May 9, 2009

The Orphanage

The children at the orphanage where I've been working lack a lot of things besides love and caring. They have blisters on their feet from walking with no shoes, they sleep on the floor, they wear the same clothes for days, they do not get nutritious food and they have no medical or school supplies. In spite of all that they lack, they're full of life, quick to smile and eager to learn.

















There is a private school attached to the orphanage, but the week I arrived, classes were not in session. One of the workers showed me around for a few minutes before introducing me to some of the orphans, who were all packed inside the dining room watching TV. All he said was "Kids, this is madam Marina, she will be with us for a few weeks" he then turned to me and said "Akwäba" (welcome) and left the room. Instantly, I was surrounded by screaming children. They were hugging my limbs, pulling on my hands, and climbing up on the tables to get handfuls of my hair. They yelled from all directions "Madam! madam!" I spent most of the week coming up with new games to teach them, running with them under the hot sun, playing hide-and-go-seek, reading to them, and teaching them Spanish. A few of the older boys taught me some of their language, and how to play the bongos.

















On the second week I was there, school re-opened, and a group of twenty Canadian volunteers arrived. Kids from around the town came to take classes with the orphans in small classrooms equipped with nothing more than a chalkboard and a few chairs. I taught the nursery class and the second grade. Every class began with an hour of prayer. Aside from that there was no structure whatsoever, and the teachers were not very helpful as they would mainly sleep or leave the classroom and not return. It surprised me to see that the nursery class had kids from ages three to six. None of them could read or write, and only a few knew their ABC's. Together with one of the other volunteers I tried to teach the kids the hokie pokie, however they had trouble with the parts of the body and could not differentiate left from right. This became our learning objective for the week. The second grade had a mix of seven and nine year olds who were learning basic addition and subtraction. For lack of other materials, we used leaves to work on these skills.

















With the number of volunteers that are now working at this site, I hope that some real improvements will be made. Next week, I'll be starting in a new orphanage. I'm looking forward to working in the new location where the kids will likely be just as needy and without so much help.

















-Marina

2 comments:

  1. .. you know what !!!
    I think you are having a fantacstic and unique experience !!!!!

    Take care of you and the children !!!!

    Olivier

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow Marina! I think I would find that experience so overwhelming and emotional. Glad you're enjoying it. Great to hear from you on the blog.

    Lisa

    ReplyDelete