Just wanted to recap our Saturday now that I have time. Currently at our guesthouse there are 2 Italian families picking up their children. The Italian agency deals with different orphanages, one of them being the a government funded orphanage here in Addis. We had the opportunity to accompany them while they dropped of medical supplies. We were warned before going that the conditions of this orphanage were not great. Slight understatement.
To get there we had a long drive through Addis. Many houses in Addis are just constructed from metal roofing. We had to drive down a beaten rode to get to the orphanage. Both sides of the roads were just beaten down houses.
At arrival we entered a large room. Over 50 children between ages about 18 months and 7 years old were sitting watching TV. When they saw us we were swarmed by children looking for attention. A couple of things stood out to me. 1. The children were not wearing diapers. Many were wet. They would simply mop up the wet floor and continue on. I am guessing this was the most economical way. 2. Some just sat on the floor and cried. All wanted to be picked up. 3. The only toys in the room were broken balloons. The young children (1-2yr olds) were chewing on them. 4. In the room with the 50 children was only one nanny.
Next we visited the infant nursery. All children appeared to be under 3 months. A couple looked to have just been born. There were 10 infants and one nanny. Many of them were crying.
The last room we visited was the baby room. The room was lined with cribs about 30-40 of them. Almost every crib held 2 babies. The babies in this room would be between 3 months-18 months. The only sound was crying babies. The first baby we saw when entering the room was a little boy who just sat, smiled and waved. He was very malnourished. As we went around the room we did the best we could to entertain the crying children. We tried to gently rock the little ones to sleep so they would stop crying(we weren't allowed to pick them up). In this room were 2 nannies doing the best they could to keep up with feeding and changing. They were not succeeding..
Many of these babies were abandoned which makes them unadoptable. Some were matched to families from different countries. (How thankful we are that D is not there) When children in this orphanage reach the age of 14 they will be taught a trade and sent back out into the world to make a living on there own.
How blessed we are to live in Canada!
To get there we had a long drive through Addis. Many houses in Addis are just constructed from metal roofing. We had to drive down a beaten rode to get to the orphanage. Both sides of the roads were just beaten down houses.
At arrival we entered a large room. Over 50 children between ages about 18 months and 7 years old were sitting watching TV. When they saw us we were swarmed by children looking for attention. A couple of things stood out to me. 1. The children were not wearing diapers. Many were wet. They would simply mop up the wet floor and continue on. I am guessing this was the most economical way. 2. Some just sat on the floor and cried. All wanted to be picked up. 3. The only toys in the room were broken balloons. The young children (1-2yr olds) were chewing on them. 4. In the room with the 50 children was only one nanny.
Next we visited the infant nursery. All children appeared to be under 3 months. A couple looked to have just been born. There were 10 infants and one nanny. Many of them were crying.
The last room we visited was the baby room. The room was lined with cribs about 30-40 of them. Almost every crib held 2 babies. The babies in this room would be between 3 months-18 months. The only sound was crying babies. The first baby we saw when entering the room was a little boy who just sat, smiled and waved. He was very malnourished. As we went around the room we did the best we could to entertain the crying children. We tried to gently rock the little ones to sleep so they would stop crying(we weren't allowed to pick them up). In this room were 2 nannies doing the best they could to keep up with feeding and changing. They were not succeeding..
Many of these babies were abandoned which makes them unadoptable. Some were matched to families from different countries. (How thankful we are that D is not there) When children in this orphanage reach the age of 14 they will be taught a trade and sent back out into the world to make a living on there own.
How blessed we are to live in Canada!
We're thankful to God that "D" is safe and in the care of a good agency. We're praying for those who are not so fortunate. Even when we think we can do nothing we can still pray. Sending our love and prayers for your family across the sea! Thanks for the news about "D" we're excited that she is meeting many of her milestones. Noah would like to teach her "tinkle tinkle little star".
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