I still haven't been able to come to terms with our trip to the
Hoa Phuong Orphanage two nights ago, so I will just try to describe what I saw. We pulled into the orphanage around 7 p.m. The building is a two story concrete complex with many rooms. We met with the directors of the orphanage and had a chance to ask a few questions.
Key Facts:
- 55 children live in the orphanage
- Orphanage was started 15 years ago
- Children are organized into mixed-age, mixed-gender families of eight to ten with an employee acting as the mother for each family
- Children come to the orphanage from communities and hospitals
- Between five to ten children are adopted each year and leave the orphanage
- When a child turns 18, they leave the orphanage to live on their own
Our visit was arranged as a party for the children and they seemed very excited to see us. We gathered in a large room with buffet tables covered in food arranged around the room. We were surrounded by children ages 7 to 17 as soon as we entered the room. They were all very friendly, laughing, tugging at us, bringing us bits of food to try. Roger explained to us earlier that these children are more fortunate than many disadvantaged children, even if they don't have their parents, because they have food, education, and people giving them loving care.
We have been cycling for two days now and it has gotten harder to find time and places to access to the Internet. I still hope to post something everyday, but expect missed day every once in a while. More about biking tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment