Every morning of the last two weeks I spent in Ethiopia, a happy and exciting alarm woke me up. It was the scream of joy and jubilation from baby Nawi. She went ahhhh!! I am sure she meant “yeah! I am still alive… !”
She is so beautiful like no other. She is my most adorable child in Addis Ababa. Everyday I longed to hold her in my arms and let her know that she is loved and cherished so much she will never know. I looked at her with eyes of a father. She loves kisses on her hands. When she builds enough trust in someone, she shows it affectively by extending her arm so one can kiss the outer surface of her hand. Nothing comes close to the feeling of receiving trust from an infant.
Baby Nawi is a survivor of the appalling devilish Mingi practice that is still rampant among the Kara people and other minority tribes in southern Ethiopia. She now lives at an orphanage where, God willing, some loving parents will come and adopt her regardless of her HIV status.
I loved getting her up from the floor and teach her to walk. She usually grabbed my forefingers tightly and screamed as she trailed. She loves company! I am glad to have crossed paths with this charming little angel.
My prayer is that she will find loving foster parents sooner than later. She needs a mummy not a nanny.
With the advent of ART (Anti-Retro-viral Therapy), coupled with genuine and profound love, kids with HIV can live for a long time without going into the AIDS phase.
Pray with me for a parent for Nawi. Won't you?