Domingo

Just one quick post tonight. This is Domingo. He hangs out on 8B where Sara is working. He's quite a social little guy, and all of the staff seem quite familiar with him, but one thing puzzled us about him - the team never rounds on him. We couldn't figure out why he is in the hospital. Today one of the sisters (nurses) finally provided the answer; when asked what is wrong with him, she looked a little sad and answered "Nothing is wrong - he's not sick. He's here for social reasons - his mother left him. She disappeared."

Child abandonment is sadly common here. He is one of many children in this position. It sounds as if he'll likely end up in an orphanage. When we asked about adoptions, Dr. Brown told us that the Namibian government does not allow their children to be adopted out of the country. In addition, it's a very difficult process to adopt children within the country. It requires a two-year fostering time during which the child may need to intermittently be sent back to the orphanage. At the end of the two years, the government can decide that you are not the appropriate family and send the child back to the orphanage.


Domingo is incredibly sweet and has very readily attached himself to Sara and me. He runs up to us and greets us with a tight hug around the legs whenever we see him. He is a very happy child and laughs easily. He's bright and loves to interact with people. He deserves a loving family, and yet, he is being raised in a hospital. We are unsure of Domingo's fate but feel that it is incredibly unfair, un-natural, and horribly sad that such a beautiful child should end up in a situation like Domingo's...