Morning: The Tuleeni Orphans Home
After yesterday’s extraordinary outing with the Maasai, my Discover Corps group needs a laid-back morning. Following breakfast, however, we walk to the Tuleeni Orphans Home, just a short distance away. The Word Tuleeni is a Swahili word that means ‘care for us’.
First, we stop at the local convenience store (which we discover doubles as the local bar in the evening) and pick up food supplies to donate to the orphanage. We enter the orphanage gates, and the children swarm over us. Peter, a high school senior in our group, brings his soccer ball, and the kids join him in playing football. I look over and notice the pathetic remains of a ball lying in the corner. We need to bring these kids a new ball when we return.
We meet Mama Faraji, a woman whose face radiates love. Honestly, her face reflects light like the blessed Madonna in a Renaissance painting. How she manages to care for 100 children, the little ones within her home, and not seem stressed baffles me. She has a special gift.
Mama Faraji became an orphan in her teens and ended up raising the younger members of her family. The job suited her and thankfully she has continued in her calling.
I sit down by a darling little girl who tells me her name is Happy. She shows me her room. She shares a bottom bunk bed with two other girls. The room is small but clean. We decide to take selfies with one of her roommates. Happy doesn’t like to play ball, so we begin a clapping game and then look at books. Happy makes me happy.
The Discover Corps participants pair up with other children. We learn that one of the oldest kids wants to become a journalist. I encourage him to start blogging on the Tuleeni website. Over in the outdoor kitchen, some of the older children help prepare the next meal. While these kids don’t have parents, they are connected as a family. They don’t own much in the way of worldly goods, but they are blanketed in a cocoon of care. Mama Faraji and the Tuleeni compound have a loving aura. I like the place.
Published by Debi Lander at https://bylandersea.com/tag/tuleeni-orphans-home/
