Abugida is a happy place, rather damp
and full of “chica” (mud). There is no time to stop, there is so much to do. Zerihun had already told us that Akaki is
the city where everyone says “hello”. But it was incredible to hear the “hellos”
at 7.30 on Monday morning from the mothers who were already waiting at the
door. We felt at home.
The little ones are having their milk
and they have had a change of clothes (thanks to Carolina and Alejandra). They
are born impersonators and the silly antics of little Addaé are enough to make
them all go crazy. The “melons”
also have a change of clothes, nice and warm, which they have gone home in today.
The kitchen has now got more ventilation
and light with a new window and the place is starting to get bigger. What’s
more the cooks are provided with constant amusement and can’t stop laughing at
Tacho without his shirt on.
Dagem is
enjoying himself, he laughs, moves his head and responds to stimulation as much
as he is able to. Laura thinks he has possibilities and his carer is totally
committed. The big children are doing workshops and their teachers are
learning new techniques.
In addition, almost all of the sponsored
children have called in today to collect their monthly allowance and we have taken
their photos. It’s amazing to see how nice they look, how well behaved they are
as they arrive and the wonderful smiles on their faces. They
are all darlings. The smallest ones hide behind
their mums but they love seeing the photos of themselves and this brings out a
smile.
We are also making an inventory of the
sickbay, organisings and updating things.
Hugs and kisses are frequently exchanged and we see lots of teeth
throughout the day! There is a feeling of love and gratitude within the whole
educational environment.
Volunteers: Laura, Ivana, Tacho, Elena and Carolina.
Photos:
Some of the “melons”, the former babies
who have progressed to the “melons” class with their new fleece tops
Super Tacho making the new window
NOTE FROM MEDITERRÁNEA:
We will not get tired of saying how
delighted we are with the progress of Dagem, our little boy from Abugida who
has cerebral palsy, who seems to be making good progress and has a wonderful
carer who loves and understands him, stimulates him and is very keen to learn. She
is learning from Laura, a child psychomotor development specialist and one of
the August volunteers at Abugida. The
fact that Dagem is the most “spoilt” child at Abugida and receives so much
attention is not only beneficial for him but it’s a big step forward towards
fighting for the rights of disabled people who sadly are scorned and rejected
by society and the people close to them, not only in Ethiopia but in many other
places.
Because of all our hard work and
determination the poorest families in Akaki are now the envy of other people as
their children attend Abugida; a woman who was raped and badly treated in her
neighbourhood and labelled “crazy” has made a miraculous recovery since her son
started at the nursery school and now has a job in Abugida and holds her head up
high... and children with HIV are no longer looked upon as being abnormal and
form part of the “normal daily life” of Abugida, etc etc...We are very happy.
Thanks for helping us to achieve so many good things.
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