News from Djibouti

Leighton sent this to me about his experience volunteering in an orphanage. Whenever I hear of the conditions in which others live, I count my blessings. I am grateful I have had the chance to experiences several cultures other than my own. I have a realistic understanding that our standard of living is far above and beyond a majority of the rest of the world. Even with the current state of the world, people in the USA are blessed.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

"I went to the orphanage today. There were about 40-50 children between the ages of a couple months to about 3. Two or three nuns run the place. There seemed to be another two or three local volunteers. I don't know how they care for all those children when we don't come. It was a ton of work.

"When we got there, they were lying or standing in cribs or on exercise mats (those that aren't crawling yet). Some were crying, some were content, and some seemed happy. So, 15 of us volunteers swoop in and play with, feed, or entertain the masses. While I was bottle feeding one child, I watched as an upset baby pull himself (not quite crawling) to another baby and bit her arm. So, I picked up the victimized baby and continued to feed the first. Once the first baby was fed and burped, I put her down and started the feed the second. This child clung to me for almost the rest of the time we were there. So, I frequently had a child in each arm. And each volunteer was pretty much doing the same. (I can't imagine 5 or 6 people caring for all those children. That's a ton of work.) After feeding them all and playing with them for a little while, it was time to change diapers and put them to bed. It was about 6:00 to 6:30 when we put them down. There were lots of cribs (try to imagine walking into Olivia's room with about 20 cribs). There were three small rooms packed with cribs and crying babies who were not ready for bed, with a few exceptions. That was the hardest part, all those crying babies in cribs. Normally, I would pick up the baby and rock him or her to sleep. But, it was time for us to go. And so we left a room full of crying babies.

"I'm grateful I was able to go. Except for the last part, it was refreshing. I couldn't help but notice that the way babies communicate is universal. One baby got smacked with a toy by another baby right in front of me, and of course started to cry. So I dragged the baby close to me with one hand (holding the clingy one in the other) so I could pick her up and comfort her. At first, she was like 'what are you doing, I don't want to be picked up'. So, I didn't. I explained that I saw that she was hurt and wanted to comfort her, but only if she wanted and I wouldn't force her. About a minute later she pulled herself back to me and gave me the 'I want to you pick me up and comfort me' look. So I did and she nuzzled into me for few minutes, then was done and ready to play again, at which time I put her down."