Home Visits

Yesterday, June 10th,  was an exciting day for Ashley and me. It all started bright and early at 7am when we met at Janna's to tag along as she completed a home visit.

Every day, Janna travels to meet the families of the babies at The Haven for one of two reasons: 1) she is bringing the baby to visit with his/her family so that there is a smooth transition when he/she is able to go back home or 2) she is going to visit the baby after he/she has returned home to ensure that everything is still going well.

She drove us in her truck to The Haven where we collected a sweet baby girl who is just 3 months old. Let's call her "Muyanda", it means "sweetheart" in Tonga. Ba Michael, our driver, drove us 2 hours until we came to a market where a man came up to the window. Janna talked to him for a few minutes before saying, "did you see your daughter?" and gestured to her in my arms in the back seat. It caught me off guard for a moment. I almost felt guilty for holding her while he looked in from outside. Her dad stood so patiently, smiling at his little girl, until I passed her forward.

As soon as she was in his arms, people, who I assume were related, flocked around him. They just stared and smiled at their precious baby. I believe it was the first time they had seen her since she went to live at The Haven. Gah, my heart. Just like the majority of babies at The Haven, her mom passed away shortly after childbirth. To literally save Muyanda's life, a baby who did not have any way of getting the milk she needed, her family agreed to let the aunties take care of her until she grows big and strong and can eat what her family eats at home.

Everyone who was around piled into the bed of the truck and we drove another 5 minutes down the road until we came to someone's house. More family members were waiting there when we pulled up to the door. Ashley and I were immediately invited into their living room where colorful drapes hung from the ceiling, separating one room from another. We sat on the couches as everyone filed in behind us, passing Muyanda from one person to the next.

Multiple people looked us straight in the eyes and started asking questions in Tonga. We smiled politely with blank stares as they laughed and asked Jenna and Ba Michael if we spoke Tonga. This is the first time I have ever been in a country where I do not speak the language and I had to quickly become comfortable with smiling and making eye contact in silence without any words to communicate. Thankfully, the grandmother took special interest in the way my head bobbed to the music playing in the background. Her smile grew two sizes as she sat in the chair across from me and began to move her hands from one side to the other. I copied her movements and soon she stood up and danced her way to the center of the living room. Still smiling and waving back and forth, Ashley and I stood up to join her. The rest of the family got a kick out of the whole ordeal and said, "she could dance forever". I have no doubt in my mind that she could. We sat down three different times, just to have her invite us back to our feet.

As the visit continued, a young woman entered the room with a basin and pitcher of water. She knelt down in from of Jenna, Ashley, Ba Michael, and me before pouring water over our hands. I followed Janna's lead as she rubbed her hands together under the steady stream. Before she brought us on this trip, Janna told us that we would be expected to eat/drink what they provided for us. I was happy and honestly relieved to find that she brought out a bowl of ground nuts (peanuts). After we finished the entire bowl, the same young woman came around to rinse our hands again from the pitcher.

Roughly two hours passed and it was time for us to go. I didn't like how it felt telling them it was time to take Muyanda back to The Haven. After all, this is her family and it's so easy to tell how much they lover her. We all went outside where they took a beautiful group picture together, then they watched us load into the truck and drive away.

I've said it before, but The Haven is such a special and important place here in Zambia. Without it and all of the wonderful people who work there, I don't know that Muyanda would have made it. Actually, there is a good chance that she wouldn't have. Thankfully, she is healthy, happy, and surrounded by so many people who love her. I snuggled her the whole way home.