We have spent the last couple hours driving around Yendi in the dark looking for formula for the orphan babies at the Child Center. Abochi, the man that orders the formula for us called this afternoon to let us know that there is a shortage of formula. He said that his supplier has not been able to get any. He called Tamale and they do not have any either. There are 2 kinds of formula that we use. The company has stopped producing one of them. It is possible that when they stopped production on one of them it caused a shortage on the other. We just went from one little shop to another buying as many cans as they had. Of course the small vendors were happy that we were buying from them. We got enough to holds us for a couple weeks. Maybe by then the production will have caught up with the demand. There is another brand of formula but cost almost twice as much as the one we use. If we have to switch over it would play havoc with our budget besides it is best for the babies if they stay on the same formula.
Nazo sprayed the back field today and the back yard. We do not like to have any grass growing in the yard because it makes a good place for the snakes to hide. We try to keep the yard clean and we don’t let stuff lay around in piles for the same reason.
Mr. Iddrisu started painting in the apartment this morning. He used the vacuum cleaner again today. He just loves that thing! He got about 2/3’s of the kitchen painted. We helped him move out all the shelves and tables. He gave them a fresh coat of paint yesterday. We mixed a nice sunny yellow colored paint this morning.
We got a visit from Matinu this morning. Matinu was one of the most difficult cases we had at the Child Center. His mother died when he was born and he was given to his grandmother on his mother’s side. Well, she was not quite normal and she was very poor so there was not enough food in the house for her to eat let alone a small baby. We could not get Matinu to gain weight and he was in danger of dying so we invited his father to come to the Child Center to discuss his options. Finally after many weeks of worry Matinu was taken away from the not so normal grandmother and given to his other grandmother. The change in Matinu was almost instantaneous. He is about 7 or 8 years old and enjoying going to school. He was all smiles when we gave him a bag of candy and chewing gum.
Thank you for all you do to help us with the work. We really appreciate your help.
In His Service,
Steve and Kandie
