Dear friends,

It is deep winter here in Ghanzi now, while people in Italy are enjoying perfectly hot summer days.

We supplied our children with winter clothing at the beginning of June. In regards to that I would like to thank all the people collecting footwear and clothes destined to our Day-Care Centre for needy children. It took us three days to give to each child: two pants, two T-shirts, one tracksuit or a pair of trousers with a sweater, one winter jacket, one wool hat and a pair of shoes. Most of our children have not learned to dress by themselves yet, however they are making slow progress.

This sort of “event”, which takes place three times a year, has become a true moment of joy for the children. By twos, they go to our “wardrobe”, which appears like a huge enchanted dress shop to them: their eyes sometimes keep staring at a certain pair of shoes or a jacket they are longing for, clearly hoping that the size will suit them. I let them decide themselves, but it is not possible to satisfy everyone’s wish. Luckily, our little guests are neither spoilt nor hard to please; indeed, they rejoice over any gift and thank me by saying, “Dankie Ouma!”, which means, “Thank you Granny!”. Once out of the “shop”, the children look at themselves in the window and step into their classrooms proud and fully satisfied to compare their new clothes with their mates. Looking at them moves me quite a lot. In the meantime the grubbiest children, whom I lovely call “my little pigs”, have a bath: they find it an amusing, funny habit.

We have managed to prevent the typical winter diseases due to the cold thanks to the efforts of an Italian doctor who supplied us with a huge quantity of vitamins. However, we need be on the lookout, especially as far as HIV positive or AIDS-stricken children are concerned: they make me worry the most, since a neglected cough can have serious consequences.

We are currently taking care of 100 children, four of whom are HIV positive and are being brought under anti-retroviral treatment. Sadly, I suspect 4-5 more children are infected but the law forbids testing them without their (natural or foster) families’ permission. I am doing my best to obtain it and I am not going to give it up.

For further information about HIV and AIDS in Botswana please read the Statistical Information on our website.

Love,

Cecilia, Kgamse, Mattew, Davide, Johannes, Joseph, Henry, Peo, Kabo, Mpona, and so on…