(working on a sliver from one of the children’s hands)
Today was our last day staying with Mama Lynn and the children at Tudor Village. We spent the day divvying up school supplies, stuffed animals, toys, and candy. It’s not everyday you get to feel like Santa Claus, but it was like Christmas morning handing out gifts to 50+ children. As we made our way to each of the three houses where the children live, each one got to pick out a toy and some candy. It was so heart warming to see the faces of these children, who have almost nothing (especially not play things), get so excited about receiving small gifts. After a trying day at clinic yesterday, spending the day with carefree children was very uplifting for the spirit. The giant smiles on their faces was amazing to see and very humbling. It makes you feel very great full for the things that we have and so often take for granted. We spent many hours today playing catch and silly games. These children are so sweet and incredibly easy to fall in love with. It was very hard to say goodbye. I will miss their beautiful faces and sweet personalities.
With it being our last day at Mama Lynn’s we also had to say goodbye to her and her staff and volunteers. She had two other volunteers during our stay. One, a long term and recurrent volunteer, from Ireland, the other a new volunteer from England. We got to know them through sharing meals and problem solving for Mama Lynn. One of Mama Lynn’s new employees is a social worker who has blessed us immensely. We’ve worked with her for the past three days, and she even surprised us when she showed up at the outreach clinic yesterday (even though Mama Gayle was not pleased she showed up on a pikipiki- Kiswahili for motorcycle). She has helped translate for patients and worked with us to expedite patient care. Without her, we would not have been able to see as many patients. She is a beautiful woman with a servants heart. It was hard to say goodbye to her as well.
We just picked up Dr. Mark from the airport and are heading to Arusha. I am excited for what the week holds for us.
With love from Tanzania,
Trish Westergren
