Holiday

The kids are home from school and they are crazy.
They finished their exams last week and so now they have a few weeks of break. Because Kenya school systems run year round this is a typical, every four month situation. Whereas before the orphanage was void of children for the majority of each day besides Sunday, now the grounds are overflowing with life from sunrise to 9pm. They wake up very early as if they are going to school but instead they play ball or run around the hall. I hear them at 5:30am but I can easily fall back asleep until 8am. I'm not too sure about Anna though...she's kind of a light sleeper.
Once awake I have to swerve around little people to get to the Baraka Women's Centre where Ginger has most likely been shooing children out for half an hour. They are bored and looking for ANYTHING to do. Wanting to solve this dilemma of theirs I invited them into my room.
Yikes.
It was too much. Six pairs of little hands touching everything, putting everything into their mouths, climbing on things, finding things, taking things. I don't know what my thought process was but it was wrong. I had to tell them all "enda!" which means "go!" after five minutes.
And the kids eat garbage. And leaves. It is highly concerning. Thankfully all the staff is aware of this dangerous habit of the younger youths and so everyone is on high alert. Anna and I have taken to throwing out our garbage only at night after all the kids have gone to bed. By morning the maintenance staff would have taken our waste to the burn pile preventing all risk of ingestion. This holiday break has brought out a new side of the youths.
They are causing trouble, and picking fights. There is no school to satisfy their curiosity. These days I have felt less like a social worker and more like an instructive big sister. Get out of my room. Get that out of your mouth. Go to the hall. I'll take it.