During the four days the MPA study abroad students worked with us, we went with them to the Osu orphanage. It was a very different experience than going to the schools. The kids were completely starved for both attention and touch. I loved picking them up and giving them stickers, and I loved swinging on the swings with them and going down the slides. Most couldn't speak English so it was hard to communicate with them.
There was a fun boy who spoke English who came right up to me and demanded, "Pick me up!" I said, "Why, can't you walk?" He exclaimed, "Yes!" and continued to look at me. I picked him up and spun him around and he laughed and laughed and I kept doing it until I thought we would both fall over. Then we would fall over, and then we'd do it again.
There was a group of older girls on the swings who liked to stroke my hair, too. They all wanted to take pictures with my camera and were surprisingly good at it. They also took a lot of pictures of dirt, but oh well. There was a cute little girl in a purple dress but she didn't respond to much and I thought she must have been through an ordeal.
JJ and I went with our new friends Vicki and Betsy to New Life Orphanage in Cape Coast. Once again, the kids were so warm and accepting and just wanted to be touched and held. I have a great respect for those who set up orphanages. The kids take care of other kids. I brought some balloons as well as stickers this time and the kids preferred to blow them up, let all the air out making the screeching sound, and then come to me and ask me to blow them up again. Every time I tried to give out a balloon, they would say, "do not tie it!" Those kids were so cute.
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