These last couple weeks have gone by really fast. I have been too
lazy/exhausted to write about any of it. Families began coming to pick
up kids again because court has re-opened. Our group of volunteers
came at a unique time of the year when courts are closed and we have
had the opportunity to get to know all the kids because none have been
leaving. This last Friday was bittersweet for us and all the kids and
staff at Layla. A group of 4 siblings, (Tigist, Rahel, Aben, and
Mesfin) who have been here for years, left to America with their new
family, the Brewers. These kids have waited a long time for a family
and they are truly all very special kids. Tigist, the oldest, is like
the mom of Layla house and even subs for some classes when teachers
and volunteers can't. Last Monday, there family arrived and we were
all so excited to meet them. They are seriously the best family ever!
The dad is the sweetest soccer dad who was always joking around with
us the whole week. Their sister, who is also adopted and is African
American, was very outgoing and clicked perfectly with her brothers
and sisters. The mom was just a mid-western ray of sunshine. It was so
hard on Friday when they left Layla. Watching the other children sob
as they experience another loss in their lives was heart breaking. The
oldest kids have said bye to literally hundreds of friends. On that
day, Tigist and her siblings were finally the ones to leave. They had
been there longer than any other children. Still, it was devastating
for especially the girls of Layla, who look up to Tigist and Rahel for
everything. The kids here really are all brothers and sisters.
On Thursday, the Brewers went with me when I brought a group of 9 kids
from Layla to visit their HIV+ siblings at AHope. We had the best time
with all the kids at both little and big AHope. I am starting to get
to know the children at AHope more and more and they are just the
best. They don't get as many volunteers there and the kids all love to
hug you and fight for attention. It is so great to be able to see the
brothers and sisters play with each other and talk. I wish they could
be with each other all the time. The little 2-year-old girl that has
been in the hospital is finally back at AHope. I really didn't think
she was going to make it last time I saw her, she was just so listless
and weak. Her older brother was able to come visit her for the first
time since they have been separated 2 months ago. They just got a
family last week and it will be so important for her to get to America
soon and get more medical care and on better ARVs. Some of the older
kids that had been sick last time I visited also looked much better.
It was really wonderful to see all the kids again.

While I was at AHope, I had to pick up a boy, Yabi, who tested
negative and needed to be moved to Layla. His family had just dropped
off him and his sister (who is positive) at AHope. I met his uncle and
4 of his aunts. The social workers at Layla have said that sometimes,
when the parents of a child die from AIDS, the extended family can be
afraid of catching HIV from the children, even if the kids are
negative. However, most the time the family just cannot afford to keep
the kids, even if they want to. This seemed to be the case with Yabi's
family. They were all upset and his uncle was very concerned about if
he would be able to visit him at Layla. I don't know all the details
of visitation, so I took his uncle with us back to Layla to talk with
a social work about visitation. It was sad to see Yabi say bye to his
aunts and sister. These past few days at Layla, the boy has been
really sad and clinging to me. One of the older boys came up to me
today and told me that Yabi said that I was going to take him to
America. I felt terrible for his confusion in me taking him away from
his family and bringing him to this strange place, he thought I was
going to adopt him. I told him that he and his sister were going to
get a family very soon and that their family would bring them to
America. Thank God for the older kids because they help me so much
when I need things accurately translated. All the kids have a
difficult time adjusting when they get to Layla at first. The first
couple weeks are the hardest, and during this time I try to give the
new kid special treatment so they know they have a friend there. It's
fun slipping them candy or secretly hiding marbles under their pillow
for them. Anything to get them to smile a little bit and stop looking
so sad.

This past week, we have been taking groups of the older kids from
Layla to a place called Hope Enterprises to volunteer. Hope
Enterprises is a soup kitchen in Addis that feeds over 750 people
twice daily. Several months ago, the older kids approached the
volunteer coordinator and told her that they wanted to help kids and
families that didn't have as much as they did. The children at Layla
know what it is like to live in poverty and the living family members
that they do have are still living this way. The children got together
some money they had earned singing for there teachers last New Years.
With this 75 birr ($7.50) they gathered, they bought meal tickets from
Hope Enterprises that they can hand out to people on the street and
these people can exchange there ticket for a meal. We have been
bringing 6 kids, 2 from each of the oldest 3 groups, every day.
Watching these kids get in there and help has been the most rewarding
experience. Alan and I brought a group of kids on Friday and it was
amazing at how helpful and outgoing the kids were. The two older boys
went out to where the people were eating and ladled soup and collected
bowls when they were done. The older girls furiously washed dishes
trying to clean them before the next wave of hundreds of people came.
The younger kids helped me stack injera on plates and hand them out to
the almost 800 people. Every once in a while I would see one of the
kids just staring with a serious look on there face. Many of the
people who came were blind and had other disabilities. Leprosy is
still prevalent here and those who cannot use their legs walk on their
hands. The kids were absolutely incredible. Afterward, Alan and I took
them next door to get ice cream. They were so cute and appreciative.
One girl, who is fairly new, looked at her come like she had no idea
what it was and the other kids laughed and showed her how to eat it. I
just couldn't express to the kids how impressed I was with them. If
these kids who have almost nothing can give so much it makes you
really think of how much more you can give.

(Side note, I don't use the kids real names. Just wanted to mention it
for any FHS people that were concerned about my ethics.)