|
Wednesday,
February 8, 2006 - Banca,
Romania
Dear
friends...
We
are gearing down. It's Wednesday night and we have only two
more days with these precious children and dedicated staff.
Let me tell you what's been happening...
Our
Team...
Our
team was wonderful: eight dedicated people who have given their
hearts and love to these children. All eight were here for two
weeks and this last week we are four. It was a big adjustment
to lose our other half: Phil, Nancy, Barbara and Cindy. We had
to reallocate our resources and call more on the staff who knew
we couldn't lift, carry, feed and play as much as eight. These
incredible women who staff the clinic do this day in and day
out, 24 hours a day for tiny wages. They are incredible with
the children. All of our team admire and respect them and were
happy they had a little break because we were there.
Cindy Lawler holds Mihaistsa who seems to
know she is leaving! He loved her shirt from Ghana. He's 18
months and has the sweetest disposition. He loves to "top off"
his feeding with bottles from the other kids. He's a big boy
yet so very gentle.
All
but Bob changed diapers "hundreds" of times. Bob was the "sniffer"
and passed the babies on to others. He said "it's not my field..."
Phil had poop patrol... Kathy's babies were tiny and so it wasn't
quite as much a chore as with the toddlers. The kids were all
clean and diapered when we arrived at 9 each day. We fed and
then the changing started: twice before lunch and twice in the
afternoon: once after their two hour nap and once before leaving
at 4 p.m. The diapers are these huge squares and until we brought
tons of dryer sheets they were like cardboard. Many volunteers
bring soft diapers but the amount of use and washing has them
disintegrate quickly. We learned about sticking the pins into
soap or A&D ointment to get the pins through four layers of
fabric (one regular sized diaper and a folded one in the center.
Plastic pants followed, then onesies, then their sleepers, and
then a sweater. Quite the job -- especially if you didn't get
all the diaper into the plastic pants and then had to change
everything. It was a special time with each child except for
the production line with four or five kids on the changing table
before the nap and before we left for the day. Nancy and Phil
brought 250 new pairs of plastic pants... wow! Pure and clean
and without rips in the seams.
The
Children...
Thirtythree
kids between three months and three years. One, Alexandra who
has brittle bone disease, is 3 1/2. She suffers from dwarfism
too so she just seems tiny. She is in a full body cast because
they did surgery to release something in her hips that might
improve her growth potential. I am not exactly clear on that.
All I do know is that she is in a room alone and the CD's we
brought and the time we spent with her mattered. She is so frustrated,
as you can imagine. Not clear how long she'll be in the cast.
I held her today and she's got to be kept as flat as a board.
A bit scary and a big responsibility. The music that is played
all day really helps.
Alexandra is in a body cast and will be for
months. She suffers from Dwarfism and Brittle Bone Syndrome.
She is a fragile gentle child who is underdeveloped in so many
ways! She is four and the oldest child at the clinic. She loved
listening to music on the CD's we brought.
The
kids are all gorgeous and responsive and fun. Few health problems...
many developmental delays. Most are dropped off at 3 months...
few parents visit, although three did while we were here this
time. Vlad's mother came today. She's 15 and is in high school.
No one in her family would care for the child and she is unable
to. She apparently comes fairly often and wants to finish high
school and then take her son to care for him. Mihai Ifrim's
Mom came with his step-brother. She is too poor to feed him.
She visited him in April while we were here and we took photos
and sent the prints to her through the clinic staff. And little
Alexandra's Mom and Dad came and held and fed her.
Many
of the children were here when I was here 16 months ago, and
in April when Bob and I were last here together. There are 8
new ones and a few have been placed in foster care. It's amazing
to see them grow and thrive even though most aren't verbal and
they can't do many things that our children can at the same
ages. But they are happy and well fed and are played with much
of the time. Today in our mobile kids room, four adults were
dancing and playing and swinging the kids and it got frenetic.
They smile and laugh and cling.
When
we feed them there is complete silence... the bottles consume
them. The Toddlers are all seated around a table and 8 kids
are learning to eat oatmeal and other solids including (believe
it or not) chicken liver, eggs and cut up fruit. We bought huge
cans of peaches at the Metro store (like Costco) on our first
weekend. Chicken livers with peaches aren't high on my list
for appetizers... but they love it. Other staples include crackers
and yoghurt and various kinds of cereals. Also pureed fruit
when it's available. We bought $100 of it today...
Who is having more fun? Bob romps with Elena,
Mihai and Denisa. We thought he was trying to take Denisa's
bottle, but she took charge in the Mobiles Room!
