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The Imani’s : Defiant voices of Faith and Hope

Baby Care
 Photo:www.imanikids.org

By Ordia Akelo http://twitter.com/OrdiaAkelo

Picture this, it is a dark gloomy evening and the clouds are heavy and overbearing. The weather depicts the grim sadness of the surrounding which makes you think the heavens know what is about to happen.

The streets are clear as most people have chosen to stay indoors away from the cold, oblivious of what is  about to happen. Outside, there are a few random footsteps that come and go after every twenty minutes or so. Then a figure emerges limping with a bundle in hand and after looking around with shifty eyes tucks the bundle well and leaves it in between the bushes that line the street, then takes off.

The skies can’t hold back and as if on cue, it starts to pour, then when the first few drops hit the bundle, a shrill weak cry fills the air. Luckily, one of the few people who are passing by hears that cry and stops to find out where it is coming from. When they do, they find a new born baby drenched in water with splutters of mud.

Do not get me wrong, this is not the Bible story of Moses. This is a storyline that is common to several children who are abandoned by their mothers after they are born. Mothers who for whatever reason decide they cannot bear the burden of raising their own flesh and blood. Some leave their babies at the hospitals after delivery while others throw them in bushes or sadly even in latrines.

What they do not know is that the moment they turn their back away from them, someone else is more than willing to take them into their loving arms and give them a chance in life. A chance that the mother may think she has denied them.

A visit to Imani Children’s Home in Kayole with kids from the Ogwedhi Group led by Mrs. Caroline Juma, shows defiant faces of babies, toddlers and pre-teens who are proving their parents wrong by living even after they were left, probably for dead.

The institution which takes in children from 0-2 ½ years only is a home to 400 children. Children come in as babies and for some that will become their home until the day they are able to stand on their own feet. Others get adopted by other families.

All the children they have are recognized by the government so theirs is a legal institution that is law abiding. They are equipped with a full time nurse and doctor to cater for the children’s health needs. Jillian who is a director surprises us by her mastery of the children’s names and like a good shepherd who knows her flock, she knows every single one of them and not just by name.

On their naming system, she tells us some babies who come from the hospitals have already been given names so they retain those names but are given the surname Imani. She gives names to those who did not come from the hospital and the surname Imani, as they are one big family; The Imani’s.

We ask the kids from the Ogwedhi group to help the children out with their chores. We are surprised to learn that children as young as five know how to cook chapati’s, bake bread and cakes. Jillian tells us they do not have the resources to employ many people, so the children have to learn to do the chores by themselves. This not only reduces costs but it helps them learn skills that can help them later on in life while keeping their minds busy.

The children go through their chores with ease and not even one of them is lingering around. While some are busy in the kitchen, others are outside cleaning chairs, folding clothes or splitting wood for their oven, you can tell they are organized and hardworking.

Jillian proudly tells us all the children who did their KCSE last year had a B+ and above. She points out two young men who are in the University, one takes architecture while another is in his 3rd year doing Engineering. The only thing she says they can give them is Education because it gives them a fighting chance to be whatever they want to be in the world.

We are taken to the infantry which houses the babies from 0-6 months. Here we disinfect our shoes and put on two pairs of socks. Reason being, the young ones have very weak immune systems due to the fact that they have not breastfed and even the tiniest speck of dirt will make them sick.

When we get in, it is so clean, beds are set side by side and we are told they put boys and girls together in one room so that they grow up as brothers and sisters.

The babies are in another room which we are not allowed to get into. Four people are attending to them. They are dressed in white and have their hair covered for hygiene purposes.

There are a set of twins playing in the corner and a line of many others sleeping peacefully on a mattress, while others are seated quietly in another corner, they look angelic and innocent. I wonder quietly who wouldn’t want such cute bundles of joy.

Our time is almost up, it is 3.30pm and the toddlers are supposed to have their supper at 4pm so we head down to say our goodbyes. The kids have already finished their chores and are playing with the toddlers in the tent that stands in the middle of the institution. They look so happy to have visitors who are their age. We are sure that the Ogwedhi kids have learnt a lesson or two as some broke down in tears on hearing the plight of the children.

The Ogwedhi kids present their gifts to the children and they sing a song together after the facilitators have given their final remarks. We then get into our respective cars as we do not want to interrupt their schedule. As we drive off, the children wave goodbye and sing a song, thanking and blessing us.

Deep inside as I look into the eyes of each and every one of them, I thank and bless them for not giving up, and for choosing to fight for the right to live. I thank them for they are the embodiment of hope and faith.  Their song rings over and over in my head long after we are gone. They are strong voices that seem to declare that whatever their past, they know they have a future anyway, because they are The Imani’s.

The Imani Childrens Home is located in Kayole. You can adopt a child from Imani so long as you have qualified as per the requirement of the law of Kenya. It also open to individuals or groups who would like to make contributions to the children. Visit http://www.imanikids.org/new/ for more information.

 

 

 

 

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