Lovely Notando

                I’ve been around
family and loved ones all my life. The
thought never occurred to me of no one ever being there. If I ever needed anyone they were always by
me. I am so thankful that God has
blessed me with the friends and family that I have now.

                I start with the
semi-sappy intro because this week I went to the children’s ward at the Manzini
hospital. Let me first go about
explaining the hospital that we go to. In the U.S. we usually have friendly, welcoming staff at the door after
we are hit with the sterile, sometimes fresh odor in the main lobby. There is no sterile, fresh odor in the
hospital in Manzini. It’s pretty much
whatever the patients are smelling like that day and the food that they’re
eating. In the nice, comfy U.S. it’s
always very clean, orderly, private and almost luxury accomodations. In Manzini, there are different buildings for
different patients. Women’s ward,
maternity ward, men’s, children’s, etc. After walking through a winding sidewalk covered with hole-filled, rusty
tin, you start smelling the smells and hearing the noises.

                Pretty much the one
sidewalk leads to everything. So just
follow the path and you’ll get to where ever you want to go. I haven’t been in the children’s ward in the
U.S. but I’m sure it’s nothing like the one here. When you enter you go down a hallway with a
few private rooms, a kitchen, an office, and some supply rooms. Instead of private rooms for patients, it’s
just one big room for everyone. There’s
a big mix of kids ranging from infants to preteens. It’s hard to say which one hits first, the sounds or the smells. Once you get passed both and act like it
doesn’t even affect you, its a matter of going around and talking to the
kids. Honestly, I’m not the greatest but
I did my best. After trying to talk to a
few kids, I decided to visit the malnutrition center.

                It was a very small
room. There were 7 cribs and 6 of them
were taken. I saw two kids that were
literally skin and bones. One little
girl, Simphiwe, caught my attention. When her mother left I decided to go over and sit with her. She was so incredibly beautiful. All I could really do was let her hold my
finger and fan her to keep her cool. After a while, I prayed for her and then left. . I started walking around until I came across
this one little girl who again caught my attention. She was sleeping as I went up to her. I tried to find out what her name was but she
didn’t have one. She had been
abandoned. Apparently, one day as her
mother had her in her arms, she was out doings things and handed her off to
someone saying that she would be back, but never did. I just had to reach out
to her because I knew that other than me and my team, no one else would. So I picked her up and held her for a
while. I don’t know why but she just
captivated me. Maybe because I knew that
I was one of the few that came and held her. Or maybe it was because that as she was sleeping so peacefully she was
completely oblivious of her situation. She had no one.

                It’s so weird that
thinking about all those commercials on TV about kids in poverty and sickness
and being so far away from it where now, it’s real life. It’s all around here. Even though these kids are in pretty rough
situations, they are some of the happiest kids I’ve ever encountered. They are so happy when you play with them and
pick them up. They just always want to
be around you for your attention and love. Even the kids in the U.S. are not like this. 

                By the end of our
visit in the hospital, a few people from our team decided to name the little
abandoned girl Notando. Notando means
love in SiSwati. I’m excited to spend
more time with Notando during these next couple months. I’m sure they will go by fast because the
weeks have been flying by so far. In one
way I hope to see her alotbut then I would be very happy if I never saw her
again. Because then I would know that
she had found someone to take her in.