While eating at a local diner in Karatu with Claire, Mama Musa, Mama George and the local village leader a middle aged women with a child at her feet and a child on her back approached us. She had tears in her eyes when she sat down and laid a letter on the table. She is the mother to Teddy, 2 years old, and Irene, 9 months. Mama Teddy told us that she was HIV positive and asked if we could please take her children with us back to the orphanage. She wanted to know that they were in a safe and happy place before she got so sick she could not find a home to take them. The letter was permission from the village elders that the children could be placed into an orphanage. Mama Teddy had obviously been thinking about this decision for a long time and had taken the appropriate actions so when the time came she could hand her children over. We were not in Karatu on orphanage business but someone had alerted the her that we were in the area and she obviously felt this was her chance. After speaking with Mama Teddy we felt that she really just needed piece of mind knowing that her children would be taken care of after she could not take care of them. The problem with taking the girls into the orphanage is that we did not feel that she could no longer take care of her children and she was visibly upset by the decision she was making. We asked if we could visit her home and speak to her about other options. After discussing what Mama Teddy needed we decided the best way to keep the family together was to find sponsor to pay for rent and for food so that Mama Teddy and her two daughters could stay together as long as possible. We also promised that when the time came we would bring her children to the orphanage where they would be loved and taken care of.
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