Constants

I worked with the special needs kids today. It's not where I thought I'd be, or want to be, when I decided to do this but it's where the greatest need is.  The "regular"  babies are darling and the toddlers are so cute.....so easy to love.  The workers at the orphanage said, "eventually the babies and toddlers get adopted, almost all of them".  I'm so happy that is the case. Unfortunately, the kids I worked with today will never leave the orphanage. It is so heartbreaking to me.

I think of all the "constants" I've had in my life: my parents, my sisters, Tad (for the last 30 years) and my four kids. These children don't have, and never have had someone in their lives that has always been there. The turnover in this area of the orphanage is extremely high. Volunteers come into their lives for a few weeks or a month, and then they drop out of their lives forever. Workers come into their lives for several months, or maybe even years but they eventually move on too. I've spent quite a bit of time around these kids in the past week and a half, and I've learned that Ali likes to have his wheelchair pushed toward the entrance gate so he can watch the cars go by, but he has never been outside that gate. Jamal likes to high five you. Asmae loves to go for a walk but you have to watch her, because if she thinks you're going to "park" her wheelchair and take someone else she will grab one of her wheels and not let go.  I won't be there next week to let the new volunteers (if there are any) know what they like and don't like.  They will see new faces and hopefully they'll catch onto what it is they want/need.   I will fly back home to my wonderful life that is filled with so many blessings.

I've found myself wondering what their purpose in life is.... isn't their a plan for everyone?  Then, just tonight I had an epiphany of sorts.  These kids are powerful, they change lives.

Good night.

Anonymous kindness

My Dad was all about anonymous kindness. I remember him telling me on more than one occasion that if you talk about the good things you do, you give away the good feeling you get from doing them. I took new toothbrushes and sponges to the bathing room at the orphanage on Friday. I didn't tell anyone, I just put them next to the worn out stuff that was there. Today when we showed up there was no sign of new toothbrushes, sponges and hair brushes. So much for anonymous kindness. Turns out you have to give the items to the director so she can inventory them and they can account for them at the end of everyday so they don't get stolen. I guess I just provided the staff with some new toothbrushes and sponges. It's frustrating but it's hard to be angry. I can only imagine how desperate you must be to steal from this orphanage that has so little. I will go through the proper channels this next time.

I just could not imagine not getting a picture of Ali before I leave but since we can't take our cameras it was not going to happen. Well, I took my phone (hey, it's not a camera) and I, with some help from Sandrine, was able to get a picture of sweet Ali. I don't get any kind of signal here so the only way I could share it with you was to take a picture of the picture on my phone.

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I had a great day at the orphanage. It was a beautiful day and after getting the kids bathed we got to spend a lot of time outside. When they're inside they are basically just laying in their beds so they love to go outside.

I took some fingernail polish today so I could paint some of the girls fingernails. It was so funny because after painting several girls nails three nurses (I use that term loosely) came over and asked me to paint their nails. There are a lot of pink nails at the orphanage right now!

Here is another picture of Sandrine caring for another stray animal on the streets of Morocco. She is very kind hearted and I'm so glad I've gotten to know her.

After dinner this evening Adaji got her henna syringe out and did Moroccan henna tattoos on our hands. It was a great way to spend the evening. This picture is actually of Sandrine's tattoo.

It is late and it's taken me awhile to get these pictures uploaded. I have not proofed this post so I apologize in advance for any typos or mistakes.

Good night.

Happy Father's Day to Tad!

This is the first father's day since Tad and I've been married that we've not been together. Hopefully Joe Henry remembers where I put the gifts and he has already given them to his dad. I wanted to post a picture of Tad and the kids. The only pic I could find on this laptop is really old but I'm posting it anyway. It was taken in San Antonio after KU won the NCAA basketball championship in 2008.

Sandrine is back! She said her trip to the desert was amazing and her camel was really nice too. I snapped this picture of her sitting on her bunk when she returned. She warned me not to ever show it to anyone but I think it's a good picture considering she had spent 22 of the last 48 hours in a bus and three hours on a camel.

There are some really skinny cats hanging around the main road and Sandrine has been worrying about them. When she was traveling to the desert they stopped for supplies and she bought some sardines and tuna. Anyway, I went with her this evening to feed the cats a feast. As we were feeding them a man came along and was digging in the trash looking for food. We ended up giving him a container of tuna.

