The Orphanage

KIDS PLAYING SOCCER, OTHERS ARRIVING FROM SCHOOL, NOTE GATE AND GUARD HOUSE

TWO FRIENDS IN MIDDLE HALL

ANGEL HOUSE ORPHANAGE

THREE BURNER STOVE

PUMPING WATER FROM THEIR NEW WELL

DERRICK, HARD TO SEE, BUT HE WAS POUNDING NAILS WITH THE PIECE OF WOOD

CHACHA, LOVES TO BE HELD

LITTLE LYDIA

LITTLE MISS I DON'T KNOW

WILLIAM IS IN ORANGE ON THE RIGHT

ME AND SOME KIDS

ANGEL HOUSE ORPHANAGE
You know, I want to get this right and I want to convey to you a true picture of the
orphanage and the kids, so bear with me, this may take a long blog.
The orphanage is about 6 miles from where we are living in town. We have a truck,and
a pikipiki (motorcycle) to get there, or we can be driven there by pikipiki or taxi. The
cost for a pikipiki is about $2 and taxi $4.
The photo shows a red dirt road, very rough. You leave the paved road and twist and
turn about 2-3 miles to get there. The orphanage is gated and has a night guard. They
are building a school right beside the orphanage.
You travel all the way to Africa to help these children, and as soon as you arrive, oh boy,
they just climb all over you and want you to hold them, be near them, look at books with
them and just plain show love to them.
The young ones showed no inhibitions at all and want to put their hands through your
hair and rub your hairy arms and legs. We are so much different from them physically,
not only in color, but with the hair on our bodies. Pamʼs grey hair is not only fascinating
to them, but someone with grey hair also is given a lot of respect. Me, Iʼm just the big
white Babu (grandfather). Pam is Bibi (grandmother) and thatʼs what they call us when
they see us. Babu is pronounced BahBoo and BiBi is BeeBee.
The orphanage building is a long rectangular building. As you look at it, the right side is
the girls side with good sized dorm rooms and at the very end, their choo (bathroom).
To the left is the boyʼs side and built the same. When you enter in the middle, you enter
into a large room that is used as the church and has about a dozen tables for eating. To
the back of this room is the kitchen and food storage area. The kitchen consist of a 3
burner stove. It has three wood-burning fireboxes with a round hole above that a kettle
with a lip fits into so the kettle is held above the fire. This arrangement vents out
through a chimney.
There is an office building on the enclosed grounds, along with a very large garden and
a few other unused buildings at this time. The old well house is there and that water is
currently being hand drawn for use on the school construction site. The orphanage has
a well that they pump water from through a hose to water holding tanks for use inside
the orphanage building, mostly for their choos.
There is a staff of 6 women and 4 men, including the orphanage supervisor named
Anna. Holly Henroth is the director and invaluable to the running of this orphan mission.
She co-ordinates everything and speaks Swahili. She does all the paperwork, keeps
track of the monies (she is quite the penny-pincher and stretches every dollar/schilling
as far as it will go). Anna is in charge of the orphanage staff and the day to day
operations of Angel house.
Anyway, back to the kids. They live mostly 2 to a room. The rooms are nice sized and
have plenty of living area. The keep their rooms clean and organized. The children
themselves are clean, but obviously, living in the environment they do, they are not
pristine. They are fairly well clothed and have simple needs, with the biggest need
being getting loved and cared about. They donʼt really have a lot of toys, and before
you get something going to send toys, please donʼt. The attitude here is that they would
rather have money to feed and clothe the kids than toys.
When we left, we had a lot of people tell us that if the kids need anything, just let them
know. Itʼs so hard at this point to ask for things. You canʼt really give one kid
something, and not give something of equal value or interest to another one. They are
imaginative and make do with what they have. Iʼll have to get back with you all on that.
The orphanage is run by the African staff, not by Holly, or for that matter, any of the
mission people who come from the States. Holly attends the staff meetings, and may
give some input or convey some insights, but the orphanage staff makes all the
decisions; when to accept an orphan, discussions of conduct and possible ways to
handle that, working with the orphanʼs attitude and daily operations.
Now, to the kids. There are so many, with so many different personalities. There are
the two little ones, Derrick and ChaCha. Both about 3 years old and all they want is for
you to hold them and sit with them.
There is one Pam and I call Little Lydia after our rambunctious and strong-minded
granddaughter. She not only looks like our Lydia, but acts like her also. Doing what she
wants, when she wants and how she wants.
There is one I call “I Donʼt Know” because one day I was looking at a book with her and
I would ask her what this or that was pictured in the book and she would say, “I donʼt
know,” or she would keep pointing to pictures and saying “I donʼt know.” Yet she would
point at other things, such as a fish, and try to teach me the Swahili word for fish
(samaki). So now I tease her when I see her calling her ʻI Donʼt Know.ʼ
There is William, the oldest orphan at 21 and super soccer player. He also is like a
father to a lot of the other orphans. He is the only orphan with a driverʼs license and will
drive the kids to various appointments, to the doctor and at night return the school
fundis (workers) to town.
There are 48 orphans, with each one different. They range in age from 3 to 21. They
each have their own personality and each is different in their own way. As we go along,
Iʼll send more photos of the kids. Do I think this is where God wantʼs Pam and I to be,
you bet. Weʼll do everything we can for these kids, knowing it will never be enough.
TIA Mark