Well it seems that I spoke too soon saying that all my babies were healthy. Last night Omari, Sammy and Maggie started to have sickness and diaoreah and slight fever. I have tested for malaria which is negative so I am hoping that it is just a virus and it will soon pass. If not - I guess it is samples to hospital tomorrow?!
Seba is fine which is confusing.

The other children are all great. Mwita is getting along brilliantly! He has an amazing sense of humour and keeps all the staff amused.
Haji is also doing so well. He is still a bit too weak to crawl or walk - but he likes to try!

Two of our volunteers left today. Mark and Rowan have been with us for almost a month and we'd like to really thank them for all their hard work and love they have shown the children. Mark has built a great sandpit which (although still only quarter full of sand) the kids LOVE, and they have both spent a lot of time with the children.
Thank you both and have a GREAT experience travelling....Keep in touch.

Well - I have been asked why I haven't written for a few days - but really it is because I have no news! That is always a good thing in a Baby Home!!

We have also had no power (or computer) for a few days as the storms blew down our electricity cable (and a very large tree!) which was only rectified today.

We almost have a sand pit - thanks to our new volunteer Mark. We took a few of the toddlers to a beach this afternoon for dinner so that we could get some sand....but it seems the sand pit is larger than I thought and it will take a few hundred trips to the beach to fill it!

A few more babies went for their DPT and Polio jabs today - but they seem to be doing fine.

In fact - all the children are doing great! Mwita is an adorable little boy, who, like Haji, has the power of making everyone he meets fall in love with him. He is eating brilliantly, has put on over 1.5kg in 3 weeks and is the happiest little boy ever! Another miracle I think.

Chloe has gone off to Zanzibar for a well deserved holiday with her parents.

And that's about it really? Life at Forever Angels is running smoothly.....

Well - Yohana went back to his family today. He has been having a difficult few weeks, is desperate to go to school and started asking lots of questions about his family. Social Welfare seemed to think that with monetary support, his family would be able to care for him and send him to school.

Today I drove him home to his Grandmother. They live in a very simple mud house with 3 small rooms. There is one bed and 7 people living in the house. There is no furniture, and no toys or clothes to be seem. This did not seem to upset Yohana at all. He seemed very happy to be home.

I told the family and Yohana to consider it a 'weekend holiday' for him. We are all going to meet on Monday to see if it is a viable solution to have him back home. If Yohana is happy, and the family are able to manage - he will stay with them. If not, we will try to place him in another children's home where he has children of a similar age to play with and where he can attend school.

I have cared for Yohana for 6 months now and he is a lovely little boy. When I am working at the Baby Home he is like my little shadow - helping wherever he can and always wanting to know what I am doing. I am going to miss Yohana a lot - but if it works out - he is much better off in his family.

I also spent the day arranging for Sophia (Yunisi's 13 year old auntie) to go to Bethany Orphanage. She spent the day here with me at the Baby Home and then the Directors of Bethany came to collect her this afternoon. She was nervous to be starting a new life - but happy to be going.

All in all it was a sucessful day.

The tiny babies are all having a bad day with fever and lots of crying. We took them for their DPT jabs and polio today and none of them seem amused by it at all! We have given calpol and hopefully they will all be fine by tomorrow.

We are having some difficulties with Yohana. He has decided that he wants to go home to his family. We only actually discovered this tonight - after a LOT of effort by my night staff. He has been having temper tantrums, biting and hitting staff and other children and generally being violent for a few days now. We have all tried to talk to him (and Chloe and I have spent many an hour restraining him so that he does not hurt himself or others) and finally tonight he said that he wants his family.

His Aunt came to visit a couple of weeks ago - so maybe that was the trigger? Or maybe he has spent the last few months enjoying the love and food and toys and attention he has been receiving at Forever Angels - and has only just began to really miss his family and home life.

Anyhow - in my opinion - there is no reason for him to not go home. His family are poor - but they have other children who they are managing to care for and if Forever Angels offers to pay his school fees and contribute a small amount every month to the family - I hope they will be happy to take him back?

A Baby Home is not the right place for Yohana. He is a lovely little boy - but he is not a baby and he is much older than the other children and has no real 'friends' here. I am sure he would thrive at a school where he could make friends.

I will go to Social Welfare in the morning to see what I can do. Yohana is not old enough to make this decision on his own - but he is old enough to understand what is happening around him and to know that he is not with his family. I think we have to listen to him and try to help him....he is obviously not a very happy little boy right now.

Forever Angels would like to say a HUGE 'thank you' to all of our wonderful supporters. Many of you donate regularly, some have given one off donations, others donate by sending gifts in kind and others just through friendship and advice. All of this support - large and small is valued and greatly appreciated. Thank you to you all. You all know who you are.

The problem is - we don't always know who you are! We are a small, family run, charity and we do like to express our thanks to you all individually for any help you give us. Those of you who have sent Direct Debits, cheques, or paid via Just Giving - you are often anonymous and we are not able to thank you personally.

If you have supported Forever Angels in anyway - we'd like to publicly thank you now for your generosity and kindness.

If any of you (who do not already) would like to receive our Forever Angels Quarterly Newsletters - please send us an e-mail with your contact e-mail address and we will add you to our mailing list.
Please send e-mails to: trustees@foreverangels.org

Thank you all for your support - without you, we would not be able to help these wonderful children to 'grow wings and fly'. Forever Angels has now been open for 6 months. We currently care for 14 children - but we have had 20 children in our care since last August when little Yunisi first arrived. We are giving love, security and nourishment to these severely impoverished children and the difference in all of them is truly amazing. It is because of all of you that this is possible.

