[Written from Haiti]
This morning we went to visit the Missionaries of Charity orphana
ge. It is run by Mother Theresa's people. We packed 13 people into a small truck (a truck made for maybe 8-9 people) and drove 1/2 hour, some of which was over very poor (bumpy) roads. It was very hot in the truck, and I had probably the worst seat. I was very glad when we finally got there.
The orphanage also has a hospital for malnourished and sick children, and this is where we spent our time. Apparantly the orphanage part was not open to visitors today. The first thing I did was feed some rice cereal to a little girl who was about Megan's age (17 months). She ate it very well, but passively. No reaching for the spoon, attempting to feed herself, smearing food in her hair, anything (very different from both of my babies!) I held her for a while until she started crying, and then her mother appeard from somewhere to take her. Apparantly the mothers (and some fathers) come to visit 2-4 times per week. I moved onto another child, who I thought was a girl, but discovered was a boy when I changed his diaper. This room had 25 babies in metal cribs, and many of them were extremely malnourished. At one point I held a little girl who was 18 months who couldn't have weighed more than 7 or 8 pounds. She was totally skin and bones. Her arms and legs were so thin that I could make a circle with my thumb and finger and fit them around with plenty of room to spare. Her torso was so thin that I could pick her up with 2 hands around her rib cage and have my fingers overlapping each other. And she was 18 months. I couldn't help but compare her to Megan, who is slightly younger but probably 3-4 times as heavy, and so strong, healthy, active, and engaged (and engaging). This little girl would, surprisingly, smile with some coaxing. When I tried to see if she could bear any weight on her legs, she just cried and went limp. Megan loved to bounce and stand my our laps when we got her at 4 months. What a difference food, love, and attention makes in the life and health of a child.
This morning we went to visit the Missionaries of Charity orphana
ge. It is run by Mother Theresa's people. We packed 13 people into a small truck (a truck made for maybe 8-9 people) and drove 1/2 hour, some of which was over very poor (bumpy) roads. It was very hot in the truck, and I had probably the worst seat. I was very glad when we finally got there.The orphanage also has a hospital for malnourished and sick children, and this is where we spent our time. Apparantly the orphanage part was not open to visitors today. The first thing I did was feed some rice cereal to a little girl who was about Megan's age (17 months). She ate it very well, but passively. No reaching for the spoon, attempting to feed herself, smearing food in her hair, anything (very different from both of my babies!) I held her for a while until she started crying, and then her mother appeard from somewhere to take her. Apparantly the mothers (and some fathers) come to visit 2-4 times per week. I moved onto another child, who I thought was a girl, but discovered was a boy when I changed his diaper. This room had 25 babies in metal cribs, and many of them were extremely malnourished. At one point I held a little girl who was 18 months who couldn't have weighed more than 7 or 8 pounds. She was totally skin and bones. Her arms and legs were so thin that I could make a circle with my thumb and finger and fit them around with plenty of room to spare. Her torso was so thin that I could pick her up with 2 hands around her rib cage and have my fingers overlapping each other. And she was 18 months. I couldn't help but compare her to Megan, who is slightly younger but probably 3-4 times as heavy, and so strong, healthy, active, and engaged (and engaging). This little girl would, surprisingly, smile with some coaxing. When I tried to see if she could bear any weight on her legs, she just cried and went limp. Megan loved to bounce and stand my our laps when we got her at 4 months. What a difference food, love, and attention makes in the life and health of a child.
[Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photos at the orphanage.]
[to be continued]
[to be continued]
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