The softest cheeks in the world belong to this person

Wee Shinelle Mbenguele. She's great. She's six months old. Her hair feels like a very very soft thing. And her cheeks are just outrageous. I wish the Mbengueles were down here so I could speak French with them and get really good at it. But they'd hate the weather here, and they have a pretty fancy Housing Corp spread at the moment, with a big double garage and all those luxuries we don't get here.

Sob.

Here she is when she was still rather small with her mum Brigitte, and big sister Benichous.

Introducing Mbenguele Kimpalou Kimberley Shinelle Albrina

This is Alexis and Brigitte's three month old daughter Albrina, Feldi and Benichous' little sister. Look at those cheeks! The zubbits she's going to get from her white-as Aunty Kimpy ...

The Kimberleys will live on

From ma famille Congolaise who are expecting a little girl next month, who I made a little merino jumper for:
"We received the beautiful jumper you have sent to us. Thank you again, the first day the baby will wear this jumper, it is on the top in the suit case. We would want to ask you also that, if it will not offend you, one of the name of the baby will be Kimberley, because we want to keep you for ever in our mind you are so precious for us. All we are agree for that so please don't say no."

Amazing.

Beni and the jets

Introducing Miss Benichous Mbenguele, extremely cute seven year old from Brazzaville, Congo. Now happy student at Vardon School in Hamilton. She was our front page girl when one of the balloons from the Balloons Over Waikato festival visited schools in town.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/waikatotimes/0,2106,3630793a6004,00.html

The last week and a half have been what some might call a bit up and down, but what we in the newspaper industry would call an emotional rollercoaster ride or a torrent of feelings. The Mbengueles from Congo arrived on Thursday last week and while sometimes I am totally in love with being a Volunteer Support Worker, at other times I wish I hadn't got myself involved. They say the first week is the busiest, and my boss Tracey has been a real trooper with me disappearing for days on end, but I feel like I'm spreading myself a little thin right now. Sometimes, seeing Benischou and Feldi, Alexis and Brigitte is wonderful, other times it's an exercise in frustration and futility. Especially when your work is pointless and your efforts aren't appreciated. Sometimes I take it a little bit personally, like them not liking New Zealand is them not liking me, but I just have to get over it.

Anyway, a little list of things I have learnt in the last week:

1. Another phrase for shopping in French is "des achats". I only knew faire des courses. Amazing.
2. Congo is next to Gabon. A country I had only heard of maybe a couple of times. That's where my family were refugees.

A little description of the family
1. Alexis - the dad. He speaks English, Lingala, Russian, French, Bembe, and some other dialects
He was a pilot and wants to work in aviation again but not flying.

2. Brigitte - the mum. She is very beautiful and kind, quite quiet and sweet. She seems quite bored a lot of the time, but has such a lovely smile when she isn't.

3. Feldi - the 13 year old son. Looks like his mum, has a gorgeous smile and loves to teach me French words. He likes it when I ask him about things in English, because he knows a lot more than he gets to speak with Dad doing all the talking. He's going to go to Fairfield College, and I understand what parents go through sending their kids to school - I feel very protective of this lovely sweet boy. He likes football and has taken to riding me girls bike with a pink bell on it. He looks after ...

4. Benischou - the seven year old daughter. She has wiry braids, ran around the backyard singing "Monsieur Jambon" the other day and is very scared of cats. When she saw Charlie she hid behind someone else. Charlie being Charlie he wanted to smooch with her, but she just freaked out. She wants a bike like Feldi.

We have another refugee - Patrick - a 30 year old single man who used to be a policeman and has an injured arm that looks as if it has been bashed with something. I must confess I have spent 99 percent more time with the family, so don't really know him very well yet. He is very softly spoken and seems to be complaining, but I'm not sure.

Come on everybody now, do that Congo *

Found out last night at our last session of support worker training, that my Congolese families will be a single man, and a mum, dad and two kids - son aged 13, daughter aged 7. I learnt how to make fufu - a kind of polenta type thing that forms the basis of most Congolese meals.

And did you know that in the Congo, women are the bottom of the food chain - below their children?

* Conga, Miami Sound Machine. If you guessed that you get one million bonus points.