A few weeks back, baby Isaac (featured here in a basin…) caught and survived his very first bout of malaria—quite a milestone! Especially for a 9-month-old. Malaria is the leading killer of kids under 5 in Uganda so we don’t joke around. When I got word that he was okay, I was in Kampala so I bought him a little toy. Which, I guess, is kind of like joking around. Contradiction is the theme of this article– stay tuned. Uganda doesn’t really have good toys for cheap, and cheap is what I am, so I got these squeaky toys that I’m pretty sure could be reused if they ever trade their baby in for a puppy. Most of the toys are made in China and, even from inside the packaging, look like they’re about to disintegrate into a hundred tiny baby-unfriendly pieces. But this one is from a company called “Safety Toys”—so how could I go wrong?
I named them "Hobbes" and "Babar" but my neighbors didn't get it. Does this count as cultural exchange?
I investigated the label a little more closely later….
"For children age 0-3"
-
"Not for children under 3 years"
Those tricky Chinese! They did create the finger trap, after all. But hey, it’s a squeaky toy. And he loves it. Take THAT malaria parasites!
