So,
Here is a little update on what we did in Sudan this summer.
We were very lucky to be able to visit the orphanage several times during our two-week stay in Sudan. The first trip was made by Abir and myself the day before Eid. This is a big holiday in Sudan (think Christmas) and we wanted to see what the boys needed. |
| The Orphange when entering |
We meet the boys, who have all grown up so much since we last saw them. Most of them remembered us and some boys were new - but what they all had in common was how much they wanted our attention. They wanted us to play with them, show us their things and some of them just wanted to hold our hands and have us sit next to them.
When asked what they needed for Eid the boys, and the "moms" told us that they were all in need of shoes. It is tradition that one wears new cloths for Eid and most of them didn't even have a whole pair. They also needed linens for the beds.
The next day, Azaa had joined us in Sudan and we went out to but the shoes for the boys. We went to the local market were there is usually a big variety and prices are better. It was 40°C, the streets were full of last minute shopers for Eid and the streets were jammed. We tried the market and cheked a few stores, but the salesmen were stressed, it was crowded and we could not find the sizes we wanted in one place (we needed size 24-46). After a few tries, we decided to leave the market and found a shoe-store that was a little more expensive but our only choice.
After almost 2h, we had bought 34 pair of shoes and headed for the orphange so that the boys would have their shoes the day before Eid.
Unfortunately all the boys did not find shoes that fit, so we promised we would return with shoes for the remaining 3 boys.
When asked what they needed for Eid the boys, and the "moms" told us that they were all in need of shoes. It is tradition that one wears new cloths for Eid and most of them didn't even have a whole pair. They also needed linens for the beds.
The next day, Azaa had joined us in Sudan and we went out to but the shoes for the boys. We went to the local market were there is usually a big variety and prices are better. It was 40°C, the streets were full of last minute shopers for Eid and the streets were jammed. We tried the market and cheked a few stores, but the salesmen were stressed, it was crowded and we could not find the sizes we wanted in one place (we needed size 24-46). After a few tries, we decided to leave the market and found a shoe-store that was a little more expensive but our only choice.
After almost 2h, we had bought 34 pair of shoes and headed for the orphange so that the boys would have their shoes the day before Eid.
After Eid, we visited a few more times. Me and Azza bought shoes for the remaining boys, deos, pampers, some lotions and other small things that they needed.
The last visit to the orphanage was two days before leaving Sudan and we went to leave envelopes to the "moms" who work there. We decided last year that we would be helping them also by giving them 1/4 of the money collected at the events. Not all the working "moms" were there, and there was a confusion on who was going to get money and who was not (the moms we help are the once working directly with the boys and not the woman working in the offices).
We decided to give the ones that were there the "bonus", and they we so thankful.
They got around 200 SEK/ 23 $ (alot of money for someone making around half that amount in a month for such hard work).
The rest of the money we took back with us to Sweden because we have always promised to do the work ourselves and not leave money in the hand of anyone else. When asked what they needed as the last thing they told us they needed beds, chairs and big furnitures that we did not have time to get.
Next time we will have to sort out the actual number of "moms" and try to give them the bonus in a different way to avoid confusions and also try to call the orphanage in advance to know if they need bigger things that we cant get in short stays.
Thats all for now.
/ Ehood
/ Ehood
