The new unofficial band aid ministry!!

We have a new ministry that just found us,  We are the band aid /sore people (basically I am like the school nurse who does the most basic stuff). 

The flower is from Angelina in the Green dress in the photo above.  One of Pierce and Dahlias best friends that goes to our preschool as well.  She is 8 but has no money for school fees so we are helping her by giving her more challenging work and trying to get her a scholarship after attending for this year.   Her mother left her and her 3 other siblings and just walked away one day and then left them with  the grandparents.

All the kids know that when they come to play I take care of their sores and clean them and put antibiotic cream on them and band aids (Plasters).   

Most of these kids just wander the village by themselves during the day as most of their parents don’t bother with them and lock up the house in the morning and leave for work.  They don’t all get baths or anything!  Kids as young as 4 are wandering around.  So we also just provide a fun safe place for them to hang out.

My kids love it and so do these kids!  Most of the kids are over everyday to play at our house in the yard with the toys (none of the kids have any toys that I have seen except a couple marbles once).

Above is Pierce with Mellissa who is Pierces other best friend.  She is 5 yrs old and her mom leaves her locks the house up.  She goes to school but often comes back to a locked house.  She had dinner with us the other night when her mom was gone at dinner time and she didn’t know where to.

We share treats with them and lend toys and play with them.  It is really great.  Pierce just loves it and so does Dahlia.  When they go she cries "Dahlia go play friends!". 

When I break out the two coloring books and the crayons we brought, all the kids flock and no one wants to do anything else but color (to Dahlias delight and Pierces dismay as he is waiting with a ball!)  So now the kids bring the other kids to me that have sores and wounds and we bandage them up.

This is John from my preschool a total sweetie who is about 3 yrs old (most kids or parents don’t know exactly how old they are as no one keeps track.) 

Every kid seams to have 3-6 sores that are infected whether from scratched mosquito bites (they don’t have bug nets at night or screens on the house or repellent) or just wounds and they get so infected immediately with the flies and the filth everywhere. 

Just today I must have doctored 15-20 sores and yesterday over 40!  It is really important you bandage them or they get infected and the sores grow and grow into "bigfella sores" (Bislama for Big sores!)  The infected sores are really painfull. 

I just sit them up on my bench on the patio and we are off!

We have only had small ones and they really hurt.  We are teaching them about hygiene as well.  Debby Josh's mom and Tracey sent care packages with tons of band aids and antibiotic cream etc  and toothbrushes for kids so we are using all of that for them.  Thanks for the band aids you sent!  I am really going through them but the kids I use them on really need them!  We are praying for the miracle of the never ending band aids!   

This is just the carnage from day one!!  The kids just kept showing up!  I love it!