Hogar del niños

Simultaneously one of the most enjoyable and difficult parts of my week is when I visit the orphanage. Usually after mass at St. Gertrudi’s and after pan de banana (claro), Jess, Catie, and I head over to the orphanage to spend some time with the kids there.

This weekend I made the great decision to go on Saturday with Deirdre and Katie. This decision was great for two reasons: 1. It gave me the chance to go somewhere by myself for once and on a bike. BEST BIKE RIDE YET IN HONDURAS. It was such a great ride and it just felt so nice to be on a bike. 2. I had an amazing time being with the kids

Unfortunately Honduras doesn’t really have any programs for adoption or fostering children either domestically or internationally, so for various reasons when kids are born or taken from their families, they go to the orphanage. And they will pretty much stay in the orphanage until their young 20s. Right now the orphanage has about 30 kids from 0-20ish. There’s a handful of Sisters that work tirelessly to take care of the children, but alas, the fact remains that there are 30 kids craving the nurturing love and care of a family.

I know the Sisters do their best to give each child the most love, safety, nurture and protection they can, but it’s just not enough for those kids. The orphanage is usually pretty dirty. They have a large lice problem, which in a place without hot water, showers, and dryers is pretty tricky to get rid of. One of the volunteers ended up catching it. And everyday in school when my student in the orphanage, Yuliza, sits at her seat scratching her head, I just cringe. Yuliza has also come to school twice now with pretty intense injuries (scratches down her face, a huge, deep gash in her hand). So there’s just not a lot of supervision. Even when we were there another girl at the orphanage just toally pushed her off the swing and she fell down really hard and nobody was their to hold her and see if she was okay. Obviously we were, and Deirdre picked her up and held her and she just looked so happy to be held. And this is Yuliza, a first grader, we’ve got younger ones running around in this same situation too, like Walter who’s 1 and Jose David who’s 2 (I think).

Jose David

That said, the Sisters are so grateful for us coming to the orphanage. They need the extra hands and hearts. When we show up, its like a flock of kids all craving and desperately needing our attention. I’m happy to give it to them however I can. So we take pictures, play rayuela (hopscotch), escondidos (hide-and-go-seek), swing on the swings, and chat about life.

My student in the orphanage, Yulissa, is one of the best kids. She is such a ball of sunshine. She can be extremely active and tricky to control in the classroom, but overall, she’s just one enthusiastic learner! One of the highlights of my time at the orphanage this week was swinging with her spider style. We were on that swing together for probably like 10-15 minutes, which is a lot for me since I always get sick on swings. We talked about a lot of things. We talked about how much Yulissa loves school and learning. She even suggested that we make a deal that if she behaves a little better that maybe I could give her some new clothes. Considering the fact that this very tiny 1st Grader was wearing an age-inappropriate, size Small shirt from American Eagle, I can understand why she makes this deal. She loves to paint and my mom is sending her along a paint set, so I think that will make her happy. But, maybe I’ll look into some clothes for her as well, provided she’s good in school ☺ At church, we both get so excited to see each other and exchange the sign of peace. I swear she gives the most powerful and everlasting hugs ever, I too don’t want to stop because I know it’s something that she just doesn’t get very often.

spider swinging with Yulissa

While it’s a very challenging and emotional experience for me to go to the orphanage every week, I am so grateful that it’s something I’m able to do. I’m also just so incredibly grateful to whomever it is that sponsors Yuliza and all the children in the orphanage. When adoption isn’t really an option, it seems like the only hope for the kids in the orphanage is for somebody in the US to decide to sponsor one of them. Knowing that if this child is educated, they can use that education to leave the orphanage and create their own happy ending. Some day when I have a real life job, I hope to be able to sponsor one of these children to give them an opportunity, that to me is something I’ve taken for granted my whole life: the opportunity to have a family, feel love and care, and go to school. It just breaks my heart to see the reality for these kids, but then I’m with them and see their smiles and what joy they have in being able to go to school and learn and that’s what gives me hope.