Love At First Sight! Part 1

When I first laid eyes on Selemani Makala I fell in love, his big beautiful eyes, his adorable personality. That was January 2010 when I had first come to Cradle of Love Baby Home, having only been here less than one month Selemani was the new kid. He wouldn't smile at anyone, had a very serious expression but then what can you expect he hadn't had the most stable life so far, I won't go into details, it is his story, not mine, maybe one day he will step in to tell you, that is his choice, but, his circumstances took him to Cradle of Love at the same time as me. So here we were, my first time in a strange country, his first few weeks settling into this strange place & we just became good friends, our relationship blossomed. It wasn't long before I saw that smile of his, the one I love, he wouldn't smile for anyone though, when it was just him and I he would smile all the time but as soon as anyone else entered the room his serious face came back. He would follow me everywhere, cry in protest when I put him down, sob when I left the room.

It was very hard leaving him after my first visit but I soon came back and we continued our relationship where we left off, I loved him, he loved me...simple. Leaving him the second time was much harder, I am sure he knew because he threw a big temper tantrum, so out of character. I walked away and went upstairs, cried listening to his screams, it was awful.
Back home he was always on my mind, how is he doing? Does he think of me? Is there someone watching out for him, making sure he is ok? Does he hate me because I left...again?? When I was at CoL I was told he had a family member who wanted to take care of him, brilliant because I am all for family reunification!
But right before Christmas 2010 I heard some news which made my heart hurt, Selemani had been transferred to an older orphanage, one where he would spend the rest of his childhood. This broke my heart, how lonely would Selemani be feeling, in a new home, full of new BIG kids and new adults, poor little guy.
So then I decided I wanted to come back to Tanzania & adopt him but so many people told me this was not possible so I resigned myself to just coming to Tanzania and visiting him, I vowed to ensure he knew that I would always be there for him.
In June 2011 I returned to Tanzania and to the Cradle of Love Baby Home, I was to be the temporary Director while the true Director was in the US. The first time I visited Selemani I cried with happiness, finally the child who I loved so much was in my arms, I am not sure if he recognised me but I like to think he did :-)
However being back in Tanzania brought the idea of adoption back in my head, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. Out of all the people who told me it wouldn't work not one of them was a professional so I made an appointment with the Social Welfare officer, he knew what he was talking about. I walked into his office feeling sure he would tell me it was impossible and to go away but he didn't, he was the first person to give me hope. Story to be continued...

Thank-you to all past volunteers who shared their pictures!!