Life in Amecet is busy....

So many things have happened since my last Blog, one thing did NOT happen: the school truck is still not ready. So every morning I help Andrew, who drives our land cruizer to pick up children, I take the Amecet children and then I pick many up on the way. Today I had 27 children in the van, while it is officially a 8 seat van. Can you imagine, but it is not so far, so they all survive the trip. Simon is also driving every morning, he picks the children from a certain area and the rest is picked by Andrew. But it is busy and Tuesday I picked children at school at 1 pm, to bring home, I had a child in the van who did not know where his house was, when I asked him he said: overthere! I met Andrew with the car, he knew the child because he had picked him in the morning, so we transferred him into his car and he got home!

One thing that did happen is that my boyfriend left Amecet! (read Blog from Dec. 21/11). His mother came to pick him. I miss him, but it is good that he is back with his mum, we do keep an eye on him, because the mother had some problems. They don't live far away, so he is on our food supplement programme. Benjamin, I wish you God's blessing and keep smiling your beautiful smile!

Rose 2 came in Amecet on January 21. At first we thought she would pick up, but then she started to have fevers, then after that she vomited all what we gave her, only water she could keep in. When you see her, you know that she needs more than water, we started her on NG tube feeding, and gave some medication against the vomiting. She kept the food in that was given by tube, but then the diarrhoea started! She had lost weight and we had to put her on IV drip. On this picture, you see her how she was, we had to put socks on her hands, because she would otherwise remove the tube and the IV cannula! At least she did fight still a bit, that is a good sign. I took her on Tuesday to the HIV clinic and they decided to start her on the ARV drugs.  

And this picture, I took today, during our meal. We ate Chapatty and meat and Rose sits at the table, she eats and drinks, we took the tube and cannula out and she starts to react on things and children. I was just looking at her and I was amazed, this is the same girl that was on drip Monday night!!! I can really enjoy just watching her, taking with those little hands, the pieces chapatty and dip them in the soup and eat it.

Yesterday we went to Kumi again with Ruth. Ruth is with us since October 2011. I wrote about her several times (Nov.2+16 and Jan. 3+13). She had an operation on her foot and the plaster was going to be removed. The doctor saw it and he thought it had been successful, her splint is going back on and we have to come back in three months. He advised us to see the paediatric surgeon in Soroti hospital. Ruth has a problem at her private parts. It looks that the faeces come out via the vagina. It is sore and she has a lot of pain. The story is that she might have been abused by children, when she was very small, her mother told us when we asked her about it. So today I went with Ella, one of our volunteers, with Ruth to the hospital. I went to the operation room and I asked what I could do, how to get in touch with the Paediatric surgeon. We were invited in and we sat for almost two hours in their staff room, waiting for the surgeon to come. It was very interesting to observe and listen. Ruth cried of pain on and off, the doctors told me that they probably close down the rectum and give her a colostomy with a plastic sack where the faeces go. I felt so sad, how can this little HIV+ child go back to the village in this condition? After almost two hours waiting I asked if I could come back another time, because I also wanted her to start ARVs today and I had to catch the nurse before she went for lunch. So at the HIV clinic we were seen by a doctor and she agreed to start her on ARVs as soon as possible, if this operation would take place, she needs even more the ARV's to booster her immunity.The doctor got hold of the surgeon, who came to see us and after examination, she said that the faeces are not coming via the vagina, but it was all to sore and it was too painful for Ruth. So in two weeks we see the doctor again, we start ARVs today and we are going to work on the wounds of Ruth, so she can be examined better the next time. This all took 4,5 hours and we came out a bit exhausted, it is very hot at the moment in Soroti, so we were also very thirsty, we took milk for Ruth, but forgot the water for ourselves. It touches me when I see Ruth, she is only one year old and so many problems already! But God must have a purpose for her, He brought her into our Home, He has a plan for her!