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| Salam playing outdoors with his SOS siblings |
Two years ago, a two-day-old baby was found close to SOS Children's Village Ksarnaba, in the Bekaa region of Lebanon. It was the same day that marked the end of the 2006 war on Lebanon which lasted for 33 days. The village director named him 'Salam' right away ("peace" in Arabic).
"Salam is no longer the quiet baby who joined the village two years ago", says Majda, who became an SOS mother last May, replacing SOS mother Jeehan. Salam was the first child to live in the care of Jeehan at SOS Children's Village Ksarnaba, which opened in April 2006, four months before the war started. A few months after he had moved into her house, three children (then aged five, three and one) joined the family. Salam remains the youngest sibling at home and is by far the cheekiest.
"He can't stay still now; he is very lively and bright. He imitates his older siblings, whatever they do. When I feed him or buy him something, he says sweetly, in the most adorable way, 'merci mummy.' When I sneeze or cough, he pats my back gently and says 'bless you'. I bought him new boots the other day. He looked at them and expressing fascination he asked 'this is for me? WOW, thank you'," recounts Majda.
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| Salam loves to talk on the phone |
The director of the kindergarten says: "For a long time Salam was the youngest baby at the kindergarten. He was so quiet and calm, but he has changed a lot this year. He has become very energetic and likes to explore everything."
Always ready to go out
Salam is always ready to go out or - in his own words - to "go bye". "Do you want to go for a ride?" asks his mother. "Yes! We'll go together in the van with Omar [the village's driver]," he says enthusiastically. "Salam is very much attached to me; he wants my constant attention. If I leave him for a second, he starts calling and screaming for me," says Majda.
The little rogue has also figured a way to get himself out of trouble when he's being naughty. "He climbs next to me and whispers 'mummy, I love you' into my ear to avoid being scolded," she explains with a warm smile. The trick usually works...
My first-hand experience
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| Curious how the mobile works - he will probably soon make a long distance call... |
During my visit to SOS Children's Village Ksarnaba, I had the pleasure of finding out for myself how curious, alert and sociable Salam is. When he saw me approaching his house while he was playing with his siblings in the front yard, he looked at me curiously and soon decided to follow me slowly. As soon as I had a seat, he made himself comfortable on the sofa next to me.
Suddenly, with a playful smile, he reached out and grabbed my handbag. A couple of seconds after I had retrieved it, he went for the notebook in my hands. The next thing he was clutching was my pen, and finally the camera.
After I had managed to retrieve everything, he tried it again - this time with a more sophisticated strategy. Relying entirely on his overwhelming cuteness, he raised an arm and put it around me. While I was distracted by the sweetness of the gesture, Salam quickly reached out and grabbed the notebook...
This little boy not only loves attention, but has obviously perfected the art of getting it through his cuteness and cheekiness!
Article written by Rafif Ben Messalem, staff member at SOS Children's Villages Syria