The "Hole In the Wall"

RED adventures is always looking for a way to help the ones who need it most. 

I heard people talk about a place.. a place that a mother of an unwanted baby could simply leave this unwanted child in a drop off box at the door of this facility, while remaining completely anonymous, never even having to show themselves, just drop the baby off and go.

 "The Hole in the Wall"  

There are many reasons that someone might not want a baby, maybe they just cant afford it, maybe they are too young.. there are millions of reasons and scenarios, this "Hole in the Wall" is an option so babies won't end up in the rubbish bin or open field, discarded and left to die.

THIS IS NOT AN OPTION I CAN BARE TO SEE.

(Note: this baby is now alive and well)

  The Door of Hope and the people within its doors, take good care of these babies are all loving selfless individuals, it was a pleasure to spend the day with them.

Unfortunately local laws prevented me from photographing the cute faces. 

When i first arrived with a large bag of donated children's cloths, I have no idea what was in store. All i knew at the time was that this was a cause good enough for me to make the effort to find and render whatever assistance i could.. RED was not present due to logistics but it was a dedicated RED adventure none the less.

There have been over 800 babies that passed thru these doors in the past decade, most all of whom have been adopted and now living in a loving home environment. This is a photo wall in just 1 of the 3 locations with just some of the children

As I was escorted thru the house, I was shown how well these young babies were cared for. Surviving on nothing more than public donations, they do a good job making sure the babies needs are met as best they can.

At the time of my visit, they had around 60 babies to care for.. that keeps people (all volunteers) pretty busy in this house.

Even the special little bath tubs were purchased thru donations. I cant imagine bathing 60 children with just 2 bathing tubs.. but at least they have something ;-)

The volunteers did a great job keeping the babies rooms bright and cheerful. The babies here are not left alone and unloved.. they gets lots of hugs and kisses from the staff of volunteers who dedicate their time here.

I noticed a great deal of social interactions with the children here.. they really take a lot of time individually to make sure the kids grow up as close to normal environment as possible.

This little group was the oldest of the kids here.. toddlers, waiting for some caring soul to come adopt them. They like all the others were left / discarded and unwanted.. but are now loved and have a good second chance at a life they did not ask for.

Imagine.. 60 babies.. diapers.. cloths, laundry !! Wow.. lol

There is an area here than can house up to 10 international volunteers  and believe me when i say, they can use all the hands they can get.

The babies.. so many of them that I just could not fathom how people could just not want a baby.. and a mother to leave their babies in a box, in a field or rubbish bin. I'm not one to judge people and their individual problems in life.. but, there is always an option out there and this place is a good example of that.
 About 60% of the babies they receive come from hospitals.. who were left behind and never claimed. 30% come from the police and other agencies who find them discarded in fields and alleys and the like. The other 10% they find in their special drop box

This was the youngest addition to the resident of babies.. arriving just 2 days earlier this baby was just days old when it first arrived. Found in an abandon building just hours old with umbilical cord still attached.

 These babies come here with have no names and no information whatsoever… to witness this first hand is sometimes heart breaking.

This is the actual "Hole in the Wall" that intrigued me to  find this place. person can just open this door, anytime of day or night, put the baby inside and make good their escape.

Although its a very basic set up.. when someone puts a baby inside the box.. sensors inside the box set off an alarm within the house, and one of the volunteers will come out running to fetch the baby. On average the baby will spend less than 10min inside this drop box before one of the ladies bring the baby in the house.

like I said.. its a bit basic but it works.. here you can visually inspect the sensors.

It was with heavy heart that I walked past this area of the house. Not all babies can make it thru their ordeal. Some of the babies found in abandoned buildings.. open fields and ditches are sometimes just too weak to pull thru.. so the people here give the baby respect by giving him or her a first and last name.. and bury the baby with dignity while also making a plaque in memory, to assure that the baby was aknowledged in this world.. and that there was some people who tried.

While I was visiting, a lady (the lady in the skirt) approached one of the staff asking about a baby.. saying about 5 or 6 years ago, she also left a baby behind, her personal reason was not disclosed to me. She was from Zimbabwe and has not stopped thinking about her child. She stopped in just to ask if the baby got adopted ok and if her then baby was fine, knowing full well she could no longer go back and undo what had already been done. Regardless of her personal issues.. I could still see the sadness in her eyes

it's with great thanks to all the people around who are aware of this place and their generous donations. In this country, the government does little to nothing for places like this and they survive solely on the hearts of others in the community and abroad.

