Jeremiah

All of our children are special and they have their own uniqueness. Jeremiah is one of a kind. He came to us in November 2007. His mom dropped him and his sister off at the welfare dept and then checked herself in to the local hospital. She has HIV.
When I arrived at the welfare dept shortly after they called me, I could see Jeremiah and his sister Pendo sitting outside. Jeremiah was wearing footsie pajamas with a broken zipper that were about two sizes too small for him. He was sitting in the dirt and had not had a bath in at least a week.
We took Pendo and Jeremiah home “temporarily” until the welfare dept could place them in another orphanage. At the time we took Jeremiah and Pendo in we did not have the bed space for them so it was agreed that they would stay with us until the welfare dept could find them another home. After two weeks we were told by welfare that they could not find another home and we’d have to make room for them to stay with us permanently.
After moving beds and making some changes in sleeping arrangements for some of the children, Pendo and Jeremiah had their own beds to sleep in and were ours for keeps.

About eight months later extended family members from Pendo’s dead father’s side of the family contacted the welfare dept and informed them they were interested in adopting Pendo (we did not know until then that Pendo and Jeremiah had different fathers). The paperwork was filled out and Pendo went to live with her aunt and uncle. Jeremiah stayed with us.

Jeremiah is about three years old. When he first arrived he could not speak any words…only make a few sounds. We took him to the doctor and to a rehab center to have him assessed. The doctors have not given us any helpful information about Jeremiah’s mental development.
He loves to hug and be hugged…all day long. We work with him daily practicing how to say words. He can say a few words now and spends one hour each morning in our nursery age class here at the orphanage. Jeremiah is learning to sit in a chair, hold a pencil and write numbers.
When he is outside he loves to kick the soccer ball and play on the swings.
He is a good eater and sleeper. We continue to pray for him and believe that each day will bring him to a place of new growth and learning.

Whenever visitors come Jeremiah is one the first to greet them with a big hug. He is not shy with new people and loves to laugh. He is a joy to be around and if you ever come and visit us here you will have to stay awhile and kick the soccer ball around with him!