There are so many beggers in the streets. The average monthly income for people in Morocco is $80 a month. There are some really rich people here so you can imagine there are many, many more poor people. At orientation they were saying that there is no middle class in Morocco, you either have a lot or you have nothing and the vast majority of Moroccans fall in the latter category.

I wanted to get this posted earlier in the day so Tad would know I was thinking about him but the internet did not start working until just a short time ago. They said, traditionally, you don't get good internet service on Sunday, crazy!

More tomorrow.

Slower paced day

Today I was having breakfast and a gal was lamenting the fact that there is no salt on the table here, just pepper, she said she really misses salt. She asked me what I missed the most and I said I missed being able to talk to my kids and Tad whenever I wanted. I've not spoken to anyone in my family since I left the United States. I know all about skype but I made a decision before I left not to download it. I was afraid it would become a distraction. If I started skyping with my girls I wouldn't want to do much else and I really want to have both feet right here in Rabat.

Every day has been filled to the brim with things to do, until today. Today moved at a much slower pace. I did some laundry. When I was packing for the trip I told Tad there must be laundry facilities because they suggested bringing laundry soap to wash your essentials. Tad said, "Mel, it might just be a sink". It pains me to say it but Tad was right, the laundry facility is a sink. I washed some things and hung them out to dry which took no time at all.

I did some shopping and was able to cross several things off my list. I even enlisted Tad's help in finding resources for some items. Tomorrow will be business as usual in Rabat since Sunday is not a holy day here so I will continue on my quest. I'm really missing Sandrine as she is my interpreter and I'm going to need her help to negotiate a few things. She's somewhere in the desert with a camel and will be back late tomorrow.

I found myself thinking about Ali, Jamel, Nadia and the other kids at the orphanage. I hope someone took them outside because it was such a nice day. I will be ready to get back there on Monday.

One week down....

I really can't believe it's Friday and I've been here nearly a week. We left the orphanage a bit early today because some of the volunteers are going on a trip to the Sahara Desert for the weekend and their tour guide was picking them up at 4 this afternoon. It's an eleven hour drive and then two hours on camel, they'll sleep in the desert and then turn around and drive back. I was out at "eleven hour drive...."

The orphanage was a bevy of activity today. There were six babies being visited by there soon to be mommies and daddies and a grandma too! There is a lady from Barcelona that has been there pushing her little boy in a stroller everyday this week. She speaks pretty good English and she told me today that she has been living in Rabat for four months and her husband comes on Friday and stays through Monday. She said she comes everyday and strolls with him and sits on a blanket in the quad and plays with him. NOTE: I started calling the area between the buildings "the quad" because it reminds me of the quad at HHS, it's starting to gain some momentum, the other vols are calling it the quad now too! Anyway, Miss Barcelona said that the adoption process is long but not as long as other countries. She still does not have a definitive date when they will take their little guy home.

Another women was there with her mom. Her little boy is only three weeks old and this is her second visit to see him. She didn't speak English so I got my info second hand from Sandrine. I didn't get "the story" from all of the visitors but their faces said a lot.... they are very happy to have these babies. I don't think little girls can be adopted by people outside of the country. I guess couples will need to go to China for a girl and Morocco if they want a boy.

There is a woman named Adaji that comes to the home base and cooks meals for us. It is traditional Moroccan cuisine. I took some pictures of our dinner tonight. I don't have any idea what the dishes are called, the only two things I could identify were the tomatoes and cucumbers.

Bread is considered sacred and we are not to throw any of it away. We clean our plates but we take any bread we didn't finish and lay it on the ledge of the window. I inadvertently tossed some crust away a few days ago and decided to just let it go as opposed to digging it out of the trash. Later in the evening it was on the window ledge so someone rescued it. I love bread as much as the next person but if I was going to make a food sacred I would probably go with chocolate.

Back in the saddle

When I set this blog up it was my plan to blog at least once a day so my family and friends would know how I was doing. I thought it would be easier and less complicated than sending emails. I never, for even one second, thought I would struggle, that I would not be able to open my computer and start spilling out my thoughts.

