The end of 2007 sees the Aroma Children in much better condition than at the beginning of this year. They are healthier and more secure than they had been. The Pastor who ran the Homes had brought all the children gifts for Christmas, and when we arrived, the smaller boys were still playing with theirs. While the coordinator was gathering updates on the children, another staff member and a visitor happened to see one of the boys playing with a football. That lead to the two kicking the football between them which happened to attract the attention of the other boys. Within minutes most of the boys had gathered round for an impromptu football match! The boys were full of energy and ran around in the mid-day sun without a car while the visitors sweat profusely. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience playing football with the children who were extremely good sports, and they seemed quite amused to be playing football with these adults!
There was no impromptu football games at the Girls’ Home but there was a photo shoot. The younger girls get terribly excited whenever they see a camera, and so they all ran out and started demanding that we take pictures of them with their toys. After every photograph they would rush me and grab my hand, trying to see themselves in the camera screen. They eventually let me rest when I ran out of camera memory. We left them with promises that we would take more of their pictures the next time we visited.
