Success! Finally...

I finally had a successful volunteering expedition - two actually! I'm so relieved, for a while I thought it was never going to happen. Thursday I skipped class (just one, don't worry parents, it's not for any real credit) and traveled 8 hours (roundtrip) on a tro tro to Bosco orphanage. It was the longest, hottest travel experience I've had in my entire life. I literally thought I might die from the heat...thankfully I made it through, and was able to spend about an hour at the orphanage. It was a beautiful place, but definitely a disappointing visit due to it's ridiculous brevity.

The next day however, I was able to volunteer at an orphanage closer to campus in Osu, and it was WONDERFUL! I worked with about forty 2-6 year olds. When i walked through the gates twenty of them swarmed me, yelling and jumping up and down. They put me in that house because i requested to work with the disabled kids and HIV positive babies. One of the little boys, Peter, was adorable. I couldn't tell what was wrong with him, but he had no leg muscles to speak of and had trouble sitting up. We put some music on for the little ones to dance to (so adorable!), and I picked up little Peter's arms and did my best to help him dance - really it was just bouncing his arms up and down. And He would get this little half smile on his face; He was just so excited to be getting attention and touch it made my heart ache. These kids get much less individual attention than I saw in Haiti. There were only two Anties (nannies) for about forty kids. One of the little boys - Peppitto, immediately latched on to me and cried...trying to get attention. When I finally had a chance to pick him up (he's probably five), he clung for dear life like he'd never been held in his life...but if you hold one of them they all start trying to climb up you. It's really heartbreaking. I'm hoping to be able to take a few at a time to play somewhere else in the complex next time, so it won't be so chaotic and tear filled.

I feel like other things have happened, but my internet time is running low so i'm gonna cut this short. Thursday I'm traveling to Northern Ghana to Mole for a Safari and visit to a hippo sanctuary! I'm SOOO excited...also planning a trip to Burkina Faso (country bordering Ghana in the north) in a few weeks!