I came here hoping to make a difference, make life a little better on some level for these kids, but what it feels like is I'm standing on the edge of a raging fire…..with a squirt gun. Yesterday was difficult, and last night when I thought about what I’d write, I would start to cry. I don't mean tears would sting my eyes and never fall, I mean cry. I ended up sending Tad a quick email saying, "I'm fine, no blog entry tonight" and I shut my computer down and sat outside under the lunar eclipse.

This orphanage is for "abandoned children" which seems a bit redundant, because isn't every orphan abandoned? Anyway, they have a group of children with special needs, and we were helping in that area yesterday. The kids range in age from two years old to teenagers. They are, physically, very disabled. I really struggled, in part because I know, without a doubt if any of these kids, with the exception of one, had been born in Reno County and had the benefit of an organization called TECH and the Early Education Center, they would be able to function day to day and possibly live on their own. Let me tell you, this area made the main orphanage look like high dollar day care.

These kids were left at the orphanage because they were less than perfect; some families view these kids as shameful. There is a blind boy that seems normal, other than the fact that he is blind. He was not born blind but had acid poured in his eyes when he was small so he is very scarred. There is no one working with him or teaching him how to manage. He just wonders around and screams when he gets scared and doesn't know where he is. There is no physical therapy, or structure for these kids. I did not see even one toy. That will change before I leave.

There's this boy named, Ali, he's around 15 and very handsome. He could say his name and a few other words in arabic. I took him outside in his wheelchair to walk around and when a yard man or nurse would walk by they would say his name and he was quick to smile and he would raise his hand to shake theirs. I just felt like he was aware of what was going on and somehow trapped inside a body that doesn't work. I kept pointing to him and saying, "Ali" and then to myself and saying, "Mel". Later in the day when I pointed to him he said "Ali" and when I pointed to myself he said, "Mel". It was amazing and he smiled so big. At one point in the day he was pointing to my watch and then to another boys shirt and I didn't know what he was trying to tell me then I realized they were both pink. This kid is smart! When we were getting ready to leave I went and saw him one last time, I put my hand on his face and said goodbye and he flashed that smile.

I'm back in the saddle. The crying has stopped. I will get some things done before I leave. I'm working on getting some toys for the special needs section of the orphanage, and I'm getting a few other items they need like plungers, towels etc. I've found a few things but I think I will be able to get a lot of things this weekend when I have more time.

By the way, I got to spend some time with Ali again today. I wish I could bring him home with me!

More tomorrow.....

A better day

Today was a much better day. I think I just needed time to process what I saw, smelled and felt yesterday and having done that I'm feeling much better. I truly believe the orphanage is doing the best it can with the resources they have. The kids are darling and they get bathed everyday and they have clean clothes to put on, that alone is saying something.

Tad told me it was fine to bring back souvenirs but not to bring any children home with me. I told him I wouldn't but it's going to be harder than I thought. There was a French couple at the orphanage today and they are adopting a little boy. It was so precious and I can tell they will be a wonderful little family. They came to hold him and play with him as they wait for paperwork to get finished so basically he's on layaway. I don't know what the time line is but they said they would be back tomorrow and I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

When we were outside one of the older kids, a young boy maybe eight or nine years old, was being a little ornery and this worker hit him upside the head, knocked him down and put her foot on his upper back/shoulder when he was on the ground. I so wanted to do the same thing to her but I just gave her the stink-eye instead. This culture is so different from ours. Some of the things that are unacceptable or even illegal in the US are not just tolerated here but accepted.

As I'm typing this "call to prayer" just started. It reminds me of the "noon whistle" in Stockton when I was growing up except it happens five times a day. The first time I heard it I thought there must be cattle nearby and one of them must be stuck in a mud hole. Wrong. That guy's throat has to be sore.

Okay, I digressed, sorry. After we finished working Sandrine and I went back to the medina. We actually took the bus instead of a taxi and it was quite an experience. When we got on it wasn't too crowded but we still had to stand. By the time we arrived at the medina it was body to body and no Right Guard was on duty. I told Sandrine that I didn't know how much more my sniffer could take.

I've lost my connection several times since I started this post but luckily it saved to draft so I didn't have to start over. I'm going to go ahead and get this posted before the internet goes down again. Good night.
P.S. - Tad, please water the plants and feed Mulligan. LY