Well - all has been quiet for a few days so there hasn't been much to write about.

The babies all went for their DPT and Polio jabs yesterday and our toddlers (those who were abandoned so we have no way of knowing what, if any, vaccinations they have had in the past) are all going for their BCG and Measles jabs tomorrow.

We have been doing some painting in the Baby Home and have really brightened up the bathroom. Kelsey, our volunteer, is now painting pictures in the corridor and already it is looking much more bright and child friendly.

My Mum and Dad are here for 3 weeks and so are advising us on a number of things. My Dad is 'managing' the digging of various ditches to try to control the stagnant water in the grounds after heavy rains and my Mum is giving lots of good advice about medical issues with the babies - as well as giving lots of cuddles.

Ben has almost completed a 'Lighting Project' in the Baby Home which means that 6 lights are powered by battery - so even in a power cut - we can still have lights on inside the Baby Home. This is very useful at night (when we do have frequent power cuts) and it will make it much easier for our night staff to prepare bottles and feed babies.

Some more DHL boxes have been arriving this week so Chloe, my Mum and I have been busy unpacking them.....so thank you to everyone who has donated or bought items - we are really greatful. The kids were particularly happy with their new pyjamas and were all proudly showing them off this evening!

Haji finally has a tooth! We were starting to get worried that he would never get any - but one finally appeared this week and he and Pascal are now in competition as to who gets the next one!

Pascal is very close to crawling now.... and Haji is unstoppable! It is so wonderful to see him so energetic and healthy after all he has been through.

Mwita is also putting on weight every day and is becomming stronger all the time. We took him back to the hospital today for a checkup and the Doctors were all amazed at his progress.

Sammy is now smiling lots and is getting lots of love from our volunteer Christina.

The twins are doing brilliantly and Omari is the happiest and smiliest baby ever!

Maggie is just so pretty and still tiny - but she is doing very well and her Father and sisters visit her every weekend.

Danny, Charlie, Tuliza, Sarah and Yunisi are all doing fine. We have just had a dolls house made for the Baby Home and so they all think it is wonderful. They are all talking lots more now and are growing up so quickly. They love the Baby Home dog, except Sarah who is petrified of her.

The staff are all well. Tonight they were all playing with our new walkie talkies which we have got to alert eachother of any emergencies in the night time. They had a great time and found the whole thing very funny!
We have just bought some new uniforms for the staff as they are starting to look a little worn now. I will post a photograph of all the staff soon.

That's all I think. I am going on holiday next week with my family - so will be leaving the Baby Home is Chloe's very capable hands.

Thank you for your interest and support.....

Hi all,

Happy Easter to you.

We have had a quiet few days at the Baby Home.

Chloe took Yunisi and Mwita for HB blood checks today and they both still have very low counts. So we spent a few hours this afternoon re-writing the children's weekly menu. We originally tried to make it high in protein and iron - but it seems the children are very good at picking out their Kidney Beans and dropping them on the floor....so are not really gaining the nutritional value!
The best source of iron for toddlers (according to the internet) is iron fortified cereals - but they are SO expensive to buy here it isn't really a possibility.

Anyhow - between Chloe and myself and our cook - Eleanorer - we have come up with a more iron enriched diet for the children which generally involves a blender to try to disguise the beans and lentils and lots of peanut butter!

Seba has a slight cough and cold at the moment and had a bit of fever this evening - but apart from that - everyone is well.

Pascal's and Maggie's fathers came to visit this weekend and had lots of fun playing with their babies. Pascal has changed so much and looks so grown up now with 2 little teeth!

Mwita and Haji are both doing brilliantly - Mwita is getting cuter each day and everyone who meets him, falls in love with him!

Yunisi is turning into a real little chatter box and talks non stop all day. She much prefers adult company to children so today helped Chloe and I sort out the toys in the playroom and yesterday was trying on all the clothes we were trying to sort!

Due to the high cost - we are now using washable nappies instead of disposible....but we are going through so many and the washing load has more than doubled! I am still not sure if it is economically more viable once you take into consideration the water, soap powder, staff salaries to wash and iron them etc - but we will see how it goes. What it does mean is that we have a lot of babies and toddlers with very large and padded bottoms!

