Controlled Chaos!
We reached the fiftieth baby under our roof at Neema this month. It gives new meaning to the term “Controlled Chaos!” I thought you might like to meet all the new babies at Neema.
Imran is say
ing Hi! He was about two and half pounds when brought to Neema. His mom had died and he was not expected to live. But the latest news from Neema is that Imran now has a double chin. Praise God!
Newborn Carol Ann was abandoned in February. She is such a little sweetheart. We pray there will be a good family to step forward to adopt her. We work with Social Welfare on the adoptions and they generally give about six months for a member of the family to claim the baby. If no one comes forward then the baby is put up for adoption. Neema has now had 21 adoptions! Neither Social Welfare nor Neema accept money for adoptions.
Saruni is a Masaai baby whose mom died at his birth. His father brought him into town to Neema. Many of these dads have no income and cannot afford expensive formula. There is also no electricity for refrigeration out in the villages and no clean water. We can help supply those things for the dad in his home and do quite often but if there is no one to care for the baby at home then we take them in at Neema. Saruni will go back home when he is stable, off the bottle and his dad has remarried. He is such a beautiful baby.
Cuddly little Russell was about 7 or 8 weeks old when he 
was left abandoned. He was healthy and looked like he had been well cared for. We have no idea why someone who obviously loved him would then abandon him. If we can locate moms like baby Rusty’s mom and get them into the MAP program at Neema maybe we can offer them a better way. Stay tuned for more news about the MAP program (Mothers Against Poverty).
Osiligi also lost his mother in childbirth. That is such a common occurrence out in the Masai villages where there is little medical care. Osi is normally a very smiley baby but looks a bit worried here. We would love to tell him not to worry, that we are working constantly to be able to take care of him.
Meet baby Ronald. This little guy was found abandoned by a river on the outskirts of Arusha. Someone walking by heard him and called the police, who then referred him to Neema. He was born around the 28th of March, and is currently just over 2.5 kg and in good health. He was named for a truly great man, Ronald Huddleston, a missionary doctor to Africa in the 1960s. I would love to sit down and tell you some fun stories about the good ‘ole days with Dr. Ron and his wife Maxine in Africa when the lions still walked the corridors of the hospital where he worked in Chimala. Maybe some day! But we were honored to be able to name this little guy for Dr. Ron. 
Emmanuel means “God With Us.” I love this little guy’s name and I love telling people that if God were not with us in this we would be lost. To not only provide for the 106 babies who have now been cared for by Neema but to also have 40 full time Tanzanian employees and their families who rely on us for their income is way far above our heads. Thank God it is not above His!