Yet Another Girl!

We had another admission to Cottage D, 4 year old Fidelis. She arrived last week, her parents are dead, she and her brother had been living with their grandparents. However, they are quite elderly and her grandmother has what sounds like Alzheimers and the burden was way too great for the grandfather. She speaks only her mother tongue, Kikuyu, and is very shy. She seems pretty healthy and has been on ARVS. What a difference those medications make. We had her welcome to Cottage D party yesterday afternoon, she seems to be settling in. When I think of all the resources available to kids in the Western world and what these kids manage to deal with on their own it's very humbling. Every bed in the cottage is now full so that should be it for awhile for us. The sad thing is there seems to be a never ending supply of HIV+ orphans to fill the beds. One night a group of us
sat around and talked about what it will take to change that. There is a real push by institutions and the government to reintegrate orphans with their extended families. It's a huge struggle because the families are often destitute, can barely take care of their own, and the stigma is still so prevalent. For many of these kids it's a children's home or death.
Election year politics are all the news here. President Kibaki is running for his second 5 year term. He has done some good things, the economy is growing though half the population live in extreme poverty. Primary education is free though the standards and resources are generally dismal. The big complaint is that the rich have gotten richer, the poorer are poorer (sound familiar?) and corruption is still rampant. The opposition is currently in the lead. People are actually very well informed here and follow it very closely. There has been some violence, we stay away when we know there are demonstrations, you can feel the tension rise as election day draws near. It is scheduled for sometime in December, Kibaki hasn't announced the date yet, one of the incumbent perks! This democracy is only 43 years old, it's interesting to see it evolve.
My big complaint with the government, besides the state of the roads,is the lack of leadership in regards to HIV/AIDS. If they publicly addressed the issues and set better examples I think it would go a long way in fostering some much needed change.
Wednesday is a public holiday here, Moi day. He was their second president, he ruled for 24 years and totally raped the country. But,he did leave peacefully so maybe that's what they're celebrating.
Stay safe Officer Tim and xoxoxo little boy