The photo project in the Orphanage the Nest has been both hard work and very rewarding. The project started out as a creative project, making photo books for the babies that were going to be adopted, but soon became a slightly bigger commitment.
In periods, I spent many dinners there, helping to feed the babies. I also spent time there just playing with them and holding them. In September, we had a bout of really bad weather and they needed help to dry the babies clothes. I don’t know how many kilos of clothes I took home to put in the dryer or just hang, wherever I could fit them in! There were also about 5 instances over the year, when the water was of really poor quality or non-existent so they couldn’t do their laundry. In those times I helped out, doing both laundry, drying and folding (my mom loved that I did that - now I really know how to run the washing machine). At one point they had a big outbreak of some virus and eight kids had to stay in the hospital for a while. This made the girls in the Nest work very hard, because when in the hospital, you have to bring a caregiver!
I can’t say I learned a lot (more than running the machine) but this project really made me reflect and think of how much I take for granted. Having good water, electricity, parents that love and support me etc. It also made me admire the hard work the caregivers in the Nest do. The kids are happy, clean and well fed even though there is so many kids and so few caregivers. I also got to hear a few stories that were quite scary. About finding babies in the forest or in the toilets etc.... scary stuff. It also made me reflect over all the people who wants to adopt children. There are so many of them and so many children that could be offered a fantastic future, so why does it have to be so hard? and take so long?
In Kenya you have to stay in the country for six months minimum if you adopt. That is not so easy for parents - you have to be quite rich to not work for six months and pay room and board on saved money. Of course I realize that there is a need of checking the families out thoroughly, but in Sweden that is done before they even enter Kenya. This way it makes it so much harder for “ordinary” Swedish families to adopt - because of the lack of money! I know this because I know a few Swedes who are here for the purpose of adopting.
OK, back to the photo project: I quickly ran into some problems. The babies I started to photograph were moved! There is only really small babies in the Nest (as soon as they turn a year old, they are moved to another orphanage in Limuru). I solved the problem by taking photos on all the kids, making photobooks and give them to the babies who is there and who is about to be adopted once I’m finished! I caught a break when one woman I know adopted from the Nest (and I have plenty of photos of her baby). They are staying in Nairobi for quite some time - so produced a book for her and I'm going to give it to her after the summer. I caught another break when friends of a friend adopted another one. I’m having the books printed in Stockholm over the summer, because I want them to look really professional! Then I found another connection with a family from Italy, adopting another child I knew well.
I hope the books will provide the babies with a sense of their home country. I also want them to realize, that even tough they were orphans, they were well taken care of and loved by the staff. Hopefully the book can provide some answers when this baby is growing up in another country, far away. I've heard that adopted children have many questions growing up, especially when they get their own kids. This book may also be a way to communicate to friends and family how the time in Kenya was.
After delivering the books, I’ll consider my creative photo book project done, but I will continue to visit the Nest and help out as much as I can.
My cas proposal for the Nest photo book project
And here is my evaluation
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