Some
have asked if the children remember us. I doubt it, but it doesn't
take them long to love us and vice versa. When you walk into
one of the bedrooms with five or six cribs and six sets of little
arms reach out for you to pick them up... and you are greeting
with smiles or kids rocking back and forth while standing and
waiting for you, you know it matters. When we feed them a yogurt
snack and they hover in bands around your legs and some of the
predator kids (just kidding) go from person to person so they
can get more spoonfuls it's like "starlings" according to Bob.
Such fun.
What
we've accomplished and added...
There
are so many ways to look at this point. Of course the most important
is that our team is a large bead in a continuous chain of volunteers
from Global Volunteers. Some teams are very small (two people
coming this Saturday) and some are very large (20 -- which I
cannot imagine!). Rarely are there no volunteers (although none
are scheduled for March). The kids are thriving... the staff
is grateful and Dr. Delia who runs the clinic says nothing would
be possible without us. We are building self esteem and skills
and a sense of play. I know this matters.
I
wrote last week about the efforts on medical care. We still
don't have a resolution on the eye surgery, but efforts are
underway. We are holding some of our team money aside for this
potential and others have written to say they would help if
it comes to fruition. Florin will get his orthopedic shoes in
two weeks... We have set some things in motion and hopefully
it will all work.
We've
brought so many things in addition to the incredible gift of
medicine through the King Benevolent Fund. We have purchased
food for the kids: cereal, yoghurt, peaches, formula, baby food,
crackers, etc. etc. Supplemental nourishment... fun things to
taste and textures to get used to. Due to volunteer contributions
and urgent pleas to the staff, food is now offered at 11:30
and 3:30. Previously it was a bottle at 9:30 a.m. and one at
12:30 and nothing til 5:30. The Romanian government gives $.80
a day for food... certainly not enough to result in the healthy
kids we see.
We've
bought tools for the staff: a ladder to replace the hand made
one of 2x4s and nails... a circular saw (since Bob couldn't
stand using a hack saw for wood), a jig saw, a complete set
of drill bits for the drill given to them at Christmas by the
town mayor, screw drivers, screws, etc. You cannot imagine what
they have to use to maintain this ancient facility.
Our Team Ladder! With money donated by friends
we bought this incredible ladder for the clinic maintenance
staff! It replaced two by fours with nailed cross beams. We'd
like one of these at home! Dr. Delia is in white in the center
on the ground.
We
bought cleaning supplies and materials for the staff. Their
detergent, etc. runs out. We bought additional pots, mops, detergent,
etc. Mr. Musculo is the Romanian version of Mr. Clean (with
the same graphic of Mr. Clean) and Mr. Proper is for sinks.
We bought sponges, dish towels galore, etc.
Today
we purchased 200 meters of material for diapers that one of
the staff will cut and sew into the right sizes. Diapers just
go through hell here as you can imagine.
All
of your many and generous contributions have gone for important
and critical things -- including one luxury: a coffee pot for
the staff (and hopefully for the future volunteers). We also
brought tons of baby cereal, baby wipes, diaper cream, vitamins,
baby shampoo, dryer sheets, formula, children's Tylenol and
Motrin, etc. from the States. Two blood pressure cuffs, pot
holders, etc. were also bought. All volunteers are so generous
and most are blessed with friends like you. Thank you -- each
and every one. Hugs and kisses from the kids and the staff...
How can you resist Octavian, this beautiful
boy!
Other
things...
For
those of you who have seen photos of the clinic kitchen and
workroom, you will be happy to know that they are undergoing
renovation. It's amazing what a difference it will make. New
ceilings, tiles, floor, all stainless steel cabinets and counters
and workspaces, new appliances, a new sterilizer and new plumbing
and electrical. New doors and windows too. It's being sponsored
by a private foundation and it will be done within a month it
appears. Photos of the in-progress work will be on my website
later. It will make such a difference to the staff who must
make all the food from scratch.
We
celebrated our 40th anniversary with a special dinner in Bucharest
and another organized by our wonderful team leader, Mihaela,
on Sunday night. It couldn't have been a more wonderful celebration
from our perspective.
And
so we leave...
Two
more days and then we leave for bucharest on Saturday for a
flight to Istanbul where we will spend five days. Sue Voudren
will be joining Bob and me. We return home on Friday, February
17th. It's been a joy... I know we will be back. Maybe some
of you can join us in the future.
Best,
and thanks again for all of your love and support and interest
in this special place.
Gloria
and Bob
|
