Fridays at Anfaani Orphanage by Jackie

For the past two Fridays, Tayler, Jillian and I have gotten to work in Anfaani's orphanage. Anfaani's takes care of 10 precious babies. Our day there consists of playing with the kids, changing diapers, helping with the laundry and with feeding them, and doing everything we can to make them stop crying (this sometimes seems like an impossible task).
Our first Friday working there, July 1st, was such a great experience. They were so lovable and fun and really the happiest kids I've ever seen. I spent alot of time playing with baby Mona. She never stops giggling and holds on to you like she never wants to let you go. Tayler played lots of games with baby Nathan, the troublemaker of the group and the boy she has been sponsoring.
Usually the babies are so happy and easy to take care of but this past Friday, July 8th, we had a different experience there. They would cry if we picked them up, cry if we put them down, and peed on us about every 5 minutes. As soon as we would finish changing one there would be another baby waiting. By the 6th hour working there all I could do was laugh at the situation and I'm pretty sure Jillian and Tayler just about had a meltdown from all the screaming babies. It really made us appreiate the woman that work there 24/7. They spend all their time doing everything for these kids on little to no pay. There are very few workers there during the day and I can't imagine them doing all the work without any help. It's not an easy job.
The workers let me hold a baby on my back the way the African woman do, they tie a piece of material around you so your hands are free to hold even more babies. I can't imagine carrying a baby on my back all day with a bucket of water on my head while doing all the work the women in the village do.
After being soaked in pee and changing an endless number of diapers it was time for nap time. I almost cried tears of joy. We usually lay on the hard floor with the workers during nap time but we found out there was a volunteer room with a bed! At the end of the day we went home happy and thankful even if we were exhausted. Those sweet babies are such a blessing and thinking about them always puts a smile on my face.