If I’ve learned one thing on this race, it's that I LOVE babies. It’s funny because I didn’t really know this about myself prior to coming on the field. I spent a month falling in love with Xidriou, the cutest baby boy in the Philippines.
Here in Guatemala I’ve become attached to Cristina at Casa Jackson. She returned home to her family this past Friday because she is now healthy and strong.
But now I want to take the time to remember one sweet baby boy from Swaziland named Tulasweewe, or his orphanage name, Jacob.
Jacob was precious to me the first moment he entered El Shaddai orphanage in Swaziland. His mother dropped him off our second day there. It broke my heart to see his mom sob as she gave over her son to the ladies who worked at the orphanage. It must have been a very difficult decision for her of which I will never know all the details.
The ladies would dress him in so many layers with a warm winter hat on his head. It never really made sense to me because the temperature was in the high 80’s at the time. The baby house was usually a bit stuffy in the afternoon, it would often feel like someone lit a fireplace in the corner. Most days the racers and I would take the toddlers outside to play on the playground and get some fresh air. I would frequently take quick visits inside to see if baby Jacob was awake and to see if the ladies would allow me to take him outside. I loved rocking him in the shade and attempting to make him laugh. He was such a happy baby.
It’s been 4 months since I left Swaziland but earlier this month I received devastating news that baby Jacob had passed away. My teammate Wendy was afraid to tell me because she knew I had a special connection with him. When I found out I was shocked and confused and heartbroken. All I could do was cry and picture his adorable face over and over in my head. Jacob was such a cherished, innocent little baby. We were made aware of his passing on facebook through El Shaddai’s page. They didn’t go into details about how he passed away but if I were to guess I would say it was from AIDS.
I will always treasure the memories I have with Jacob in Africa. Though I only spent a short amount of time with him and though he only lived a short amount of time on this earth, his little heart touched mine and I am forever changed. I will never understand everything about life. But I do know that Jacob is now in heaven.
