seems to have done his job properly and the judge saw us pretty quickly. He thinks it best that we have Malclau and Bernadette Then, Penny tried her luck and told him about the old orphanage and asked if there was any way we could stop more children going there - and if we could have the children already in Denis’s ‘care’. He said he can’t see a problem!! The court will send a minister to the old orphanage to check it and if it is as bad as we’ve explained then we’ll get custody of them all. I’ve tried to block out the children in there because I couldn’t see how we could get the money we’d need to get them all out one by one. But this way it’ll be the court’s decision so we won’t have to pay too much for the rest of the admin. Great, great day! Thanks to you all that paid for the legal costs. Looks like you’ve saved 17 children, not just two.

Must go to bed!  But lots of you mention Malclau when you email so just to let you know what’s happening.  As you know he’s been staying with us during the day and Matthew at night.  We need to wean him off us before we go so Matthew took him to our new orphanage this morning.  He’s been there before and liked it - running around with the other children, causing chaos.  (And they gave him food which always goes down well with Malclau.)  But today he cried when Matthew left him :(    So glad I wasn’t there.  I really don’t think Malclau has cried much in his life.  He didn’t seem to have any emotions left by the time we got him on Monday. 

Matthew’s going back to see him first thing in the morning and then, depending on court tomorrow, we’ll see him later in the day.  It’s got to be done - but it’s so hard knowing he’s probably feeling confused and abandoned right now.  Yes, he’ll get used to his new home (and it’s a great home) but it’s going to take him time.  It’ll be better on Friday when Bernadette can be with him.  Bless his cotton socks - he is gorgeous :) 

That’s it - I’m going to sleep.