The staff is very kind and welcoming to volunteers. Children are all over the place, keeping each other company and trying to make up games as they go, often not the cleanest or safest ... but it's all they have.I put a picture of this little girl sleeping on the floor, since that is the first thing that shocked me - the children spend most of their time on this little protected patio : eating, crawling around and, well, going to the bathroom if a bucket is not found fast enough. The caretakers manage to sweep the place if it gets too dirty, but by then many kids have already picked up things laying on the floor to chew on them.
November 3, 2009
Besides the sad things I have and will describe, there is an overall feeling of happiness at the children's hom
e. The children are glad and giggly for the smallest things, whether it is a smile from one of the caretakers or a curious poke from a peer. It is obvious that their condition makes it logical that ils se contentent de peu, but this remains impressive. It even remains when they grow up, I can tell as I talk to the older girls.They have one TV, and the children watch whatever's on, which is sometimes the news, and other times not-so-edifying stuff. In the picture above, you can see them dancing to the music channel and teaching the younger kids how to dance. From where I'm sitting, everyone else is clapping along and watching them, smiling.
Everyone shares everything here, and it is closer to a "children's home" as they call it, or a big family than an orphanage. As you can see at the bottom of the picture, the children learn as early as 4 how to feed the younger ones. It gives the older children something to do, and they develop really close relationships with one another.
November 4, 2009