Thursday, October 30, 2008

2 posts today -- this one and the one from Sunday.



We mentioned in a previous post about the Vaseline and laundry soap that were now going to be given to us from the company that manufactures them. Well, we went back today to see if their offer was still good. Ray & Esther walked in they asked what products they wanted and how much. Esther told them she needed 10 cases of laundry soap (bar soap that they use to wash by hand) and 16 cases of Vaseline for the month. They use Vaseline on their skin like we use lotion. We calculated this price of this gift and it came to K67,600 ($489.85)!!! This is a huge gift for the orphanage. Even if this is the time they donate to the orphanage, this is still a huge blessing and saves them quite a bit of money for the month. Halleluiah!!!

We had to discipline three of the older boys because Esther sent them to mill maize and they sent two of the younger kids back asking for more money because they didn’t have enough to mill the maize. As it turned out, they did have enough money and pocketed the extra money she sent them. We discussed stealing with all the kids and punished the boys who stole the money. The ring leader got sent home for a month to think about what he had done and if he returns, we will discuss some type of responsibility for him at the orphanage. This is Esther’s nephew who had no future at home and was staying at the orphanage. His mother comes to the orphanage periodically to help cook. Since the other two boys were younger and played “follow the leader”, they were not sent home but told that if they got into trouble at all, they would immediately be sent home for good, with no discussion.

A health care worker came to the orphanage and volunteered to treat the kids for a new disease going around Malawi which you become infected from the black mosquito. As a preventative treatment, each child was given a dose of Mectizan based on their weight. This is a once a year treatment in October before the rainy season starts and we are infested with mosquitos. She also gave each child a pill for worms.