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“The orphanage I worked in is for children with disabilities, especially Cerebral Palsy. First we worked with two groups of children from the "low-functioning" ward... these are the children that almost never leave their beds. I had seen pictures of this orphanage but stepping through that door was a shock nonetheless. There were nine of us and we each took one child outside for around an hour, maybe a little longer, and just tried to stimulate them, comfort them, give them a chance to stretch out or sit up, massage their legs for circulation. Judging from the fact that they all had spots on the back of their heads where no hair would grow, they lie in bed all day every day. We took out the "bigger kids" first (still small enough that they are easy to pick up, but they are longer and have larger beds.) Some of them were so stiff from being in the same position all the time that they could not sit up because their bodies no longer bend enough to do so. Some have their heads permanently turned to the side they always lie on. Most of them have deformed feet because they never put weight on them. One little girl always had her knees bent, so that the crease in the inside of her knee was sore and full of dirt and oil... the team member working with her cleaned that up for her. We changed their diapers, which hadn't been changed for a while, and applied lotion to their legs if they were too dry (some were painfully dry.) After this we took out the smaller kids for an hour. These kids were small enough to still be in baby's cribs, still in smaller sized diapers, and no bigger than a normal four year old, if that... we were stunned to find that some of them were 8, 10, or even 15 years old.

They'll do anything for attention and here, unfortunately, positive attention is far too rare. Ironically the children who are the easiest to watch are the two with Down Syndrome, one very small girl named Lisa who has some sort of growth disorder, and a girl with Autism... Ironic because they are the ones who will be in the orphanage system the longest. I try to get as much time with these kids as I can. The others are literally screaming for attention, clamoring over each other just for eye contact."

Candice McDougall

2005 Volunteer