African Children

African children are adorable and we have fallen in love with them. When they are young their mothers carry them on their back using a stretchy cloth. The children always seem to be very happy being carried this way. We have yet to figure out how the mothers get the children on their back and swaddled without any help. The children all love to have their pictures taken. They are also very well behaved; Primary and sacrament meetings are much quieter than in the United States.

They can make fun with just about anything. The young boys have fun making push cars out of cartons. They add wheels and all sorts of decorations. They can be quite elaborate. In the picture two of the cars even have trailers attached. The boys then push them up and down the sides of the roads with sticks. We are amazed at how well they can control them.

Umbrellas are put to good use in Africa on rainy days and sunny days. Many women carry umbrellas to shade themselves from the hot sun. Because we are close to the tropics the sun is very intense. On a sunny day you can see many umbrellas. Some of the umbrellas are quite creative. People often comment they like Sister Rands’ umbrella because it looks like two umbrellas in one. It is supposed to be wind resistant with its two layers. Africans are very good about finding shade to keep out of the sun and it is amazing how much cooler it feels when you are not in the sun. The difference is much greater than in the state of Washington.