If anyone is interested in Volunteering at Forever Angels - we still have some spaces from September 2009 through to February 2010.....and then again from March 2010.

Please email amy@foreverangels.org if you are interested.

Yesterday was a great day for Gracie - as her new Foster Mummy came to collect her.
Gracie was overjoyed and ran happily into her Mum's arms with a huge grin on her face.

Gracie has been at Forever Angels for exactly 2 years so everyone here adores her and she will be truly missed - but it is such wonderful news that she now has a family of her own.



We also have the Foster Parents of Baraka visiting him at the Baby Home and we hope that within a few days they will get their approval letter to take him home. They are a wonderful couple and they are totally in love with Baraka already.... then again - he is adorable so it would be very hard not to be!

Nothing makes me more happy than seeing these children reunited with their families, or being adopted into new families..... and we have had a LOT of this happening recently.

Ernest is now on TB medication. We are still not totally sure he has TB but most other things have been ruled out and this seems most likely. It is a 6 month course of medictaion but we really hope that we start to see progress in this little man before then.

Two new Volunteers arrived today - Sarah and Jana from Canada. They are very enthusiastic and I am sure they will do great things at the Baby Home. I am very excited myself as Jana is a speech therapist and is going to be working with my daughter Leila (who is deaf) every day. I think that she, and us as a family, will really gain a lot from having them with us.

We are also saying 'Goodbye' to two volunteers on Friday who have been with us for 3 months. Sally and Faye have been wonderful volunteers and have worked really hard at Forever Angels. Sally has left a lasting physical impression with her painting in the corridor... but they will both be missed by the staff, children and other volunteers - thank you both so much for everything.

Meghan is now back from her month vacation and it is WONDERFUL to have her back. June was actually a very smooth month (I was dreading it!) - but the children were all healthy and the staff were really hardworking. It is great to have my best buddy back in Mwanza again though... Welcome Home Meghan.

The children all seem to have coughs and colds right now so obviously a bug is doing its rounds again... but apart from the increase in snot... not many of the children are actually 'ill' with it so that is good.

We got a new little girl today - Aza Mohammed was abandoned in a garden last night and was found by the owners of the house, who then took her to the Police Station and then to Social Welfare this morning.

Aza is one of the happiest children we have ever picked up from Social Welfare - she laughed and giggled since the moment she arrived...even whilst having blood taken to test for malaria!

She is a tiny little thing - she weighs only 6kg and is 68cm tall - though she has a lot of teeth and is able to walk well. She could be anywhere between 1 and 2 years old - but we have given her the birthday of 20/04/2008 making her 14 months.

Apart from being tiny and obviously malnourished, she seems in good health. She has a cough, but apart from that seems well.

We hope that Aza's family will return to collect her - but if they do not then she will be available for Foster care / Adoption.

Poor Ernest had a traumatic day yesterday...(and so did one of my Volunteers, Allyson.)

Ernest has improved dramatically since we received him at Forever Angels and he has gained weight and become so much happier....but there is still something not right with him (apart from his scholosis). He has fever most days, complains of pains in his body and still has extremely swollen knees.

Yesterday we took him to have some fluid drained from his knees to test for TB.

Thank you to Rob and Peter - two Doctor friends who agreed to do this procedure - we REALLY appreciate your support.

We ended up having to do it in ICU (as it is the only sterile and equipped place in the hopsital.) This room in itself is traumatic enough for someone new to the country (sorry Allyson!) Poor Ernest got himself into such a state having local anesthetic that they ended up having to sedate him to drain the fluid.

Allyson and I helped with the procedure - holding limbs, taping IV's, wiping up blood etc etc etc - it is all normal here in Mwanza and I do not think anything of it anymore - but I think Allyson, and poor Ernest, had quite a day.

The results did not show TB so we are now at a loss as to what is wrong with Ernest. I had hoped to get a positive result as at least then we could treat him for something. We also tested him for Sickle Cell Anemia which we are still waiting for the results of.

Why would a child have very swollen, fluid filled knees?



Doctors with any sort of idea....please feel free to email.

Apart from Ernest - all the other children are doing great. They are aALL healthy (and that NEVER happens!) and the Baby Home is running smoothly. We have had no new children for quite a while and a few more due to return home soon...so it is actually quite peaceful at times!!!

One of my Ex-Volunteers - Fiona - is going to do the "2009 Adidas Women's 5K Challenge" in aid of Forever Angels. She mentioned it to a few other returned volunteers and it seems quite a few are now planning to do it! Thanks SO much guys.....

If any other volunteers - or anyone else for that matter is interested in running - it is in Hyde Park on Sunday September 6th.

http://www.womenschallenge.co.uk/home

Please contact Fiona for a plan....Thank you Fiona!

rubyslippers3110@hotmail.com

Oh - and please have a look at our 'Take a Tour' page as we have FINALLY updated it with recent photos of what the Baby Home actually looks like now!.....

On Friday - Philip Lord, the Vice Consul for the British Embassy in Tanzania, came to visit the Baby Home. He was a very genuine and caring man and I think he really enjoyed his visit. Baraka and Adamu certainly enjoyed his cuddles! Thank you Philip for your visit to Forever Angels.

On Friday - Kevin went home to live with his Aunt - Eleanorer. Kevin's Mum has got a Psychiatric illness and is unable to care for Kevin. But Eleanorer works at Forever Angels and now that Kevin is 18 months old, she feels able to take care of him.

Goodbye Kevin - we will all miss you but are so happy that you are back with your loving family.



Kevin going home with his Aunt Eleanorer

All is well at the Baby Home. The children are all happy and healthy (though I never really like writing that as whenever I do - an outbreak of something nasty seems to occur!!)

Meghan is in Zanzibar having a very well deserved break and the only upheavals we are experiencing so far are all the children going home to their families. We have gone from 50 children in May, down to 42 children today!

This is wonderful news - I am so thrilled that there are so many children going back home to their families. This is what Forever Angels is all about. Since we opened - we have had a 75% sucess rate of children returning to their families or being adopted into new families. That is 75% of our children have been 'saved' from becomming orphans. This is VERY high and a great success of Forever Angels which we are all immensely proud of.

.....however - there are a few children at Forever Angels who have got no known family and I worry that they will soon be too old for adoption. If anyone IS considering adopting a child from Tanzania - PLEASE consider adopting an older child. Some of my 3 and 4 year olds are SUCH wonderful characters....I would adopt every single one of them if I could.

Since so many children have been going home to relatives this last month - I have been having daily conversations with children like Charlie, Zawadi and Aika about when they will get a Mummy and Daddy. Obviously I can not promise anything to these children - so few adoptions happen in Mwanza....but these little guys are so desperate for a family and it breaks my heart to hear them asking, 'When will my Mummy come Amy?' My dream is that each and every one of my wonderful Forever Angels children gets a loving family. 75% is amazing....but I want 100%!



Aika, Charlie and Zawadi - such wonderful children and so in need of an adoptive family.....