Last but not least - also thanks to everyone who has given clothes, toys, nappies, prams etc and to DHL for shipping them out to us. (We do now have plenty of prams though - so please - no more for now!) Currently on our immediate 'wish list' are small nappies (under 5kg), baby rusks and Ibruprofen sachets.

Thank you all so much.....

Well, yesterday we said 'Goodbye' to two of our volunteers - Claire and Lindsey - and 'Hello' to two new ones - Rowan and Mark.

Thank you very much to Claire and Lindsey for all their hard work with the children and for loving them so much. I had to do a head count of the kids just before they left to make sure they hadn't slipped any of the babies into their bags! They are now off to care for monkeys in South Africa. Good luck guys and keep in touch.

We just had a 'weighing' session and Mwita has put on one kilo in 8 days! We are so pleased that he is eating well and gaining this much needed weight. His favourite food is beans which is great as we want him to eat a high protein diet.

The little babies are all doing well. Magreth is now over 2kg and Omari reached 4kg today too!
Sammy is well over his illness and is just adorable. I am convinced he is smiling at me but have yet to get photographic evidence!

The staff all got their First Aid certifictaes today for attending 3 First Aid Sessions during weekends in February. They all really enjoyed the course and are now much more confident at dealing with minor first aid and illnesses. I hope they can now pass this knowledge onto their own families and communities.
Thank you SO MUCH to Lisa for preparing and teaching these courses - you're missed so much already!

The children are all well.

Sammy and Seba have both gained lots of weight and are both now over 3kg. Maggie is eating well and is so beautiful - she has a very strong resemblance to Baby Nyanda which Chloe and I have both noticed.

Mwita is eating well and is quickly becoming spoiled! He likes to be held 24 hours a day and is the fussiest eater in the world - but he has warmed everyone's hearts and is allowed to get away with it!

The rest of the children are all mostly over their flu and are doing really well. Yunisi is talking away non stop and is really growing in confidence. Her Grandmother was buried on Tuesday and I think I have got her young aunt a place at Bethany Orphanage which is good news.

Forever Angels has had a quiet week and things are running smoothly. For me personally, today was a very sad day for me. My best friend Lisa, and her family have today left Mwanza to emigrate to Australia. Lisa and Andrew Vallely have been amazing friends to us for almost 2 years...and here - friendships soon become very 'close'. Friends become your family and in such a close community as Mwanza - you spend unhealthy amounts of time together!

Andrew is a Doctor and Lisa is a Nurse and they have both proved to be invaluable during these first few months at the Baby Home. They have both gone out of their way to advise and help our sick children and have been called, day and night, for advice.

They have also been my rock and support during the hard 'roller coaster' journey of getting Forever Angels up and running. They have given advice, support and a sholder to cry on when it all got too much.

I do not know what I am going to do without their amazing love and friendship.

Thank you guys. I love you and we will all miss you more than you could possibly know.

Good luck in Oz.

Today I spent the afternoon at the hosptial mortuary again. Unfortunately, Yunisi's Grandmother (Anna) died yesterday afternoon. She has been ill for many months and has been hospitalised since November. Last week she discharged herself and collapsed in town and was re-admitted to hospital - but to the Psychiatric ward.

Anna had cerebal malaria - ss well as Ovarian Cancer - but she had also given up the fight to live. She refused food and was slowly wasting away. I visited her most days in hospital - but the Psychiatric ward is not a nice place to be....in fact - the lack of treatment and care there is inhumane. Anna was not concious for most of her stay there so, thankfully, did not really know where she was.

She passed away yesterday - leaving behind her 13 year old daughter and her granddaughter, Yunisi. Her daughter (Sophia) has always come with Anna to visit Yunisi and has a real bond with her.

I am now trying to help Sophia sort funeral arrangements and I hope to find a Children's Home who will take her. My hope is that she can be cared for in a Children's home for a couple of years - and then come back to care for Yunisi.

The poor girl has lost so much in her life and she is very mature for her 13 years - but being the person solely responsible for organising your own mothers funeral at such a young age - is heartbreaking.

Mwita and Maggie are doing well. Mwita is eating little and often and has gained a little weight already. Maggie is just tiny - but very alert and beautiful!

Sammy was discharged today which we are very happy about. The Doctor even said he thinks the infection may have been viral and was only mild on the x-ray so that is good. He is much better and drinking well. It is good to have our little boy home.

We also managed to bring Mwita home - I have been doing some good 'sucking up' to Social Welfare recently and am back in their good books! We have no paperwork for him - but apparently they can 'complete it after he has been referred to Forever Angels'. Maybe we have a little progress here?

Mwita is eating every hour and loving the attention of being 'the new boy'. He weighs only 7.6kg and looks very malnourished with no clothes on. I thought Haji was as thin as a child can get - but Mwita has proved us wrong! I think he is healthy apart from being so starved - so hopefully he will be soon be running around the Baby Home with the 'big kids'.

We also got a phone call at 4pm today to go to collect another child. Chloe and I love collecting children and guess all the way to Social Welfare about the age and sex of the child!

Today we welcomed Maggie (Magreth Andrea Nyanda) to Forever Angels. She is just 2 weeks old and weighs 1.61kg making her our smallest baby yet (I didn't think they came any smaller than Sammy!?)

Maggie's Mum died the day she gave birth to her baby and she has been cared for by her older sister and father for the last 2 weeks. Her father has 7 other children and no job and the sister really wants to complete her schooling.
Maggie will hopefully return to her family in one year when the sister has finished Primary School and can care for her.
She is a very beautiful little girl - tiny and very hungry - but already adored by all at Forever Angels.

It has been a long day. Today, Chloe and I have both not stopped since 7am with Sammy and Mwita and then Maggie - and when I left the Baby Home at 8pm this evening - Chloe was still there! Thanks Chloe.....