Wednesday, March 16, 2011- Day 55
I really wish I could have blogged during my experience instead of afterwards because I know there will be so much that I will not be sharing. I would like to take this post to talk some about the girls we had the privilege to meet and love on last week. I stated yesterday that there are 31 girls at the orphanage. There are 5-6 girls that are older and in high school. A few of these girls are actually in their late twenties but the school system is so different there that they are still in high school because of the rate they are progressing. There are three little girls who are either 2 or 3 years old and the rest are first grade through 6th grade. The girls are just beautiful and despite their hardships they have a smile on their face and are full of love for others. They really are a family there. The girls take care of all the other girls. While we were there we were able to do crafts with them and play games with them. They love to play basketball and soccer! They love to sing and dance and they even did a program for us our last night at the orphanage. From the moment we arrived they welcomed us into their home and their hearts. It was so strange because we could not understand each other with our words but we could still understand each other. We used lots of hand motions and used our little dictionary as much as possible. They have come such a long way but there are still so many needs. One major need is a psychologist for the girls. They have major emotional needs that go beyond what the nuns can do to help. These girls are at an orphanage but some of them still have parents and some have hope that they will be returned to a family member. I do not know all the girls' story of why they were brought to this home but I would like to share a few of them.
Meet Yolanda and Maria
Yolanda and Maria are sisters. Yolanda is 4 years old and Maria is 2 years old. There parents are thieves and as a result Yolanda has serious issues with stealing. If something goes missing they look under Maria's bed. The trait of their parents would be bad in itself but the story gets worse. One day their mother left with Maria. She came home later and the neighbors noticed that she did not return with Maria. The neighbors started to ask questions and it came out that their mother had went to another town and sold Maria to a woman. The woman was afraid and turned herself in to the authorities. Yolanda and Maria were placed in the orphanage and will never be returned to any of their family.
Meet Kimberly
The girl with a million faces. She is a stinker but as cute as can be! She makes the silliest faces and just melts your heart. Our first day there I came into the lunch area to get some water and Kimberly had gotten into one of our bags and found some M&M's. She just looked down at the bag when she knew she was busted. Kimberly is 3 years old. She has a cleft lip. She has had one surgery already and it looks pretty good. She will be having another surgery as she grows. Kimberly was brought to the orphanage because her mother beat her half to death with a high heel shoe. Thankfully she recovered from that experience and she is now in a safe place.
[caption id="attachment_2461" align="alignnone" width="768" caption="Yes, she is pouring water on her head!"]
[/caption]
Meet Esmeralda
I believe she is 8 or 9 years old. She caught my attention day one because she reminded me of my niece. You may look at her picture and not see why I think that, but there was just something about her that reminded me of Isabel. She was quiet and did not warm up to everyone has easily as the other girls. She knew some of our team members so she stayed pretty close to them. On Tuesday we were done working so we were sitting out in the grass watching the girls play basketball. Esmeralda sat down between another girl and myself. The other girl and I looked down and noticed that her knee was bleeding and she had a scrape on her ankle. We tried to ask her what happened and she acted like she was trying not to cry. She acted like she wasn't supposed to cry and it broke my heart. I asked the girl sitting next to me about why she did not tell someone that she was hurt and she stated that with so many girls they take on a survival mentality and just try to deal with it. We got her a band-aid but it was gone by the next day. Her story is that her dad beat her so she went to live with mom. Her mom died and she was left with her step-dad. Her step-dad eventually decided that he did not want to take care of her because he had his own children. So, the government placed her at the orphanage. I also know that she cannot read.
