Cradle of Love

On Monday, we finished our lab for the day early, so a bunch of us decided to walk over to the orphanage that is right next to TCDC (the center where we have our classes, etc.). We had all been planning to visit at one point but had never gotten a chance because the posted visiting hours are during our class time. We walked through the gate and could not find anyone until we walked around to the back of one of the buildings. And then all of a sudden we saw lots of little kids! It was outdoor play time/bottle time, so many of the babies were laying on a blanket with a few volunteers.

This orphanage, called Cradle of Love, is a baby home that takes care of children from birth until 3 years, at which point they would be moved to another orphanage. There are 28 babies I think right now. A woman from the US founded the orphanage and either funds it herself or through donations. It is mostly volunteer-run. There were four girls there that were volunteering for the summer from Canada, France, England and the US. It was a very nice facility compared to other orphanages that I have seen in Africa. There was one large central building with big spacious rooms. It had an eating area with built-in high chairs for all of the children, two different bedrooms, one for older babies and one for the younger babies, an indoor play area, a changing room, and a laundry room. Outside, there was a deck area and a large yard with a small swing set and slide. Some babies do not have parents and some are dropped off by their parents because they are unable to take care of them. One of the volunteers told me that some parents use it as a sort of day care if they are unable to take care of their children when they are first born and will come pick them up later. It did not seem as if many of the babies get adopted while they are here. One of the volunteers had been working there for 3 weeks and had not seen anyone come through looking to adopt a child. Only Tanzanian citizens or people who have lived here for two years are allowed to adopt.

When we arrived, most of the toddlers waddled over to us with arms reached up, begging to be picked up. That is about all that we did for an hour or so; held babies and tried to get some smiles out of them. Someone had lollipops in their bag which they handed out to the older children; this inevitably led to some very sticky hands and faces. Someone else gave out crayons, which were quickly confused for lollipops by some of the babies. One kid was seen attempting to draw with his lollipop while sticking his crayon in his mouth.

I am definitely glad that we got a chance to spend some time with all of the babies, but it was very sad to see so many kids without a consistent parent figure in their life. And these babies are much better off than the many other orphans in Africa. We quickly figured out while we were there that they need all the help they can get anytime, whether it is during the posted visiting hours or not. I will be very close by next month so hopefully I will be able to make it back again.