I'd like to thank the CassiDy clan as well as the De'Bruyckers for their kindness and donations of little baby cloths, although I could not take all you gave.. I took to all I could squeeze into my luggage for this trip and rest assured it won't be the last time these little babies see the RED adventure team pass thru the houses.
The people at Door of Hope thank each and everyone of you.. as do I

REDs Air adventure

I know RED is commonly seen in 3rd world as well as very under developed countries. We are there to help the kids and do what we can with the resources we have.
This time around we went to South Africa.. The country is much more developed than other places RED has gone.. but,, there are still kids out there that could use our help.

Since really love my chosen profession, I thought I could share the fun. I asked a couple of orphanages if I could take a few kids out for a day of Pizza, Ice Cream and Airplanes. 
It was a great day and I hope we were able to make a small change in their lives.. Even if it was just this one day.. no one can take away the memories.

Even though RED himself could not be a part of this journey.. we did have REDs close cousin (RED bag) come along with us as a RED adventure representative.. and we would like to thank all those people who were kind enough to help.
We managed to bring what we could carry, although only a fraction of what we could give.. There will be more trips in the future to help bring them more of everyones thoughtful donations ;-)

The Grand Central airport in South Africa is a great little airport filled with very generous and kind people.. all of whom helped make this a very special day for the kids.

Its just a small place with a HUGE heart ;-)

 

The Air Traffic Controllers even got in on the action.. a great group of professionals

when people think of orphanages most people think of  little children and babies.. not everyone realises that some kids might have spent most of their lives living in an orphanage.. Some kids come a little later age due to a long list of unforeseen circumstances. These young adults are no different than the youngest of kids, all doing extremely well in school and hoping for a bright future.

There is really no end to the amount of things a person can do to help the children of the world.. one thing RED adventures love to do is to put a smile of the faces of children around the world.. today was no different.. a great fun day ;-)

The first time in a small airplane is either scary or exciting.. either way its a great experience and a whole-lotta fun

Have a look at the video link below, tell us what you think. 

Thank you to all those who assisted in making this a great day out for the kids.

A special thanx to the guys at Superior Pilot Service. Each and every person helped out in their own way and on their own time to help make this day a day for the kids to remember.

A quick but important Mission

After the usual relaxed 4 and a half our flight from Qatar to Katmandu Nepal. We hit the ground running. Quickly arriving at the hotel and within minutes we were back out on the street heading for an orphanage and home for the elderly unwanted. 

We spent most of the evening with them. 

Due to some recent local donations they did not need us to assist with the regular food stuffs. So instead we purchased 6 propane (LNG) gas cylinders to assist with their cooking needs. This amount will only last them about 2 months but it certainly helps them.

These kids there are great and extremely clever, because all the kids attend an english speaking school they all speak perfect English, sponsored by other kind individuals. 

Its easy for me to have long chats about my profession, interesting situations and geographical destinations as well as other points of interest they have,  it's good fun and they are very good kids.

Yolande and I are always amazed on how well they looks after each other in such a natural way. After all, they don't have allot guidance or examples, they do things like that with there own initiative. It's really a pleasure for us to visit and help them.

RED and friends the TUMI sister getting ready to leave the house

RED and the TUMIs worried about their weight, full of donations.. lol

Nice and close to Everest and almost ready to land in Katmandu

In Katmandu there is a special lane just for RED,, imagine that ;-)

After the flight and before a busy day. RED and the TUMIs need a little rest

Kinds in the orphanage know no different, they run and play having a good time like all other kids would

This little boy is new to this orphanage. He arrived just 7 days before we arrived, he comes from a village the other kids tell us, he speaks no english yet and is quite shy. the other kids take good care of him and we are glad they do. This little guys name is Modan and what sets him apart from the rest is that, he's blind

If you seen some of the earlier posts, you might recognise this little girl.. it's Binita. she seen Yolande from a distance and came running.. she's very sweet

Kids enjoying their dinner together, this is just some of them because there is not enough space for them all to eat together

Dinner with the Kids

The kids here do not need to be taught the basic things they must do, like wash their plates after eating. They are all on their own when it comes to taking care of themselves. They have shelter, food and many other kids around them, but little in the way of guidance. Having said that.. they seems to to just fine. Great kids.

They wash their dishes and wash them selves before getting dressed for school every morning

These guys are very clever good kids.  This is the boys room (one of them) where they typically sleep 3 to 5 to a bed.. yes in 1 bed !

Thanx to some kind donations, some of the kids got shoes and some other thing  ;-)

This little girl was happy to get out of her wet soiled cloths for these new donated cloths.

Simple things like these hair bands are greatly appreciated by any of the children. They are also very good at taking care of their belongings.

Binita, new cloths but sad we have to leave again.. with the promise of a return soon

It does not have to be said that this little girl appreciated her new cloths. She along with her sister and little brother are also new to this orphanage. The list is getting bigger not smaller.

