4 July 2013

04 July 2013

Happy Independence Day to everyone back in America, its just a normal day here in Uganda, no BBQs or fireworks for us this year.

We started our day by saying goodbye to on of our housemates, Bridgette. She left today to go home to New Zealand. It was great to meet her and get to know here while we were here.

After our goodbyes we headed out to Serving His Children, and visiting our friend Renee. Serving His Children is a program that treats malnutrition, and also educates on proper nutrition. We visited the inpatient clinic where Renee works and lives. Children are referred to the clinic, and must come with their mother, or sometimes it is the grandmother or auntie. Renee and her staff care for the child, by providing nutritious F-75 or F-100 formula and then eventually transition to a normal Ugandan diet. While the child is being cared for, the mama or guardian attends nutrition classes to learn how to properly care and feed her children and also bible studies. On average they stay with SHC for a month. We brought Renee lots of goodies like baby blankets, baby clothes and formula.

We met Simon one of the sweet faces that are at SHC now. Simon is a couple of months old, and Renee is working with the doctors to figure out his condition, and the best care for him.

One of our favorite things to do is to look at the wall of photos that Renee has in the center, it holds before and after photos of all of the children who have passed through the center over the past 3 years. The wall has grown since the last time we were here, and we were excited to find the picture of sweet Petra who we met the last time and to see and hear how well she is doing now.

We had time to sit and catch up, hear about future plans for SHC and how she and her daughter are doing. This time of the year is a busy time for SHC, and many of the cribs were filled with sweet faces that needed her time and attention, so our visit was short but great. We are so proud of Renee and what she is doing, how she is serving and the change she is making.

After SHC we took a trip into town for lunch and a wifi break. We updated journals and uploaded pictures. Then we headed back out to Ekisa.

When we got to Ekisa, the children were still napping (well at least in their rooms) so we had some time to sit with some of the mamas and talk. We like spending time with the mamas and getting to know them better. They each have a unique personality and each brings their gifts and talents to the staff, but they share one common thing…they all love the children there.

Once the kids woke up from their naps it was time for school and play time. Megan has fallen in love with baby Night, and loves to make her giggle. Today I got lots of cuddle time with Josh, and of course Mali had a blast playing with her boys.

We stayed at Ekisa all afternoon and after the children went to bed we had dinner by candlelight (power went out) with Emily, Sam and Ditte. It was great to get to spend some time talking and catching up with our sweet friend.