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Monday, 24 February 2014

More on the Orphanage

All the children have been coughing and spluttering and whenever that happens out come the anti biotics whether they are needed or not !
Our wee new girl Ancy had been doing so well when she started having difficulty breathing and gave one of the volunteers a huge fright when she couldn't catch her breathe. Fortunately with the hospital next door she was whisked away , put on a drip and that's where she stayed for 3 days.
This is how the wee soul came back to us. She then went every evening for I.V. Anti biotics  over to the hospital and I am pleased to report that she has the all clear and is scoffing her bottles once again.
It's a funny set up here between the staff and the volunteers, very little information is passed on unless you ask so I do a lot of that because I am nosey and out of the blue one of the staff informed me that they had been in touch with one of the baby boys' mother  and that at 3.30 that very day she would come and collect him. We all got very excited but unfortunately a week on and he is still with us. Hs mother is an unmarried woman which carries great shame so maybe she lost her courage. Elizabeth says they will keep the pressure up though .
That's him there .
Then another day last week this man , his wife and a child arrived at the orphanage.
The couple were bringing their daughter back to see where she spent the first 2 yrs. of her life .
It was very interesting watching the children's reaction to her . They showered her with toys and I have a feeling some of the older children recognised her.
Elizabeth , The Sister was telling me that me that she used to see this girl as an infant under the railway bridge just outside the orphanage . She started taking milk to the mother , then nappies and eventually the mother asked her to take the child and the lucky girl now has a caring family.
This story prompted me to ask Nirmala the children's social worker about the situation with  adoption.She has been having meetings with the children's welfare panel and they appear to be part of the problem .Reading between the lines I got the impression that they change and bend the rules as they please without much thought for the children. I sensed real frustration on Nirmala's part, but hopefully soon the ban on adoption will be lifted .
On Friday afternoon  it was planned for me to go with  Elizabeth  and Nirmala to a shop to order new cupboards for the bathroom so that all the towels , clothes creams etc. can be in the same place and easily accessible. So here we are all squashed into an auto.Oh and the accounts manager had to come too.
And at our destination.
These are the cupboards that they chose , metal and durable just what they need . A big thank you to The Bennett's who donated the money for them.
Oh and I forgot to mention that the materials manager joined the party and of course being male attended to all the financial transactions in the shop despite the female accounts manager being part of the gang .
Out we all trouped and went on our way this time to look at cots .Lindsays  Solicitors has very kindly donated money and this is what the money will be spent on. Unfortunately the shop we visited although beautiful was not the sort of place to buy cots durable enough to withstand the rough handling of an institution.
I did buy a couple of C.D's though for  £1 each. I have left it with the ladies to source robust metal cots as pretty wooden ones would just be a complete waste of money . I felt very sad walking out of that shop seeing all the lovely items and clothes that the children will most likely never see.
So there we go that was our shopping trip.
And just incase you have forgotten how beautiful the children are here is a reminder !
Listening to the C. D 
Just what a chin is for !
Very unusually this little one on the left wearing one of the new dresses playing well !!! She can be a little rascal.
Ria little miss clumsy , trips and falls all the time but loves to give kisses and cuddles .
See what I mean ! I just want to squeeze them all all the time !
Next blog will be all about my next 24 hrs. This time in a place called Kumily.

7 comments:

  1. I hope you're starting to prepare yourself now....the last day is going to be difficult!! They are all lovely!! xxx

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  2. For some reason this report brought a lump to my throat. Aww it's going to be so hard to leave them.

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  3. One of the best blogs yet. It makes it all real seeing the family returning and emphasises the work that you are doing. I'm sure they are loving the gifts that come with it too.xxx

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  4. wee tear in the eye to this wan Jane. I love the picture of the wee boy listening to the CD, its seems such a shame for them! x

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  5. Really interesting seeing how things work. I can imagine you are pretty attached to the children now-it will be really tough to say goodbye.

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  6. Such a shame to see and hear about all the single mothers who give up their children because it is so I accepted over there.

    Seems like you have brought a lot of happiness to them through even the smallest things, which is great but also sad as it makes you realise they have nothing!

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  7. Such beautiful and innocent children - they deserve better - but this place is really giving them a chance they might not otherwise have had. Great work.

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