Before leaving, a donation of basic vegetables arrived, as well as the gas Cylinders we purchased for cooking their meals

This is where the kids wash their own cloths.. the luxury of a wash machine does not exsist.

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After a good night sleep, we are up at 0530am .. Sort some things out, have a bite to eat and hit the streets. First stop after a hours drive out of Katmandu is the children's school. 

A short time before this trip the friends at the orphanage messaged us asking if we could help put 6 of the older kids in school, of course we would never denie these kids a education, so we sprung into action. Thanks to the help of some friends and acquaintances (namely the Troucott group and the CassiDy clan) we were easily able to get these kids enrolled for a full year with all exam fees tuition fees as well as transportation for all 6 kids. Bravo and thanks to all for the help.

It goes without saying that we had RED with us. Inside RED as well as inside the TUMI sisters we had loads of other donations from some very generous people. We also help stock up the orphanage with about a 3 months supply of dried goods like, rice, beans, oils, tea, sugar, chillies and some other basics that they require for their daily source of nutrition. It is always a action packed busy 12hrs, reaching the airport within 30 min of our departure back to Qatar .. Job well done and big thanks for the support on this RED adventure.

Even as we drive thru the streets we can find kids all over the place that just need the basic things

Most of the orphanages have PLENTY of donated cloths but very few of the street children have anything.

New shirt and new closed shoes.. this little boy.. was happy as can be

His older sister stood by quietly hoping that Yolande would find something for her to wear out of the back of the car where RED was riding.

Its so simple and easy to make kids happy here.

New shoes, new cloths.. good to go and by the condition of the clothes she had, it was good timing ;-)

This is the school that we come to enrol 6 children into. The orphanage managed to get the younger kids into their school but the older kids in higher grades were far to expensive for them to afford, they called on us for help and in turn we got help from some our friends (The Turcott Group and Jean Clan). it's with their kindness that we got all the kids into school for the entire year.

This is the school that we came to see and help enrol some of the kids. Its from 1st grade until year 9.

Meeting with the school President and the accountant… dont like accountants.. lol

After a lengths bit of bargaining, we got the kids exactly what they needed and then some ;-)
some say I can sell ice cubes to eskimos, well this time it was for a good cause.

Yolandes heart does not just go out to the kids, but even while we were making orders for the large purchases to deliver to the kids, Yolande spotted this old guy counting his few rupees to buy a few meals worth of rice. he left a happy man with 2 kgs of rice and some Lentils.. simple food but its what he wanted and was extremely grateful for this small act of kindness. avery little goes such a long way.

funny thing is, this trip we could not find a little truck to help us transport all the goods to the orphanage. we spend a long time searching one down. Just then we stopped a passing bus, made a quick deal… and next thing you know we were loading it up.. lol.. tooo much fun.

400kgs of rice, few hundred litres of cooking oils, beans, sugar, chillies, Tea, biscuits, noodles and some other stuff.. this little thing was over loaded to the max.. lol

No room in the doorway.. thru the window  boys.. lol

I was not in-charge of the packing but it all got in and we were on our way ;-)

The road to the orphanage can be fairly rural and in these areas we commonly see the elderly as well as children carrying extremely heavy loads for many kilometres to their home or village. 

A traditional respectful greeting

Looks funny, feels even funnier, but its an honour

Some of the goods unpacked and at the orphanage

The kids just got back from school shortly after we arrived.
To make note of money well spent, a few trips ago we arranged to buy school sport uniforms for the kids. we arranged with the tailors but could not stay for the end results. we were pleasantly surprised to see the uniforms in action and once again we have to thank the help we got from a few friends. 

These kids have been in this orphanage for most of the childhood lives, now attending grade 8 and 9, these are the 6 kids that are extremely happy to be able to attend school tomorrow and stay in school for the entire year.

RED.. happy to be back

A Great little Traditional dance the kids did for us.. just to cool

They even performed some old english songs for us. like this Clementine ;-)

The kids are not afraid of some hard work and happy to help out as they always are.

This little girl found a donated toy and that was that.. she claimed it as her own and would not let it go… cute.

The kids love to sit around chatting in english with us.

The kids typically walk about 1hr to school everyday

Its a nice rural walk to school 

A nice addition to the orphanage this time is some donated Goats. they will raise the goats and they sell them to help fund the orphanage. they do as much as they can on their own. 

A baby with a kid.. lol

When the kids first got to this orphanage after being evicted from the city, this is what the kitchen cooking area looked like

after some time and many visits, improving it little by little this is now what their kitchen looks like today.. 

This is the wash area where the kids wash before school and also wash thier cloths.

nothing could be closer to the truth.

well, it was 10hrs of flying, 7hrs of sleeping and 19hrs of pleasure.. 36hrs of our life, time well spend ;-)