Nkoaranga Orphan Center

After I had decided to go to Africa, I faced the challenge of deciding WHERE in Africa I would go. I had already picked the agency I would be volunteering with and they had a select number of programs throughout Africa, including two in Tanzania. I went back and forth between Ghana and Tanzania for a few weeks before deciding that the volunteer opportunities in Tanzania better fit my talents and interests. I chose the Arusha, Tanzania program because of the lovely description they gave next to "orphan care" on their website. It said something about helping care for infants and toddlers, playing with them, holding them, loving on them - did I really need anything more than that? I wasn't suited for teaching, I had already tried that in Central America. I wasn't quite ready to work in a medical clinic, although at the time I was still a declared pre-medicine major. Something about that description of orphan care stood out to me... I thought I most certainly would be good at loving on some babies!

That is how I ended up at the Nkoaranga Orphan Center. The orphanage was located at the top of a small mountain, with one very bumpy dirt road serving as the only way up. The orphanage, compared to others, was average size. It had three small bedrooms (one for the tiny babies, one for infants, one for the toddlers), a bathroom with two pit toilets and a dingy old tub, a kitchen with a working stove and sink, and an open room that was used for everything - playtime, eating, and sometimes even napping. I can't forget the tiny alcove used for diaper changes.



The orphanage can be home to 15-25 children at any time. When I was there, there were four babies in the tiny baby room, about 8 babies in the infant room, and about 6 toddlers. The tiny babies each got their own wooden crib while the infants (those up to about year and a half in age) shared cribs, sometimes two or three to each one. The toddlers also shared beds. I wish I had pictures of the rooms to share but there really wasn't much time to take pictures. I didn't spend a lot of time with the toddlers because they went to school, at least in the mornings. Sometimes they would be around for lunch. Most of my time was spent with the tiny babies and infants. The only way to really understand life at the orphanage is to describe a typical day.

We (myself and the other volunteer, Ashley) would arrive early in the morning. The toddlers would be running around, usually half-naked, and the babies would be crying, waiting to be changed and fed. There were three "mamas" that worked (actually, volunteered) full-time at the orphanage. They were the most compassionate, giving women I have ever met in my life. They did their best to keep up with the demands of nearly 20 children but oftentimes relied heavily on the volunteers to help with the daily tasks of changing, bathing, feeding, and putting to bed. Upon arriving, Ashley and I would be greeted by screaming kids, arms open, wanting to be picked up and held. We would greet the toddlers and then make our way to the baby rooms to begin the morning diaper changes. I had never changed cloth diapers before and now I know why people no longer use them. On top of that, what the babies were fed didn't make for pleasant diaper changes either. Usually diaper changes and changing the babies clothes took a good hour. After a baby was changed, they were placed on one of the mats on the floor in the big open room. I still remember how difficult it was to put the babies down, screaming, to move on to changing the next one. After all the changes, Ashley and I would join the babies and toddlers in the big room for some quality cuddle and play time. There weren't many toys to play with, a few blocks or books. Most of the time was spent encouraging babies to crawl, or stand. Teaching them to walk or to kick. Sometimes I felt like a physical therapist and less like a volunteer. Mostly, Ashley and I would perch ourselves on the mats and let the babies crawl all over us.

Asimwe crawling up my legs


Ashley on the mat with Emmanuel and Dynase


Look who we taught to walk! Nissema (Asimwe's twin)


After a few hours of play time, it was time to eat. The children, including the babies, were served porridge and a rice/beans mix. This was usually their biggest meal of the day. At night they would get porridge and if there was enough, some rice and beans again. Sometimes we were lucky enough to get vegetables from the nearby stand but that wasn't always the case. The kids would all line up on the counter top and be served their rice and beans first. Then porridge in a few cups the kids would share. The smaller babies were fed by the volunteers and mamas - boy was it messy! The tiniest baby would sometimes get a bottle of formula, other times it was a game of trying to get the baby to swallow the porridge mixture.

Aroni eating his rice and beans


Volunteer Samweli helping Tumaini eat her porridge


Esther eating her rice and beans


After lunch time, we usually changed the babies diapers and clothes again. Then we would play for another hour or so, sometimes even outside. There was a small metal swing set with a swing and a slide. We would put blankets on the cement for the babies to crawl on. Ashley and I brought some coloring books and crayons for the older toddlers and the mammas would help them color when they got back from morning school. Ashley brought a CD player and some music that was a HUGE hit. It kept all the kids entertained, mostly because they couldn't figure out where the music was coming from.





Chewing shoes was also a popular pastime. Guess that's what happens with no toys.


After playtime it was nap time. We would get all the toddlers into bed first (usually the mamas took over this task) and then we would get all the babies into the cribs. The babies were usually pretty good about napping and were so used to being in their cribs that they didn't cry. Sometimes Ashley and I would spend some extra time holding the littlest babies. We each took a liking to certain children. I hate to say it, but it happens. There is the one child you fall in love with just a little bit more than the rest. For me, that child was Dynase, the littlest baby girl.



A few other favorites...

Baraka. He died from malaria a few months after I left.


Husseni, with his baby mohawk


The newest baby, abandoned on the front steps


Ashley and I would leave in the afternoon after all the kids were down for their naps. It was always hard to leave, but the last day was especially difficult. I remember crying so hard as I was holding Dynase, saying goodbye as I put her down for one last nap. I think it was at that moment that I realized just how easy it was to love a child that had no one to love them. At that moment, I remember saying a prayer for God to let me use this experience for something great. He certainly answered that prayer, filling my heart with compassion for these precious orphans and igniting a passion in me to not let that compassion die when I left Africa.

If this hasn't explained why I am so passionate about orphan care, I'm not sure what else I can tell you. How can you not look at those beautiful orphans and not be moved? How could I see the way they had to live and not be moved to want to change, to better, their lives? This experience most certainly changed my life.