Madame Quay

I thought I would feel sorry for the children at the children home (orphanage) but surprisingly I don't. I planned on coming to Ghana and becoming emotionally unbalanced due to their situations, but surprisingly I'm not. I thought without a doubt I would lose sleep at night thinking about the children's stories but I didn't. All the expectations I came to Ghana with were proven wrong because I judged a book by it's cover. I assumed these children would be living in the worst condition imaginable. It wasn't that bad. It's funny because my initial plan was to make a difference in the children's lives. Little did I know they would be the ones making a difference in mine...

A very special boy by the name of Anuk was pretty shy towards me the first few days, but by beach day he had completely warmed up to me. Anuk-- autistic, is the smartest and happiest boy I was fortunate enough to have met during my time at the children's home. Not to mention he understood English better than any of the other children. He was our little helper; rather he was helping with dishes or laundry, you could find him close by lending a helping hand and smiling while doing so. I can close my eyes and hear him laughing and giggling because he did so much of that while I was there. I rarely saw him upset or throwing a tantrum like the other children his age. He made a mark on my heart. Then there is Miss Etelle, a bubbling 2 year old who has the most infectious smile I've ever seen. She without a doubt completely stole my heart on day 1. Rather she was trotting around the children's home doing her own thing or up in my face repeating everything I said, she definitely marched to the beat of her own drum. The 'Etelle' way as I would like to call it. Especially when she walked out of class to potty without notice 6 or 7 times. At just 2, she has the personality of an interesting yet very personable 10 year old. If you were to make eye contact with her she would do her signature giggle and smile and proceed to handle her business. She without a doubt has been here before. She knows how to work the system too well not to have been. Then there is Qua-koo! A grown soul in a 4 year olds body. He likes to observe a lot. I would catch him staring into thin air instead of following the teachers instructions almost all of the time. He had a little mystery to him. However, when he wanted something he knew how to play his role as a 4 year old. On my last day at the orphanage, I gave one of the older girls, Sarah some socks and Qua-koo wanted a pair. Even though his tiny feet could never fit them, he insisted that he wanted a pair. I hadn't seen him so happy when I finally gave in to those big beautiful innocent eyes of his after hearing him repeat "socks, socks" for half an hour. A pair of socks made his entire day. The babies were always grateful for any ol thing you'd give them. They would often respond saying "Thank you, God Bless you". I without a doubt wanted to bring a handful of them home with me just because of their mannerisms. Every day I arrived at the orphanage Qua-koo would want me to chase him for a hug. Always playing hard to get. On my last day as I was leaving he did the same thing, except he waited until I walked outside the gate to come give me a last goodbye. A hug I'll remember forever because I know it held so much meaning from one of my babies. They're use to volunteers coming and going all the time, but still give a special kind of love and respect to each one. Their may be another Madame Quay that comes along but I know without a doubt i left part of my heart with them that they'll rightfully own forever. Now, Oceans apart from Madame Quay's babies I'm thinking about them every day until I can squeeze them and attack them with kisses again. They may never know this but I'm so thankful for their young souls and the simple lessons they taught me about life. Remain positive and smile through any circumstance you're faced with regardless of the situation. Those children are all well aware of their living arrangements yet they love unconditionally and can manage to be happy. Running wild and free without a simple worry because they know everything will always be alright in the end. The things a child can teach you...