After school on Wednesday afternoons I have been visiting an orphange with some of my students (and two parents) from Sahel. "CSEN" stands for "Compassionate Solidarity for the Children of Niger"... if the accronym doesn't look quite right, thats because its in French!
Most weeks we take along some toys or games to play with, or books to read. Colouring in is definatey a favourite activity! There are almost always arguments over whatever we bring along. Sharing and taking turns appear to be either unfamiliar or unpopular concepts. We spend the whole time in their outdoor play area, where there are two swing sets, a climbing frame, a lovely large tree for shade and lots of red dirt.
A few weeks ago one little girl, Fasia, fell off a bunk bed and broke her arm. The following week I was able to visit her in hospital where she was waiting to have surgery. On the way to the hospital I was preparing myself for the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised. The hospital grounds were neat and shady. The facilities in the rooms were very basic, but clean and not over crowded. However, after more than 2 weeks of waiting Fasia still had not had the surgery she needed, so a collegue arranged for her to be transferred to a brand new private hospital called "Cure" where I'm told she had surgery last Wednesday.
Fasia the week before she broke her arm.
Drawing pictures in hospital.
Playing "duck, duck, goose" (though in French it was actually "chicken, chicken, duck"). As I had several of the younger children trying to sit on my lap while we were playing, it was difficult for me to get up and chase the "duck" when it was my turn!
