Hi All,Attached is a picture that I took of Babs holding a baby named Surprise.
This past weekend we went on another road trip again. We were asked to visit an orphanage by a social worker that visits a lot of these homes all over Liberia. She had been up there the week before, investigating this particular home because an orphan had been raped and was now pregnant. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare found out that there were people interested in adopting this pregnant girl. The people interested in adopting her were pedophile types that were not interested in this child's well being. Adoptions have been put on hold because of horrible situations like this.
Anyway, when the social worker was there, she noticed this scrawny little kid. The name given him was Surprise. The reason that name was given him was because it was a surprise that he lived; no one thought he would. The father brought him from deep in the bush, and brought him to the lady that was running this place. She refused him because it was obvious that this baby was going to die, and she was afraid of getting in trouble from the authorities. The father then brought the baby to police who in turn took the baby back the this home for care. The lady then accepted the baby because the police now had a report on the child and knew the circumstances.
The "father" who brought Surprise said the mother had died at child birth and there was no one to care for this three week old baby. The lady at the home thinks that the child was much older because he was able to handle the food that she had for him. So now, the social worker saw this child and some sort of bond developed between them. (The little buggers have a way of doing that!) She would like to see this baby at Rafiki, and so would we, so we are working through the process.
Surprise has been in this home since November. The manager there says that Surprise's biggest joy is eating. They say that he eats more than some of the older kids. He has a ways to go to catch up to what his weight should be, but he is giving it a shot!
In the picture you can see Surprise working his magic on Babs. Now there are two women under this little turkey's spell. We will keep you informed how things progress.
Dave
