TWINS GALORE!

At present Malaika Kids looks after almost 100 children directly – 73 in the Children’s Village and 23 at the Reception Home. They range in age from eight months to 22 years old. Of these 96 children, 10 are twins, a much higher proportion than in the population as a whole. We are not sure why this is the case, but a plausible hypothesis is that, for a very poor family, the advent of twins is an enormous financial burden that sometimes pushes them over the edge into complete destitution. Francesca and I recall that on a visit to Mkuranga several years ago, we met the father of baby boys whose wife died when they were three weeks old. He had begged the Welfare Office to take the children as he had three older children and without his wife could barely afford to support them. Malaika Kids did take in and care for the twins, and today they are cheerful, confident and smart.

One says of the other, “He is sometimes naughty and he speaks a lot.” The other says, “We don’t share the same desk in class and we feel it is OK as we have a lot of time together at home.” They are competitive, always coming towards the top of their class. Perhaps because they were so very young when they joined us, these boys seem very well adjusted. They live together with the same mama and tell us, “We real like our mama. She is so lovely and she likes us very much.” Another, older set of twins is a little more self-aware. They say, “For us being twins is something very special. So we are very happy to be the way we are.” One told us, “I once heard of three twins (editor’s note: she means 'triplets') I wish I could see how they look and behave.”

Most of the twins we look after are fraternal (non-identical). In the case of identical boy twins, Tanzanians have an interesting way of naming them. The first born is usually called ‘Kulwa’ and the second born is ‘Dotto’. So, if you meet a man with either of these names you can be sure that he is a twin! As far as it is possible, we try to ensure that any twins we look after live together with the same mama in a family unit, of up to 10 children. If they are very young when they come to us this is a considerable burden for one mama, who has up to another 8 children to look after. Recently, James, the Village Manager, told us that our youngest pair of twins were crying with toothache most of the night. And then the mama had to be up at 5:30 in the morning to get the rest of her children ready for school.

Our mamas do a fantastic job at the heart of each family group; our continued success depends on them.

With best wishes

Alan Edwards Malaika Kids UK Chair

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