Lena: My Friend, Cory, from the Orphanage

Posted 05:00 AM, July 28, 2006, by lenawine

I finally decided to go back to the orphanage. I had just finished two out of my three Swahili reports and I decided that I had earned a break. One of the other girls on the program invited me to go and compared to all the work I had been doing, I decided that it would be a welcome mental break to play with babies.

When we first got there, I really didn't know what to do with myself. Immediately, someone handed me a bowl filled with uji (porridge) and sent me to work. I was amazed at the speed with which these babies eat. Before I was even able to fill the next spoonful, their mouths were open and ready for the next bite.

After I finished feeding the first baby, I began to play with one of the others. I told him to 'nipe tano' or give me five. He got really into and began repeatedly slapping both my hands. After dinner, one of the workers took him to change him into his pajamas. She brought him back out and said that he had been asking for me. She told me that his name was Cory.

We played for the next hour and he seemed to be completely normal, happy child. He's very good at repeating, so we talked about all sorts of things, with me saying things and him repeating them. Playing with Cory really did brighten my day and take my mind off all the work I still had to do.

I later discovered his story. Cory was referred to the orphanage by another baby home. He was one week old and tested positive for HIV.

They do not have the staff to care for special needs babies. When Cory came, he had pustules all over his body, caused by a staph infection. He was put on an antibiotic, which soon cleared up the sores. He got thrush while on the antibiotic.

These days Cory looks a lot healthier: