After a busy summer of volunteers we are down to just three who are living in the Pape volunteer house.
Silka from Belgium, Emily from Colorado and Sumera from Chicago are pictured above.
It is a big job to love so many babies, so say a prayer for these three hard working girls!
If you are new to the blog we are a baby home and we only take in babies who are two years and under so it takes a lot of volunteers. The babies are all either abandoned, orphaned or at risk. At risk means they have lost their mother or they have some physical condition that would lessen their chance of survival out in remote villages.
Volunteers Silka and Emily got to go to the hospital last week to pick up a new baby. They had to take clothes to dress him, the hospital does not have clothes or blankets to give out. If we don’t take clothes we bring home a naked baby!!
This little one had just lost his mother. Babies under five who lose their mothers have only a one in ten chance of survival in rural Africa. This is due mainly to lack of electricity, clean water and adequate medical care. We have cared for over 130 babies like this in the last five years.
Amazing, isn’t it?
Volunteers are a great help. We have had 87 volunteers since May of this year!!
They hold babies, change diapers, teach class, sing songs, read stories, help bathe, wash dishes, peel potatoes, organize storerooms, mow grass, teach women’s classes, and did I say hold babies.
They may build things like play grounds, put in flower beds, dig post holes and lay some bricks on occasion.
They come from all over the world like Belgium, Australia, Italy, England, Norway, America and many other countries.
But they all have one thing in common, they want to help these little ones who have lost the most important thing to a baby, their mothers.
Like our newest baby, Abasi, pictured below.
He weighed a tiny 4 lbs at birth and the hospital called us after his mom died. We will keep him until he is stable and off the bottle, hopefully before age two.
We can only keep these little ones because good people like you chose to sponsor them. We do not take money from the U.S. government, from Tanzania, or from adoptions. Our monthly support comes from people who sponsor a baby at $30 per month or more. And remember no one takes a salary from Neema donations except Tanzanians.
Our 45 full time Tanzanian staff could not possibly give these little ones all the love and attention they need. That is why we have volunteers. If you came to volunteer this summer, Bless You! I wish I could mention each one of you by name but I would surely leave someone out. Just know that we remember you and miss you! Thank you so much for your hard work this summer.
Love and Blessings,
Dorris and Michael