Benjamin

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Today I'm going to write a little on Benjamin.  It's really amazing how you can take a child out of the Bush of Africa, away from everything familiar, and he can do so well in America.  Ben lived his first 5 1/2 years in a grass hut, in Bong County, way, way out in the African Bush. I really know how way out it is because we attempted to take him back to his village to say goodbye. We spent almost six hours on a bus before they announced that the roads were too bad and we were giving up and heading back. In the village, Ben ate only rice, eggs and few things that his family could grow.  He lived with his mother, sometimes a father, two older sisters and Victoria (before she was taken to the Children's Home) in a one-room hut with no real windows or door. There was only one "bed" that everyone crowded in on.  Cooking was done on a little coal stove outside. Ben had never seen electricity or plumbing before he came to stay with us at the guest house. Ben had a different situation than most of the children in the orphanages.  Although he was cleared for adoption over a year before, he was still living with his mother because they didn't have room for him in the WACSN Children's Home. So, when he was finally taken to the Children's Home, it was because we had "claimed" him and already paid his adoption fees. He didn't have to sit for a year or two watching the other children get adopted and hope for a family that would choose him. When I asked him for details about moving from his village to the Children's Home; he said that his Liberian mama told him that he had to go to America, because she said so and to get in the car (African parenting requires a lot less talking than American parenting). We know from WACSN that the village neighbors killed a chicken that was being saved for a special occasion and fed the WACSN employees that came for Ben! So, Ben waited for us to come from November until June 3rd, when he was scrubbed clean, dressed up, including shoes two sizes too small, and driven over and delivered to us. The poor little guy looked scared too death, but he was very excited to come to America. As we skip forward from June until September, the only thing that would clue you in to Ben's background is his strong Liberian accent. I'm sure even that will fade over time. He's learned to flush toilets and to turn the faucets off after turning them on. He does American chores like taking out the garbage and unloading the dishwasher and plays like an American by riding a bike, swimming and swinging! He is thrilled with McDonalds, Chuck E Cheese and the idea of presents at Christmas! And most importantly, he is an American first grader this year and going to learn to read!