The next day we got up early, found a better place to stay and ventured on to find our orphanage. It was really close by and easy to find. We spoke to a lady there and explained we could help out for about 3 weeks. She told us that proper full time staff had to give 3 months + but we could go every day at 3pm and spend a few hours with the kids. Oh and the ones we were to play with were 3 yrs old. All the 3's! How random. I just noticed that. She then ushered us in to the yard where the kids were playing. It's hard to know what to do at first I think. You can't converse with them and I didn't think they would trust us much to play with them. But they did. As soon as we appeared, about 4 of them came running over to be picked up. I think they just want cuddles. And they're so easily kept happy. We had been given a leaflet to read about the orphanage, which 2 of the kids took off us. But it kept them occupied for the hour that we were there for.
The second day we got there and sat in a small hall. They were playing with plastic fruit. Another lady volunteer from Perth told us to just sit and they would come play if they wanted. And they did. Just bouncing round us and wanting to be picked up and stuff. It took me a couple of days to stop being emotional about it all. It really makes you appreciate the upbringing you have been so fortunate to have.
In the past week we have come to get to know the characters of the kids, and we have our own names for them. They're pretty self explainatary...
Cry baby
Flip flop (a.k.a. piss pants)
Evil - we have since tried to come up for a different name for her and she's not so evil anymore - bossy boots
Tom Thumb (he's the one I want to adopt)
Thumberlina (or her)
Clingon/bubblehead
Wigglebum
Bulldog
Bunchface
Bunchies
Cuteface
Bullyboy/Lad - he was a bully but he is actually just bigger than the rest. He's really polite and says hello to us every day.
There's lots of signs up around the place saying no photos, so we don't have any as yet. I'm sure they'll let us take a few in due course though. Or you'll meet the one I want to adopt when I bring him back home...
Our time with them is taken up playing inside or outside. They do play reasonably nicely. One day we went on a trip to a park. It was a bit of a dull park but a change of scene for everyone. We got there for 9am (which was a struggle) and spent 5 hours with them. I think me and Stephen were more tired than the kids by the end. And the van we took them in was hilarious. In a way that so many laws would be broken if it was england! There was probably enough room for about 15 people, but they stuffed all 20 kids in at once, along with the 12 supervisors. Stephen even stood at the back and held on tight. We've had national crying day, national weeing day and possibly pooing... it's like a domino effect. One goes and the rest follows. Oh and one time I had about 7 of them pinning me down, and Tom thumb laughing by my head as he tried to take my glasses. It was like that scene from Gulliver's travels. Just like it. So I don't wear my glasses anymore. Or my watch. And then when our few hours is over and our clothes have no more space for any more wee/food/spit/chocolate, we leave. It becomes easier to walk once we're out the gates as we haven't got any kids attached to our legs.
I'm really loving it there.
Bullyboy/Lad - he was a bully but he is actually just bigger than the rest. He's really polite and says hello to us every day.
There's lots of signs up around the place saying no photos, so we don't have any as yet. I'm sure they'll let us take a few in due course though. Or you'll meet the one I want to adopt when I bring him back home...
Our time with them is taken up playing inside or outside. They do play reasonably nicely. One day we went on a trip to a park. It was a bit of a dull park but a change of scene for everyone. We got there for 9am (which was a struggle) and spent 5 hours with them. I think me and Stephen were more tired than the kids by the end. And the van we took them in was hilarious. In a way that so many laws would be broken if it was england! There was probably enough room for about 15 people, but they stuffed all 20 kids in at once, along with the 12 supervisors. Stephen even stood at the back and held on tight. We've had national crying day, national weeing day and possibly pooing... it's like a domino effect. One goes and the rest follows. Oh and one time I had about 7 of them pinning me down, and Tom thumb laughing by my head as he tried to take my glasses. It was like that scene from Gulliver's travels. Just like it. So I don't wear my glasses anymore. Or my watch. And then when our few hours is over and our clothes have no more space for any more wee/food/spit/chocolate, we leave. It becomes easier to walk once we're out the gates as we haven't got any kids attached to our legs.
I'm really loving it there.
You can check out their website as well
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