Wednesday, July 15, 2009

First Day at the Orphanage

Today was my first day working with Anna at the orphanage. It's possible that it could be the only day this week because the people are threatening to go on strike and close the streets and entrances to the city tomorrow if ex-president Mel doesn't get restored to power. He has given an ultimatum, but hasn't said what it is exactly that he will do, if he does not get his way by this weekend. The orphanage is run by the government so either they will be given a new person to run things under the Micheletti government (which is worrisome to them), or they have to support Mel, which is also not a great option.

Well, I thought things were tough for the kids at the church. At least they had something to put on their feet. Many of the kids at the orphanage are barefoot. They are soooo needy - some are quick to hit/punch/bite. Some are quick to cry. So the aggressive kids go around trying to beat up or intimidate the cryers and I try to separate it before they are all crying and injured.

My position is called a "Tia" or "aunt". Once they realized I was there to play with them all I heard was "Tia! Tia! Tia!" all morning. Anna and I left in the afternoon and went to buy some toys and games so I could do activities with the kids. It may help to keep them from fighting over 4 swings. One bigger boy spent the morning chasing the tiniest boys around with a half dead bird. He put it on the seat of the swing and started to push the swing. The bird peed all over the seat. I told him to stop and he finally listened, then picked the bird up and sat down in the pee. I am ashamed to say that I got some sick satisfaction from seeing him sit down in that bird pee. He had been torturing the boys (and the bird) all morning. I told another boy to stop kicking a kid and he tried to bite me. Luckily I was quick on my feet and didn't get bitten, and I don't think I showed any response in my facial expression because he didn't try to bite me again.

Karla and I are planning a weekend getaway to the country. That will be one of the highlights of my trip, I think. We've been talking about it since the first time we ever talked. I think about that day now and it feels so long ago. Now we can converse so easily, it's not even work. And we have really built a strong relationship. I will really miss having her in my daily life when I return to the states.

I am waiting for details, but Tony did find Carlos. It was totally a God thing from the little that I know. Carlos was outside of the city, sitting somewhere in a field. Gladys (Milton, Maynor, Dana's Mom) told Tony, "I can't say why but just go where I tell you," and she led them straight to Carlos, who was sitting in a field behind something, an old car or something, with 3 men. Carlos was sucking his thumb when they saw him, which is a common habit for him. I don't know if Carlos followed through with his words and came to the breakfast program today or not. And I don't know what he was doing in a field with 3 men. And nobody knows, except God, how Gladys found him in the middle of a field where neither she nor Tony had ever been before. I emailed Tony today to ask him what happened. They were emotionally exhausted when they got back to the church after finding Carlos yesterday, but Tony said he does want to tell me all about it as soon as he has a chance. I know he has been struggling with exactly when/how much to reach out to Carlos and how much he should leave in Carlos' hands. He really loves the boy. Carlos is an easy boy to love.

I wonder if the English class filled up today. Yesterday when I left there were about 12 kids registered out of the 25 spots. We got 2 new girls at the breakfast program yesterday. They came with their Mom, who was more concerned about getting her older daughter enrolled in the English class. The mother was very excited about the opportunity for her daughters to learn English. She was very serious about the whole thing. She said that it is hard for her 11 yr old to not understand English. She was thrilled that the 6 year old can attend too. It was cool to see a mother so invested in her children. I can't think of times when it would be hard for her daughter to not understand English. That confused me, but she was adamant about it. The only kids in that neighborhood who do know English are the ones who learned it at church informally. If I were to stick around I would definitely volunteer to help. They are also serving dinner. There are 6 adult volunteers for 25 kids so the kids should have a lot of individual attention. What a cool program!

One of the boys at the orphanage today knew some basic English. He said he learned it on the computer. I'm not exactly sure how. I hope it is open tomorrow so I can go back. I'm not sure about working with the teen aged girls - they seem a little out of hand. The outer walls above the windows of their house are black with soot from setting their mattresses on fire. Anna said they try to run away over a barbed wire fence with spikes sticking out of a cement wall. Today was visiting day. There were quite a few visitors, but Anna said that just because the people visit doesn't mean the kids will ever go home for numerous reasons. Some of the houses were empty, not for lack of kids who need a place, but because there is not enough money to take care of more kids. The main headquarters for the Federal Government is in this facility, but they don't even have internet.

Speaking of which I just noticed yesterday that there is no mail carrier here. I asked Jose about how they get mail. He said they don't have any street names or street addresses so they can't get mail. If he needs something he has it sent to a mail company. The company asks the sender for a phone number. When the company receives the letter, they call Jose and he goes and picks up the mail from the mail company. So that is one reason why they don't use mail here. Plus it takes about 3 months, he said, for him to receive mail from his family in the states. I told him that people in the states are freaking out about possibly going down to a 5 day mail week. We laughed. It's funny how some things that we think are necessities really are not.

They don't use gas here, the electricity bill is stuck on the door by the guy who reads the meter, you only use pay-as-you-go phone plans here, and other bills are paid at the bank. Pretty interesting.

Bugs are eating me alive. Maybe because I haven't showered in 3 days. We just got water tonight for the first time in three days. I'm off to shower.

PS - Tony just called. He said Carlos was at the breakfast program and even better - he brought his younger brother, which has been a personal dream of mine - to catch the 8 year old before he gets more caught up in life on the streets. Tony and Gladys also had lunch with Carlos and his mother. Once again, the mother cried and said she wants a better life for her kids. We'll see...

I know, I end my entries with "we'll see..." a lot. A lot of good things have happened with time and patience.

The just reinstated the curfew tonight. We had almost a week with no curfew, but the news announced that they had to reinstate the curfew because people were gathering to plan ways to block all of the streets tomorrow. With the curfew they will have less time to meet and plan.