First two entries

February 1, 2010 – Journal #1

Today I had my first volunteer experience at The House of Resurrection.  Arriving at the House was so exciting because the kids were thrilled to see us.  First, Aggie the matron at the house greeted us and told us to grab a kid and bring them with to the pre-school area.  I met a little girl named Sitsi.  The majority of our time was spent just playing with 11 of the kids at the House who are around preschool age.  We helped with snack, played games together, and colored with the kids.  My favorite time was spent holding and helping one of the youngest boys with some motor skills.

The most valuable thing I learned today was that as much as the kids need love, I need to not just give them what they want.  Constance the woman in charge of the kids while we were there was so good at loving on the kids but not allowing them to walk all over her.  This is something I will need to re-learn again and again because when one of the children reaches their arms up because they want me to pick them up it’s so difficult to say no and tell them to walk.  However I can see from what I learned today that in the long run that won’t help them because I will only be around to do anything and everything for them for 4 months so I want to help equip them with what they need to succeed and be happy.

It’s impossible for me to even know what else I need to learn because I know thee are countless things ahead of me to learn.  I still need to learn how to pronounce well over half of the children’s names because pronunciation is something that is difficult for me.  I know I will learn this within my next time or two at the House by asking others what kids’ names are and not being afraid to have the kids help me.  I know I will also continue to learn by not being afraid to ask questions, to try, and to make mistakes.  This whole experience is a learning process and I can’t wait to learn more from all the wonderful children and people at the House of Resurrection!

February 2, 2010 – Journal #2

            Today was my second day at the House of Resurrection and it went much better than the first day.  I worked in the nursery with the babies and adored it.  I got to help by giving the babies their snack of a biscuit and juice.  Next we had to give them each their medicine, which came in a little syringe.  Other than that I spent my time just holding them, helping them try and walk around, rocking them to sleep, counting with them, and just giving them attention.

            I also learned a ton more today.  Upon arriving we were told more about the AIDs Haven and the kids there and the history of the orphanage.  I didn’t realize how far the House has come because it used to be a place for kids to come and die with dignity, but now they have much higher survival rates.  Last year they only lost one child, but still I got the impression that it’s not the norm for children to survive past 18 but I would like to find out if I got the right impression about that little tidbit of information.  I found out more about the different children’s’ backgrounds and specifically about two children a professor from our school is actually adopting.  Learning about this adoption that is currently in process inspired me to ask the matron how many of the children actually get adopted and she said hardly any of them because of the circumstances they are in which was saddening to me, but makes sense.  Some kids do go to foster moms though, which is encouraging. 

            Clearly I learned a lot today but everything I learned left me wanting to know more and more.  I want to learn about each individual child’s story and I think overtime I will get to learn about each of them because the two woman working at the House are open to telling us all of the stories.  I also want to learn about the House and how it operates to a greater extent.  The House is currently trying to change how it’s run to give the children more structure but I’m still quite confused about the changes taking place.  Today I got to see just how knowledgeable the people working at the House are and I am already gaining confidence to establish relationships with not only the children but also with the staff and people running the House which will allow me to learn more than I can imagine.  I’m very excited for what lays ahead after today.