As I have written about in the past, there are 13 children living at Lalmba. Some are true orphans while others have a parent but for whatever reason they are not able to care for them. I think it is safe to say that they may be 13 of the most talented, smart, beautiful and all-around amazing children in the world. They are always eager to help (literally running up to the car every time we return from the market or with a new visitor), they love learning new things, they seldom complain and they are always happy to dance, draw, braid your hair, play a game, cook...and just about anything.
I have found that the kids can put a smile on my face no matter how rough my day has been, and that overall they are a huge reason why our stay in Ethiopia has been so great. All I need to do is walk down the hill to the children’s home and seeing them run up to me with with their arms flailing automatically puts a smile on my face. I have been struck several times at how mature and good natured they are, whether it’s helping translate for me or their excited willingness to work on a new project (such as the mountain bike trail they recently built with Daniel). Every week or so I try to bring them up to our house to bake something yummy. I wish you could see how patient they are, all 13 of them mind you, while they each get a turn to pick out and mix one ingredient. They don’t complain, grab, yell or fight over who gets to crack the egg or add the chocolate chips...they all leave smiling and happy to take part in what I think most American kids would think was slow, boring and dull.
Lalmba’s goal with the kids is not to have them adopted into American or Ethiopian homes as a few people have asked me. Rather, Lalmba sees them as the future of Ethiopia and aims to give them the resources (mostly by way of a stable home, basic life skills and extra tutoring) needed to make sure they succeed in life. They are all exceptionally bright and I have no doubt that they will pass the exams needed to get into university here.
Overall, they are happy and healthy children who laugh and smile often, get good grades and basically are no different than any other Ethiopian kids in the village. I can’t help but think that even with the benefits they get from living here, it’s got to be tough. What I can’t seem to get out of my mind is that they are, for all practical purposes, orphans-- they don’t get to run into their moms’ arms when they come home from school, they will never know what it’s like to crawl in bed with their parents or be able to see their parents’ smiling faces when they graduate from high school or college.
Just today one of the youngest girls, Italey (it-ah-lay), had something wrong with her eye. I brought her to see Daniel and after some poking around her eye ultimately he had to irrigate it. During all this she was crying and was obviously in a lot of pain. I went to check on her just now and she was still not feeling up to speed. Her eye was still hurting her and you could just tell she felt like crap. It’s moments like these that I realize how unfair it all is. While I was able to hold her hand during the procedure and give her a hug just now when I checked on here it’s still not the same as what a mom or dad can do for a sick kid just by being there. I offered her water and other than that knew I had to just let her be....no silly game or piece of candy could make her feel better. I’m sure soon enough she will be her usual perky fun self, but in the mean time I’d say that it’s got to be tough.
