Day 2

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Day 2

Today we gave our first lecture, which was an overview of normal child development. There is lots of opportunity for intervention here in the orphanage, and although the caregivers want to learn, many of them are set in a way of thinking that limits the potential for these children. For example, the caregivers feel that the kids who can’t use their hands can’t go to school and learn because they can’t write. The things that we see as problems are very much accepted. The topics that the caregivers want training in are different from the problems we see as we walk through the orphanage. This is frustrating. During our presentation, the caregivers were anxious to learn more practical applications, so we attempted to provide them with some during our lecture. We learned that they are quite un-interested in background information, and would rather have us cut right to the point about what can be done to solve specific problems with the children. However, it is difficult to teach them specific therapies without explaining why these therapies are done. We are hoping that by the end of our stay here we can provide them with at least some tools to help them problem solve on their own, instead of just telling them what to do when each specific problem arises.

Something else we learned today was that the children who are at the orphanage are not all orphans. The parents are incapable of caring for their child because of the disability, and see the child as having a better life at the orphanage. So the children are brought here. Some go back home eventually, others do not. Very few of the children ever enter the community. When they become adults, they typically go to an adult home where they are cared for there. This is different than in the US where orphans live with foster parents, no longer in orphanages.

We saw a few children today who although they are 14-16 years old, have been bed bound their entire lives and are the size of a 4-5 year old. They are extremely thin and spend their days laying on a bed or a mat unable to even communicate. I would assume in the US they would be classified as Failure to Thrive children. There is such a wide range of abilities here, and we are seeing more and more ways in which our team and future rehab teams will have opportunities to intervene.

After the orphanage we went to our second lunch out with Yulduz. She has been wonderful in introducing us to the Uzbek culture. Yesterday we went to a traditional fast food restaurant, although we got a variety of unique salads and cuisine, and today a Russian restaurant with interesting soups and salads. Tea is served with every meal. We spent the afternoon at the office revising our agenda and planning for the next day. We’re getting a cell phone today that we can talk to people at home on for only 2 cents per minute if they call us.

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Photos

Tashkent
Photo of part of this huge city

Orphanage
Some of the children at the orphanage

The market
The market where we bought Groceries