| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: FEBRUARY 18, 2023 A VALENTINE’S GIFT NO ONE EXPECTED NELCIA, the infant I spoke of last week, was released into our care from the Balama Hospital on Valentine’s Day! The reason: Nelcia’s family realized, after talking with the Doctor, that their Granny couldn’t care for such a fragile little one. Due to Nelcia’s mother passing away before this infant had any of it’s mother’s milk, her immune system became very compromised. That is why she became severely ill so quickly in her first week of life. We must keep her isolated from all other children for the next 30 days while her little body builds some immunity.  Baby Orlencia has just arrived at her new home. Nelcia, now called ORLENCIA, was renamed on Wednesday by her family when they registered for her birth certificate. Barely 19 days old as I write this, Orlencia is doing well with her new foster mother, Gilda. PRAY FOR ORLENCIA AND FOSTER MOTHER GILDA. Malaria is striking infants as young as 1 month, (malaria matures once a person is bitten in 10 to 14 days), so Orlencia’s protection from mosquitos is paramount.  Malnutrition Doctor comes to the car to check out our fragile little Orlencia on her 3rd day in our care. Foster Mother Gilda is holding her. SCHOOL DAYS IN FULL SWING! Our tutoring classes started this week after the students were settled in their new classrooms for 2023. A new face is on the scene as ALFERES, our 2022 teacher-graduate, is now getting practical classroom experience under the watchful eye of professional teacher, Pedro. Alferes is presently in the interview process for a job with the Balama school, but this takes lots of patience and time as we learned when Helder applied.  Teacher Pedro explains a point while Alferes and students listen and write. 3‑YEAR-OLDS JOIN THE PRESCHOOL! It’s fun and games for the teachers as they work with our 3‑year-old “tiny tykes” as they try their best to learn new games, songs, and Portuguese! Each child spends 3 years in our preschool preparing for first grade in the government school. Learning Portuguese and respect for others both in the classroom and at game time are key objectives that our teachers pass along to these under 5‑year-olds. The 4 and 5‑year-olds help teachers guide the 3‑year-olds in learning their first song. https://youtu.be/ShW2Aaxo-PY THANK YOU FOR BELIEVING IN US, AND PROVIDING THE NEEDS OF OUR EVER-GROWING CHILDREN. BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
