Her laughter fills the room.
She runs.
She jumps.
She twirls around.
So full of life, cuddly, and lovable, this little one is a heart warmer.
Loosing her balance is a common occurrence.
She flounders to the ground, a cloud of dust surrounding her.
Looking around to see whose attention she has mustered, she laughs.
Jumping back up she continues to twirl.
She runs to me and takes my hand.
“Come, Come” she squeals with excitement in her raspy little voice.
Tossing her in the air – she lights up.
Higher! Higher! Higher!
Spinning round and round, she asks to go faster.
Head tossed back, arms dangling; she lets the movement take her.
This kid is an adrenaline junkie.
She loves to move.
She loves to be free.
Her eyes are bright with curiosity.
Her arms call out to be held.
Village music stampedes the orphanage and she’s the first one to her feet.
She bounces to the beat convincing her other friends to join.
She’s 3 and lives just around the corner from the orphanage.
She’s a bright light and has won the hearts of our whole team.
When we first arrived at the orphanage, this little one had a small infection on her nose.
She didn’t enjoy the process very much, but I convinced her mother to treat it with some of the limited first aid supplies we had on hand. Kylani, a child made for freedom and independence, was quick to bounce back from the disappointment of being treated against her wishes.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but that infection was a lot bigger than I could see.
The other day we came home from town and found Kylani’s head shaved.
I figured this was part of the Christmas festivities. Most of the village kiddos were getting their hair “did” – mostly in fancy braids with beads, and others were getting clean-shaven for the holiday season. Kylani’s was ridiculously short though – it almost seemed out of the ordinary.
Lucas and I were taking pictures when he mentioned to me that the night before a bunch of flies were gnawing at the back of her head and that’s probably why they shaved it – there must have been something there. Curiously, we called to her – and she came running with her big smile and excitement. She’s a little ham when it comes to the camera. Lucas distracted her with the camera while I took a look. The back of her head made my stomach churn. Puss and infection oozed along the lower half of her head. Not wanting to waste time, I found Peter our contact, and informed him of Kylani’s condition. I was a little confused by his response…
“Oh, yes. I must inform you, that this child and her mother are being given tablets for the HIV infection. They are both HIV positive and receiving tablets from the doctor.” My stomach jumped into my throat. I could hardly swallow and felt nauseous. Kylani!? Kylani and Ana? What? How?? This truth haunted me as I walked slowly down the path to our house. I needed to tell someone, but I could hardly talk, let alone think straight. I found my team sitting in the room and just stood there. “I…I need to tell you something. I…Kylani and Ana are HIV+, Peter just told me that – but she has a really bad infection…her whole head is bad. It’s staff. I…wow.”
Megan and I went to Kylani and Ana (her mother’s) house that evening and prayed for her. Did I mention it was Christmas Eve? It took a few days for this reality to sink in…and for us to investigate for more information. I discovered a little more of Kylani’s story…her father, Ana’s husband died of AIDS. Likely, Ana received HIV from her husband, and since 99.9% of women in Africa breastfeed, Kylani contracted the virus through birth or shortly after.
It didn’t seem fair. None of it did.
She’s so little. She’s so young.
She’s so full of life.
How long will she live?
Will she ever go to school?
Will she ever get married?
Have a family?
Be healed?
Lord…what do you have for Kylani?
I guess I didn’t realize that children we were working with this month have HIV. There are 3 in total…and considering the amount of kids that could, I suppose that’s better than it being more. Sadly, those three children are 10% of the children served in this ministry. The haunting reality of this…is just that…it’s REAL. My dear little 3-year-old friend Kylani is HIV+. I hope and trust that God is bigger than this, even if I don’t see how in this moment. He is our Healer – and I pray He does a miracle work in this little girl and her momma as we continue to love them with His heart for the remaining time we are here.
Every hug, every embrace, every ounce of love, Lord let it bring redemption!!
