Misery

I was in the orphanage again and the kids were misbehaving. In every group I visited, they were running around and the counselors were yelling. In group 2, there were struggles to get homework done. Some were fooling around and others were having trouble with Algebra. Liosha, 12, sat slumped over with his head on the desk. He was usually subdued, but today was especially listless. A bad day at school? Or had something from his past resurfaced?

Later we all stood in the hallway talking and I could heard Liosha weeping. The counselor closed the door so he could be alone. No one seemed particularly upset, but I couldn’t bear to hear him crying.

After a tour of the orphanage for some of my co-workers who were there for the first time, the head counselor invited us into her office and gave us lists of the kids and told them all about them. She’s a very kind lady. She will help us identify kids who have no one left, so that we can connect them with local families. We have had a few excursions, but have some paperwork to complete before families can visit the orphanage grounds or take kids home.

I walked home, blinded by tears. My heart was broken by the misery I had witnessed. But then I remembered the meeting with the head counselor. There is hope that the kids will find families. They are not abandoned.