Our adventurous boys...

We have 4 houses and in each house we have 6 or 7 children but, in each house we have an adventurous child it's generally one of the boys :)

On Friday the 15th we celebrated another "big birthday'' and the children were taken to a restaurant, which had a great play area. Most of the children went to play on the trampoline but two of these adventurous boys ran off to do the rock climbing. It did not suprise us when these 2 made it to the top, while the other children struggled.

Here is Mr party, he turned 7!

Saying goodbye!

This is our little boy with Auntie Barbara

One of our little boys left on Thursday to go to another home. Although this little boy is not HIV positive, we took him in when he was 3 months old because they thought he was dying. He was born with hydrocephalus and, in South Africa's public hospital system, nothing is done until the baby is 4 months old. If the child survives that long, a shunt is inserted into the brain to drain the fluids.

Against all odds, this little boy survived and had his shunt put in, even though it had to be done twice. He is now 19 months old and has developed into such a lovely little boy. With occupational therapy and lots of loving attention from us all, he has strengthened his neck enough to be able to hold his head up on his own. He mimics words and waves his arms around while he is communicating. From a baby who didn't like to be touched and cried when you tried to play with him, he is now a happy little boy with a chance at an almost normal future.

Sadly for us, we couldn't keep him, firstly because he is not HIV positive and our mandate is to work with HIV positive children and secondly, because we have no more space for permanent children. We need to clear the ''place of safety" positions in the home so that we can have a space for very sick and dying HIV positive children who desperately need the medical attention our home provides.

It was especially hard for Auntie Barbara and some of the caregivers to say goodbye because they had worked especially closely with him and developed a strong bond. He has gone to a home for special needs children and we pray that he will receive the therapy and stimulation he requires there. Please pray for him.

Birthday party at McDonalds!

One of the boys turned 7 last week for his "big party'' he went to McDonalds.

This young girl came to us in October 2007. Although she was born with HIV, the disease progressed very slowly and she was 13 before she became ill. When she came to us she was very weak and her CD4 count very low. Her liver function was also very bad so it would be dangerous to put her on any drugs which would also affect her liver.

One of the dangers of a very low CD4 count is that the body is unable to fight any illness so they lie dormant in the body. Once one improves the CD4 count, either through good nutritions, or medication, the illness "reconstitute'' themselves and this make the child very ill, even to the point of death.

It took us a while with juggling drugs to combat the skin problem the HIV was causing, while trying to improve her liver function enough to start her on her anti retroviral drugs. Finally, at the beginning of January we were able to start her on her anti-retroviral drugs. We monitored her very carefully for the first 3 weeks because that is the danger zone.

When she passed the 3 weeks without serious problem, we decided to let her go home because she was so keen to go back to school - she started high school this year. We will continue to monitor her health through our outreach clinic in Katlehong, the Township where she lives.


We misss her tremendously because , although she is quiet and shy, she has a lovely sense of humour and loved teasing us. Still we are so glad that she has a home to go to and a loving family to care for her.







Birthdays!

When our children turn 7, we have a special birthday party for them and take them out for the day. In February we have 4 boys turning 7 and trying to organize a different outing for each of these boys has been a mission because we have had so much rain. We're scared to plan an outdoor party because it would be ruined if it rained on the day.


The first of the parties is this afternoon so look out for the photos next week!