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Published: August 5th 2011
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A month ago we arrived in Sucre knowing that we were going to be working in an orphanage, but we did not know what to expect. Both of us had slight reservations of what we might be getting ourselves into – although there was an anticipation of excitement.
After registering at the school that organises volunteers, we were taken to the orphanage by means of a bus. Buses in Sucre defy all laws of physics in as much that they are built to take 30 people at the absolute maximum (including those lying on top of each other ) but somehow manage to cram about 125 in).
On the way it was explained to us that W was going to be working with the new born to 2 year olds, while I was given the 2-5 year olds. Straight away I realised that I was given the much harder area to work, and it proved to be so. Please do not believe W when she tries to contradict this. As a man who has never had children, I obviously know how easy it is to deal with babies – bit of milk and they go to sleep, easy.
We were pleasantly surprised on arriving at the orphanage. It was spotlessly clean and brightly coloured. The staff seemed friendly apart from the one who kept crossing herself and muttering prayers when she saw me. We were shown the layout – W’s children were upstairs, while I had to descend into a dark pit to meet my charges (mmm think I am still writing about the mine). Anyway, I had to go downstairs where the playroom, playground and kitchen were.
The first time I descended, I was struck by how quiet everything was. I asked where all the children were and was pointed towards the playroom. The noise built at each step I took towards that door. As I turned the handle and entered the sound was deafening – a mix of screaming, laughing , shouting, crying and singing – but as I walked in there was a sudden silence , just like in the wild west when a stranger walks into a bar, even the piano player stops playing . It was like walking in to the Village of The Damned (a movie reference). 30 pairs of eyes suddenly turned on me, all knowing what I was feeling,
all thinking the same thing – “fresh meat “!!! They had seen volunteers before; they were going to tear me apart.
Thankfully, in situations like this I always carry a small puppy or kitten as a suitable replacement and so avoided any unpleasantness.
The orphanage is run by nuns of the Catholic Church in Sucre. To blend in and not upset anybody, I immediately took to teaching Darwinism and the works of Marx and Engels. For some reason, the staff kept this quiet from the nuns.
We started every day at 9am. This was immediately after breakfast, so I would walk in on a sugar rush. How happy that made me feel is indescribable. The first hour was spent in the playroom, dancing along to the Disney channel and having all 30 using me as a trampoline or (as usual) someone to break up the fights that developed over who was going to play with each toy. After 10ish we would all spill out in to the playground.
In UK, most playgrounds now have soft ground or woodchip, in case of falling from height. Not here. The whole ground was hard concrete and the slide and
swings and roundabout and tunnels were all made of metal with rather sharp corners. Forget the kids, I was worried about myself.
Apart from the odd one running into a corner and nearly losing an eye, or falling off the roundabout or slide and spilling blood, there were not too many incidents to report. I enjoyed this part of the job. To see eyes light up with great glee just by pushing a swing and smiling was certainly warming. A lot of time was spent in playground as it has been sunny and hot nearly every day. If it got cold, we would stay indoors and dance. A generation of kids in Bolivia are now growing up basing their conception of dancing on my fluid movements!!
The last hour (ish – times in Bolivia are not precise or exact) is lunchtime. Oh my god. Those of you who have had such fun trying to feed a two or three year old who does not want to eat – multiply that by 30. Have to confess that I was not very good at feeding the kids, so I would volunteer to wash and dry up, clean the tables and
wipe the floor. The staff seemed happy with this.
We worked for three hours a day, but at the end of each day, I was thoroughly knackered. There were no quiet moments and I was constantly on the go playing and chasing them around. I was “papa” and they all thought I was great.
Was difficult to leave today.
Here is W with her version of upstairs.
Well, how do I follow that? I hadn’t been warned about a “guest appearance” on the blog but am happy to tell you about the “easier” (yeah, right!!!) part of the work!
I had 15 charges, 2 very small babies, another 6 who could only crawl and the remainder were toddlers. As all of you who have had children will know, G’s assessment of this being the “easy” group is of course all in his imagination!
The babies (i.e. the ones that couldn’t walk!) were in a “pen” which had soft flooring and lots of toys, then there were 3 small toddlers in another “pen” and the rest were in the main part of the room (which had ceramic tiles on the floor! See G’s description of injuries
sustained daily!!)
My day didn’t involve quite so much running around as the only place they went to play was in the hallway! This allowed them to run about with the front door open and the grill door locked which allowed them to have “fresh air”! The older ones were sometimes allowed downstairs to play with G’s mob in the playground and I went out with them once –for a walk around the block!!
I was a little concerned about some of the treatment, but on the whole the staff were very loving and very busy! If a child cried too much or wouldn’t eat or fell asleep, they got the “water treatment” where water was poured on their head! As grim as that was, that was the worst of the treatment!.
Feeding time involved the babies being put in a row of high chairs that were high enough for staff to feed them whilst standing! The older ones sat around a table and were helped. However, it was amazing how well some of them fed themselves – suppose they have had to learn to be pretty independent! They also ate EVERYTHING! (3 courses for the older
ones, two for the smaller ones!)
I got away with speaking very little Spanish and other than learning the words for “careful” “share” and “gently” I spoke English! Their speech; unlike their feeding skills are very basic, suppose that’s the result of the opposite of being independent and not getting any individual attention!
To sum it up, I would have taken several home……(had we been going home!!) I of course developed favourites – the two tougher toddlers, Rodrigo and Camila.
I cried when we left today…….
So, we are leaving Sucre tomorrow. Our journey continues by bus to Cochabamba where we will stay a few days, then La Paz and Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. We then head to Peru where, after a couple more stops we have to be in Cuzco by September 11th for more voluntary work.
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Lisa
non-member comment
Personally I use pictures on my wall
Any of the babies hanging up would do nicely. x