The Kids of Bap, Pt. II
More on ‘the favorites’
I’ve written a bit on my favorites, so I thought I’d also show some favorites of my teammates.
Molly and Kaity both love Siphounathi ("Sipho") and secretly dream about taking him home with them. He’s a little cutie with those big eyes and deep dimples. He and his brother arrived three weeks ago, but they seem to be adjusting to their new home quite well.
Henriet loves Keketso, and is strongly pressuring her parents to adopt him. (They are not amused). I can see why she loves him so much—he is so adorable and funny, unlike any other child I have ever known.
My favorites are now firmly entrenched: Sibusiso and Lukholo (above). I’ve talked about Sibusiso (in the last Kids of Bap entry). Lukholo is a softy, both physically and personality-wise. He is just plain mushy—mushy lips, mushy nose, mushy body. And he is so laid back and easy to please. When chaos reigns at Bap, I search for Lukholo and play with him.
Why is there a Bap?
I read in a magazine recently that by 2010, orphans will constitute between nine and 12% of the South African population. More Baps will be constructed, and then will probably immediately bust at the seams, just like Bap. Such a sad thought. I don’t know all the reasons for the above statistic (or actually, how reliable it really is), but I can tell you why there are so many kids living at Bap? There are actually a number of reasons.
1) AIDS ORPHANS: Many are orphans from parents who have died of AIDS or TB. Due to the nature of the virus, children often not only lose one parent but both, usually in a very short period of time. In South Africa it is expected that 2.5 million children will be orphaned through HIV/AIDS by 2010.
And, consequently, some of the children also have the virus. Several of the children that I have talked about on this blog, in fact, have HIV. Only one is in the advanced phase (stage 4), but she is a real fighter! She’s 18 months old, but couldn’t weigh more than this little laptop I’m using. (I haven’t included a picture of her on this site.)
[Note: You can only contract HIV through blood-on-blood contact. Still, volunteers don’t change diapers or bandage cuts, so we aren’t really ever at risk. We know which children have HIV so we can be extra careful around them, and make sure other children are not in danger as well.]
2) ABANDONED: Other children at Bap were simply abandoned, often found alone on a street corner. In such cases, Bap renames the child with a new first name and the founder’s last name (Rosie Masale). Hence, there are a lot of children running around with the last name Masale.
3) ABUSED / TAKEN FROM UNFIT PARENTS: We are not told of the consequences that have led each child to live at Bap—probably to protect the privacy of the child. But during babytime, we see scars from burning and cuts on many of the children. The picture at right is just one example.
Just two days ago a three year old girl arrived, making her the eighth new child to join the Baby House (0 to 5 yrs) since I started there. It’s evident she is a victim of abuse because she has a terrible black eye. It’s so sad to think what these children have been through already at such a young age.
I’ve written a bit on my favorites, so I thought I’d also show some favorites of my teammates.
Molly and Kaity both love Siphounathi ("Sipho") and secretly dream about taking him home with them. He’s a little cutie with those big eyes and deep dimples. He and his brother arrived three weeks ago, but they seem to be adjusting to their new home quite well.
Henriet loves Keketso, and is strongly pressuring her parents to adopt him. (They are not amused). I can see why she loves him so much—he is so adorable and funny, unlike any other child I have ever known.
My favorites are now firmly entrenched: Sibusiso and Lukholo (above). I’ve talked about Sibusiso (in the last Kids of Bap entry). Lukholo is a softy, both physically and personality-wise. He is just plain mushy—mushy lips, mushy nose, mushy body. And he is so laid back and easy to please. When chaos reigns at Bap, I search for Lukholo and play with him.
Why is there a Bap?
I read in a magazine recently that by 2010, orphans will constitute between nine and 12% of the South African population. More Baps will be constructed, and then will probably immediately bust at the seams, just like Bap. Such a sad thought. I don’t know all the reasons for the above statistic (or actually, how reliable it really is), but I can tell you why there are so many kids living at Bap? There are actually a number of reasons.
1) AIDS ORPHANS: Many are orphans from parents who have died of AIDS or TB. Due to the nature of the virus, children often not only lose one parent but both, usually in a very short period of time. In South Africa it is expected that 2.5 million children will be orphaned through HIV/AIDS by 2010.
And, consequently, some of the children also have the virus. Several of the children that I have talked about on this blog, in fact, have HIV. Only one is in the advanced phase (stage 4), but she is a real fighter! She’s 18 months old, but couldn’t weigh more than this little laptop I’m using. (I haven’t included a picture of her on this site.)
[Note: You can only contract HIV through blood-on-blood contact. Still, volunteers don’t change diapers or bandage cuts, so we aren’t really ever at risk. We know which children have HIV so we can be extra careful around them, and make sure other children are not in danger as well.]
2) ABANDONED: Other children at Bap were simply abandoned, often found alone on a street corner. In such cases, Bap renames the child with a new first name and the founder’s last name (Rosie Masale). Hence, there are a lot of children running around with the last name Masale.
3) ABUSED / TAKEN FROM UNFIT PARENTS: We are not told of the consequences that have led each child to live at Bap—probably to protect the privacy of the child. But during babytime, we see scars from burning and cuts on many of the children. The picture at right is just one example. Just two days ago a three year old girl arrived, making her the eighth new child to join the Baby House (0 to 5 yrs) since I started there. It’s evident she is a victim of abuse because she has a terrible black eye. It’s so sad to think what these children have been through already at such a young age.