What is Life Like?

Many people ask me what life in an orphanage is like.  I never really know how to respond to that.  It's life...I sleep, eat, play with children, bathe, and work.  Not much different than home.  I guess I should think of something more intelligent to say about life in an orphanage.  Let me start by saying if you are picturing sad children with no more family left alive or who have been abandoned by their families - you probably won't find that child here in this orphanage.  Here you will find 40 or so children who at times are gleeful and happy and at times are sad or crying - just like any other kid.  They have families who love them and care about them.  Their families will often visit and bring them things they might want or need - a piece of fruit, some new shoes for school, a dress or school uniform.  Some go home on the weekend to be with their families, some go once a month.  Some are from the surrounding towns and still others have come from the country of Togo or as far away in Ghana as the north where poverty is the most extreme.  When you ask if they like it in the orphanage many say yes.  Some miss it when they are home.  They have enough love for everyone...they love their families even if they don't see them often, they love their orphanage family like we are related, and even the whites that come to live with them become a part of them.  They love unconditionally and will give you the world if you let them.  Though they may have experience poverty in their lives, they are not poor.  They are rich in spirit, rich in happiness, and rich in good intentions.  It is easy to see the future of Ghana in good hands when they become adults in the community.  When I think about life in the orphanage I think about the future for the children...what their children will be like, where they will live, what work they will do, and what Ghana will be like in their capable loving hands.  I am comforted by life in the orphanage.  It is a life I love.