Russian Missions in Orphanages

Nina

Entry 8 Russian Mission Blog:

The Children

When I walk into the bedrooms of the children’s center at bedtime, every arm gets outstretched towards me. They want to be held, kissed, or simply just a little bit of personal attention. The few minutes that I am in the room are filled with "ME, ME, ME!" or "You only kissed me once!" or "I want to be the last before you leave." These children are smart, talented and fun. But they are all lacking one thing: personal attention from a loved one, and they are craving it. Especially from a male "father" figure.

Yesterday 6/07/07, a journalist from the local paper interviewed me about our work and experiences here in Tel’ch’e. The questions about why Tel’ch’e and why children were typical of most conversations I would have with friends and family. But one question stood out. "Children are children all over the world, but what makes the children in the Russian orphanage system different from the others?"

I sat for a second to think of the words in Russian, but it wouldn’t come to me. Then I tried in English, but had the same result. After a minute or two of trying to piece together a coherent sentence( I was suffering from laryngitis ), I finally said "They seem to share the same soul." When one is hurting, the others seem to know exactly what to do. The workers at the center do a great job of taking care of the children, but when it comes to comforting a child who has just been ripped from their home, they rely on each other. The support is usually without words. Maybe a favorite (or only) toy is offered or the opportunity to sit on a sympathetic lap. I’m sure shared or common experiences are part of the equation, but one visit to the children’s center in Tel’ch’e and you would understand that there is more to these children than shared experiences and that a collective spirit does exist.

The children at the center are smart, artistic, creative and appreciative. All the children of school age go to the local public school while they are living at the center, and the preschoolers attend kindergarten. Most Russian children, including those in the children’s center, have an appreciation for education and are quite proud of their math skills and knowledge of classic Russian literature and prose. They are keenly aware of the world, even outside their own country and love nature with all it has to offer. The arts are always emphasized and most of the children have no inhibitions when it comes to singing or performing for an audience.

PICTURES

Except for a very small percentage, most of the children want to return home, even if conditions are less than desirable. The few houses I have visited with Valya would be considered condemned rat traps. But mama is still mama and no one can take her place. Last year a little girl arrived and she would cry "Mama! Mama! Mama’s coming!" over and over. Valya told me that there is no way she can go home. This year a family of three boarded a van to go home to mama. The children were very excited. As they pulled away Valya turned to me shaking her head and said, "They will be back." She had a tear in her eye and she did something that I have only seen her do a few times, she turned away and said nothing.

And these children are just a few examples of the hundreds of I have lived with for two week intervals every year for the last nine years. Their short lives have been hard at best and a nightmare at worst. What will become of them when they turn 17? They have no money, no possessions and a bleak future. So why is that I always seem to go home with so much more than I could possibly have ever brought to them?

|  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this