Potty Training

If your newborn child could tell you that they had to go “pee” or to the “toilet” you may be very excited.  I remind myself of this every 30 minutes or so when we are out in public, where there are virtually no public restrooms, and when every 30 minutes or so Francisca says “I want to pee”.  We try to strike a balance between (#1) training these kids for American life and (#2) accepting the fact that Ghana is not America.  When pushing training effort #1, we hunt down a restroom, no matter how crude of a facility it may be and no matter how near the child is to wetting his or her pants.  In accepting fact #2, we tell the kids to urinate right here behind this bush, in this ditch, or at the roadside.

Likewise, if your newborn child was potty trained, and could use the toilet by themselves, you would be pleased.  And so am I, and I have to smile when there is used toilet paper in, or almost in, the trashcan in the bathroom.  I had to coerce and use the scientific method to convince Francis and Francisca that the toilets in our hotel could actually flush the used toilet paper away with the waste.

At one particular orphanage here in Ghana, the children share two toilets with no lids, no water, and no lights.  The small kids go in little buckets or on the ground in the overcrowded yard.  We can make a difference.  Help us train, educate and provide adequate facilities for parentless children in Ghana.  Donate your time and/or your money by visiting www.ghanamakeadifference.org.  100% of your donation will get to the children.

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