Besides volunteering my time at
CFI, I spend a few days a week at the Missionaries of Charities Orphanage. It’s a fabulous, lovingly run orphanage by the Sisters of the MOC order (the same order as sainted Mother Teresa).
The children range in age from 6 months to 6 years old, with one 12 year old as the exception. Most of the kids are 1 to 3 years old. There are 22 kids, of which two have cerebral palsy. They bring a special brightness to the orphanage. Sokha is a 12 year old girl with a big heart who LOVES to take walks with me and wear my flip-flops; Samna is a 6-year old boy with a severe case of CP. He cannot walk and talk, but his eyes light up with love and recognition.
While there, I try to spend one-on-one time with Samna, doing exercises to stretch his tense muscles and feed him his lunch or dinner. One of the most wonderful things about Samna is his smile. He lights up when other kids come and touch him or say his name. His smile is enough to brighten anyone’s day!
One thing I learned working at the MOC with Samna and Sokha is that there is a high rate of
cerebral palsy in Cambodia. During child birth many women in remote villages do not get to the hospital and there are complications at birth that cause CP. Samna has a twin brother that was not affected during child birth and now lives with an adoptive mother in Bali. My friend Hassan, who volunteers at the orphanage too, told me of a family that has 4 kids with CP! Since this is a developing country there aren’t programs or even hospitals that have extensive knowledge about CP. Luckily there is an American woman with a big heart who is working on starting a center for kids with CP. It’s in its infancy so more to come…
On the flip-side of the calmness of Samna is the craziness of an orphanage that is 75% babies/toddlers. New York City rush hour has nothing on these kids! The sisters and the caretakers are so wonderful and full of love and patience. However, the kids are still craving attention. Many volunteers come and the kids flock to them to be hung on to and hugged. There is always madness in the playroom! You try to teach the kids to share (
which is hard when you don’t speak their language), but toy “stealing” inevitably occurs and outbreaks of tears start everywhere. As a volunteer and westerner you have to learn to be patient. It’s key to remember that these kids have it VERY different… they don’t have their own toys as we did growing up. So when they are using a toy at that moment it is THEIRS.
I will admit that I started some madness on my own… Chaos ensued today when I brought fun coloring sheets (
that my dad drew for the kids) and crayons. What I thought would be a fun afternoon of coloring quickly turned into crayon havoc! You can definitely tell that I am a “girl from an office” who didn’t even think of what would happen when you give toddlers crayons. Let’s just say that they started off coloring (
aka scribbling) on the drawings. Soon there was crayon hording, while others decided to show their artistic capabilities on the floor and wall. Some crayons were even mistaken as “candy”. By the end, of the 48 crayons I brought, about 5 were usable in the future. The kids had a BLAST and I learned a lesson: color time with toddlers’ means sitting at a table in an organized fashion, not randomly in playroom. Taking responsibility for my actions though, I dutifully got the mop and bucket and cleaned the floor and walls until they sparkled like new again!
Want to know how you can help?The orphanage is always in need of donations of money or supplies (
kid’s clothes, toys for toddlers, medicines, etc.). If you would like to help them out just let me know.
Sorry no pics… they don’t like photos taken at orphanage. It only exploits the kids.
