On Monday, March 17, 2014, we got off to a rough start.
We were supposed to be picked up at 8:00 am at the EEMJM Hotel to begin visiting orphanages. Nobody arrived. We waited for what seemed forever and finally “a friend” of our host showed up about 10:00 am to entertain us. We talked for an hour. Still no host. We ate lunch. Still no host.
After lunch, about 2:00 pm, our host arrived and we supposedly were headed to the first orphanage. However, the next thing we knew we arrived at a University or some kind of government building. (We think. We never knew quite where we were.) The language barrier grew greater and greater with each passing moment. Where are we? Why didn’t we go to the orphanage? Where are we going? Who are these people? The dignitaries we were supposed to meet apparently were not home and they were not expecting us. We walked around some more. Asked more questions. When are we going to the orphanage?
“Not today, it is too late !!!!”. Well, that was the last straw !
Well, as God would have it, we did make it to the orphanage.
This was good. We had a nice chat with the supervisor at the orphanage… she was not expecting us. It did not appear that this orphanage would be a good fit for us. The lady said it was supported by the Government and anything we do or provide requires governmental approval. Ouch! Plus, it was in the city and we felt like our work was more appropriate in villages outside of town.
Do they have a problem with parasites?? “Absolutely not. We have no problem with them whatsoever!! Our children are de-wormed twice per year.” Wow, we just can’t seem to communicate.
They got their water from a deep bore hole. They did not seem to want a water system and couldn’t quite understand “what was the matter with the water they had”. We would only be allowed to train “government employees”, not orphanage people. There would be a Memoradum of Understanding. The government probably would not allow us to build a water room on-site. Things just did not feel quite right and we didn’t think it was a good fit for a LWftW purification system. We were not discouraged. We were just sure the other orphanages would be a better fit.
