A Day With The Orphans

12-18-2006

I managed to force my pathetically lazy self out of bed quite early on Sunday morning. I took an early bus to Stara Zagora to meet up with my friend and fellow PCV Alex Porto. Alex and I have been talking about working with orphans for quite some time; so we were both excited about the day ahead of us. After a quick cup of coffee we were prepared and eagerly anticipating the day ahead of us. We were then on our way to join up with a small group of High school kids to plan our trip to the orphanage. Our plan was to visit a nearby orphanage and bring a group of developmentally disabled orphans gift bags including: a banana, 2 oranges, a stuffed animal, a rubber ball and some balloons. It doesn’t sound like much, but the combination proved to be the perfect recipe for smiles. After a 20 minute walk through the hills of Stara Zagora, we arrived at a small orphanage near the Roma Mahala. We were greeted warmly by the staff and then guided into a room where the kids were waiting. As I entered into the room my heart sunk; I could not help but feel an overwhelming sense of sadness. I was not expecting to feel this way and was taken back by the appearance of some of these kids. It just made me sad to see a bunch of parentless children with Down syndrome, disfigurement, blindness and other physical and mental conditions. These kids were most likely cast aside and discarded by their parents because of their conditions. After the kids sang a couple of songs for us, and introduced themselves, we passed out the gift bags. The smiles I saw when we passed out the gift bags were priceless. After the banana and orange snack, the kids were ready to play. Alex, the High School kids and I really enjoyed playing with the orphans. The Bulgarian teenagers showed a remarkable amount of kindness and compassion while playing with the kids. I could not help but to feel a bit shy and uneasy at first, but I eventually loosened up and had a great time. The kids really enjoyed our company and appreciated all the extra attention and affection. I will keep this blog short; it makes me feel a bit uneasy and sad when I think about those kids. I can however rest easy knowing that the staff of this orphanage is full of love. It was heartwarming to see how the staff interacted with the orphans. The staff often hugged the kids, and displayed a great deal of warmth and kindness.
Sorry for the sappy blogs I think the lack of rugby in combination with a bit too much alone time depletes my testosterone levels. The Following are a few pics. Three more days until I am in America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kids in orphanage


I told him he could wear my watch as long as the master masseuse worked for it