Sarah's bald patches have now gone and she has a full head of hair - it is almost long enough to braid now and she often has a tiny plait!
Then again - so does Haji and Pascal - I really must give some of the boys a hair cut!

The babies are all doing great. My new volunteer Christina, has totally fallen in love with Sammy and spends all day giving him cuddles and kisses which is great for him.

I met Yohana's Grandmother last week and she is not doing well. Yohana is fine and she is happy to have him home - but she is being severely abused (physically beaten) by her husband - which it seems is just something that she is going to continue to put up with - and she is trying to find safer homes for all of her Grandchildren - so it seems like Yohana will end up back in an orphanage afterall? We will continue to be in touch with him and help to support him if this happens.

The dog (Womba - I must post a photo of her soon) is fine. She was a little fussy over her dinners to start with but seems to have come round now. The kids all think she is great and spend half their waking lives saying 'umbwa' - 'dog' in Swahili!

We've had an electrician working for a few days fixing the broken oven and installing security lights all over the property. He's now going to start on an emergency lighting project inside the Baby Home which will enable us to have lights even during power cuts.
We have no water at the moment in Bwiru so the kids are all having minimal baths and yet still getting ridiculously dirty! I am hoping the problem will be solved tomorrow when people get back to work after the bank holidays.....and if not, we will be back to using pampers as no water means no washing!

That's all for now........

Well - I have access to a computer at home again now so that is good!....but also a LOT of work to catch up on so this will just be a quick entry.

We have had a busy week trying to 'boost security' on the Baby Home Compound - so we have new bamboo matting all around the perimeter, security lights and a dog! Womba (the dog!) has escaped twice already - but she returned home on her own. I think she is on heat so I am hoping (a lot!) that she did not return to us pregnant!

The children are all doing well. Mwita put on 1kg in just a week - which shows just how malnourished he really was. He is now a happy and fun little boy who loves giving kisses and 'high 5's'!

Oh - and Haji can now crawl! He really shocked Chloe by crawling up to her when she came back from holiday! He is now able to get into much more mischeif and spends a lot of time sitting my the kitchen door demanding his next meal!

The children are all over their sickness and diaoraeh virus (as is Kelsey our volunteer who also got sick).

Anyhow - I must start replying to people's e-mails.....

Hi there,

Well I have been silent for a little while as my house was unfortunately burgled this week and my computer was stolen....amongst other things! It means I am unable to reply to
e-mails as often as I would like until we can get a replacement. I will check - but from an internet cafe and probably only once or twice a week.

The burglary has resulted in a new addition to Forever Angels - we now have a Forever Angels dog named Womba! I am not an animal lover at all (Babies - I love - animals and me do not get along!) and I really dislike dogs - but in order to make the Baby Home compound more secure we thought it was necessary. She is actually very lovely - and great with children - but has a nasty bark! She will not be in the Baby Home grounds and wont have anything to do with the children - but she will stay in the area between my house and the Baby Home.
We have also purchased some security lights and lots of bamboo matting to cover the fence around the Baby Home plot to prevent people from looking in. My Groundsmen have been really busy this week strengthening the fence and putting up the bamboo.

Apart from that we have had a relatively quiet week. We have had a vomiting and diaoreah virus which has affected some of the babies, some staff and some volunteers - but it does seem to be passing now, thank goodness!
Sammy is still suffering a little but his fever has now gone and I got some smiles today so I think he is also now on the mend.

I met Yohana's Grandmother last week and Yohana is doing well. She thinks she will be able to continue to care for him in her home - but she does have other family issues which I am unaware of - soI will continue to check he is ok every few weeks.

The other children are all good - growing well and becomming more confident each day. The volunteers (Kelsey and Christina) have had them painting and making play dough this week which they loved - anything messy is always a favourite!

The families of the children continue to visit which is great. Haji and Magreth's family visit every week without fail which I am so pleased about. We always give them a good meal, help with transport home and make them feel very welome so I think our policy on this is working well.

Ok - my time in the internet cafe is almost over. Thank you for reading.....