Meet Karla
Karla is 2 years old. On Tuesday she became my buddy. It was almost time for lunch and so I came into the lunch area and Karla reached for me to pick her up. I picked her and she laid her head down on my shoulder and went to sleep. I put my countless hours of holding a sleeping child into use and ate lunch while she slept in my arms. After she woke up I fed her lunch and she was mine the rest of the week. Someone else would be holding her and she would see me pass by and come and get me. She only wanted me to hold her and I was fine with that:) The rest of the week when we were getting ready to leave I would have to put her down and she would start crying. She is such a sweet little girl and I am blessed to have been part of her life even for a short time. Karla came to the orphanage last summer some time. She was so malnourished that she could not walk, crawl or even hold herself up. The others said her legs and arms looked like little twigs and it was a very sad sight. She is still tiny but she is doing so well. Her little teeth are pretty pitiful though. I guess they do not have the resources to worry about their baby teeth. Most of her teeth are rotten and she only has one little pointy tooth in the front left. She is such a sweetheart and it was hard for me to leave her.
Meet Yolanda and Maria
Yolanda and Maria are sisters. Yolanda is 4 years old and Maria is 2 years old. There parents are thieves and as a result Yolanda has serious issues with stealing. If something goes missing they look under Maria's bed. The trait of their parents would be bad in itself but the story gets worse. One day their mother left with Maria. She came home later and the neighbors noticed that she did not return with Maria. The neighbors started to ask questions and it came out that their mother had went to another town and sold Maria to a woman. The woman was afraid and turned herself in to the authorities. Yolanda and Maria were placed in the orphanage and will never be returned to any of their family.
Meet Kimberly
The girl with a million faces. She is a stinker but as cute as can be! She makes the silliest faces and just melts your heart. Our first day there I came into the lunch area to get some water and Kimberly had gotten into one of our bags and found some M&M's. She just looked down at the bag when she knew she was busted. Kimberly is 3 years old. She has a cleft lip. She has had one surgery already and it looks pretty good. She will be having another surgery as she grows. Kimberly was brought to the orphanage because her mother beat her half to death with a high heel shoe. Thankfully she recovered from that experience and she is now in a safe place.
[caption id="attachment_2461" align="alignnone" width="768" caption="Yes, she is pouring water on her head!"]
[/caption]Meet Esmeralda
I believe she is 8 or 9 years old. She caught my attention day one because she reminded me of my niece. You may look at her picture and not see why I think that, but there was just something about her that reminded me of Isabel. She was quiet and did not warm up to everyone has easily as the other girls. She knew some of our team members so she stayed pretty close to them. On Tuesday we were done working so we were sitting out in the grass watching the girls play basketball. Esmeralda sat down between another girl and myself. The other girl and I looked down and noticed that her knee was bleeding and she had a scrape on her ankle. We tried to ask her what happened and she acted like she was trying not to cry. She acted like she wasn't supposed to cry and it broke my heart. I asked the girl sitting next to me about why she did not tell someone that she was hurt and she stated that with so many girls they take on a survival mentality and just try to deal with it. We got her a band-aid but it was gone by the next day. Her story is that her dad beat her so she went to live with mom. Her mom died and she was left with her step-dad. Her step-dad eventually decided that he did not want to take care of her because he had his own children. So, the government placed her at the orphanage. I also know that she cannot read.
Meet Karla
Karla is 2 years old. On Tuesday she became my buddy. It was almost time for lunch and so I came into the lunch area and Karla reached for me to pick her up. I picked her and she laid her head down on my shoulder and went to sleep. I put my countless hours of holding a sleeping child into use and ate lunch while she slept in my arms. After she woke up I fed her lunch and she was mine the rest of the week. Someone else would be holding her and she would see me pass by and come and get me. She only wanted me to hold her and I was fine with that:) The rest of the week when we were getting ready to leave I would have to put her down and she would start crying. She is such a sweet little girl and I am blessed to have been part of her life even for a short time. Karla came to the orphanage last summer some time. She was so malnourished that she could not walk, crawl or even hold herself up. The others said her legs and arms looked like little twigs and it was a very sad sight. She is still tiny but she is doing so well. Her little teeth are pretty pitiful though. I guess they do not have the resources to worry about their baby teeth. Most of her teeth are rotten and she only has one little pointy tooth in the front left. She is such a sweetheart and it was hard for me to leave her.
These girls are so sweet! I've loved reading about your trip, Kim! I'm so glad you got to go and experience all of this. It's making me want to go!
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