"Puuuure watah!"

I finally made it to the orphanage yesterday. The last two times I tried to go, the weather kept me off the roads. I got there and was greeted by 40 children instead of 75. I asked Madame Cella what was going on and she said that they sent home the children who had families. A lot of the kids had families but their families could not afford to keep them so they brought them to the orphanage. Madame Cella said that when she was a few months old, her father died. She grew up working alongside her mother in the market, and she doesn't see why the children in the orphanage can't do the same. A lot of the parents put the children in the orphanage because there were just too lazy to take care of them. Madame thinks they should learn some responsibility, and so she's giving them a trial period to see if they can take care of their kids.

It's hard to understand justifying child labor as an American, but that's a part of life here in Ghana. My roommate is doing her thesis project on child labor, or domestic work, in Ghana. These children are forced into work as hawkers on the busy, dangerous streets at a very young age. They carry extremely large loads of water sachets, fruit, vegetables, etc. on their heads. They never see any of the money they make. Sometimes when parents can't afford to feed their children, they will "sell" them to somebody else who will feed them and put a roof over their head as long as they hawk on the streets. All it takes is a quick ride in a trotro to witness these children working. Little girls who should be playing with dolls are wondering around, alone on the streets yelling out "purewatah! purewatah! Yiiiice puure!" You hand them 5 pesewas, they hand you a bag of water. Portia, one of the girls at the orphanage who went home, is now selling pure water at the station in Adenta. I nearly cried when Madame Cella told me this. She said that she has been carefully monitoring the situation though, and I believe her because she wouldn't have told me that Portia is hawking if she weren't looking into it. I want to go to the station and give Portia a hug. She went from one bad situation into another.

I found out that Grace, a baby I would have gladly taken home with me, is also being adopted. Apparently there are three other boys who are being adopted too. There are only a few other kids who are available for adoption. It's so sad, but some of the kids aren't available to be adopted because Madame is hoping their families will come back for them. Augustina, Faustina, and Frank (triplets) were put in the orphanage after their mother was found on the streets begging with them. Madame said they can't be adopted because "their mother has come to see them a few times which shows me that she still loves them". If she really "loved" them she would allow them to be adopted by a family who could take care of them. The system is twisted. It angers me.

It's time to start the fundraiser. Here are the items the orphanage desperately needs:

1. They need to get a ceiling fan fixed in one of the girls rooms. I will pay an electrician to fix it once I get the money. It's extremely hot in the orphanage because it was not designed like most Ghanaian homes. Most homes here have a cross-breeze system.

2. I would also like to purchase a few other fans that I can mount on the walls. One ceiling fan in the middle of a large room with 10 bunk beds is just not enough.

3. They need food that provides them with a more balanced diet. When people donate things to the orphanage, it's always rice or oil...something easy that keeps for a while. They have a deep freezer inside, so they can keep things like chicken and vegetables for a while in it. I'm also thinking that I will set aside some money to give my ISEP coordinator so that she can purchase more vegetables and chicken at a later date for them. I'm still weary of handing over money to the orphanage, even though I think I can trust Madame Cella.

4. They need diapers. Even though Grace and Dadum are being adopted, the process takes a long time and they will need a lot of diapers until then. When I was at the orphanage yesterday, Nikki (a volunteer from the U.K.) and I went into the room to wake up little Dadum who was sleeping naked. She had urinated on the mattress because she was wearing no diaper.

5. They need books. Mostly story books, but also some school books.

6. They also need school uniforms.

7. I purchased a couple of soccer balls a while back and those were a huge hit with the kids! I would like to purchase a few more, as well as some more toys. They hardly have any toys at all, minus a few headless dolls and dirty stuffed animals.

8. I would like to get some children's multi-vitamins. I don't know if I'll be able to find any at a cheap price, but if I could find some....I think it will help them stay healthier.

That's all I can think of for now. It would be easier (and cheaper) if people just donated money and then allowed me to purchase the items while I'm here. I will be keeping receipts for everything and will post the cost of all the items I purchase on here.

Once I figure out where people should mail checks to, I'll post it on here.