Diary

2008-02-24 - Magic of Christmas

Keara has had a happy morning. He is yelling and laughing. He is feeling with hands people around him; he is blind. He was behaving same way during previous celebration in the end of November. Now and then he is just lying in his autistic world closing his ears by hands. He is always delighted the days, when a small plastic swimming pool is filled and he gets to splash water. He is able to walk, but hasn’t been willing lately to stand on his own feet. Few times he has given up and has even tried to use his feet. His feet are getting stronger, when he is riding a small bike by kicking it backwards. In a small playing carousel he is smiling and sending clapping signals by hitting the table. He is waiting for answer signals by putting his ear against table. Almost accidentally he raised himself standing in a swing, receiving just a little assistance. What a joy and proud this success was creating. He managed to raise standing in his cot and even get back on his knees.

Chavyvan is visiting physiotherapy twice a week. He is practicing standing and using of his hands. He has his own personal way of crawling. In extreme hurry he is rolling himself on the floor. He is interested in watching baby care and rough catching games of speedy kids get him laughing. Sitting in the swing with somebody and watching people in the yard or traffic on the street nearby is a pleasant entertainment for him. His face is indicating he doesn’t believe all this is true. Eyes wide open and expecting he is turning to his company and is smiling happily. One important event in the playing room is when biscuits are served in the forenoon. That is prepared by wiping the hands with a wet cloth. Chavyvan has difficulties to swallow and he isn’t able to pick up the biscuit and that’s why he often lost his snack. Now his eyes are shining, when he gets a piece of biscuit too. Not even to mention the fact that somebody noticed to clean his hands too. Development of motion has not been as good as hoped, but now we have been able, at last, to start practising to eat with spoon. In other words we can soon stop using feeding bottle.

Srey Sor visits physiotherapy twice a week, too. She is practising there standing and walking. In addition to that she is walking daily together with volunteers. Walking stand, leg supports and steady shoes should always be used when moving on foot. She walks for a while like a royal and then tries to stop practising in every way. She would prefer to climb up into one’s arms. Walking on bare foot is getting more and more interesting. She is approaching everybody, who might give time for walking. She even starts climbing up near visitors leaning to them. If not walking, at least close or preferable into the arms! In her own room she feels very interested and amused in watching care of babies. And sometimes late afternoon a common giggling time with the room fellows can continue for a long time.

I have tried to keep my mind open and learn. You want respect foreign culture and customs, but it is sometimes difficult to understand. The caretakers are certainly tired with too much work. They have not been paid much and some of them are even leave at the orphanage. Still some of them are always able to be gentle and patient with the children. I hardly saw stressed caretakers. Usually you make all the things very leisurely, here you still have time to stop for chatting with your fellow workers. However children are fed very fast in a lying position, although they'd have difficulties to swallow. Then if you give a cough the food is spurting all around and you will be punished with a slap. Teeth brushing is not very common and it isn't made very hygienically. Pot isn't used and it's difficult for a child to sit on toilets of the rooms, although the seats are low. There are no waste-baskets. I saw protective gloves were used only once when tending to a wound. Physiotherapists use gloves commendably. So it's up to a volunteer to use protective gloves and disinfection gel for hands. I remind myself that I work here in area of locals and with their terms too. I still hope that with my own example I've made at least some little things change. But there's something in here, that we nowadays have to look for. You can sense the enthusiasm for work and it shows and can be heard as well! The workers and children seem to be like a one big family. I believe that everyone is taken care as well as possible.

Children are used to volunteers, who are changing often. They understand that they can get something extra from them. Maybe our presence effected so that more children had a possibility to spend time in the playroom. We helped mornings with feeding, washing and dressing and took them then to the playroom. We took care of carrying to physiotherapy. Together we took a group of children out and few times everybody from the playroom was sitting there. Maybe it was our example or just now there was enough helping hands for that. There is a shortage of caretakers and during some days there has been only one caretaker in my room. And also she has to be somewhere else occasionally for a long time. At least on such days the help from volunteers is more than useful. We have thought many times about how repeated separations from familiar and safe people will effect to children. On the other hand some of the children will straightaway go into every visitor’s arms. Only a few of them need time to get familiar and accept a person. Perhaps they already can take a view of temporary things. Maybe they will guess that after a certain time period, hour of separation is near. Or even they will sense that. At least during last weeks children tugged at my shirt more than earlier and wanted to be in my arms without stopping. We are worrying about the continuity of our work. There hasn’t been many other volunteers, except us, who have worked regularly. The others have been mainly visitors or popping in once a week. After us nobody is coming through our organisation.

Saying goodbye is hard, although this special festival makes it easier. It doesn’t take much time to say goodbye to the caretakers, but the children! I have to make me believe, that I will visit them one day in future. I try to say goodbye to them same way as usually. With a very smart two-year-old boy it doesn’t work. He is noticing at once that there is something special happening. Maybe he is guessing, because it is not very long time since my volunteer colleagues said goodbye. He has been told about his coming adopting home and flight has been demonstrated. I am telling that I’m just leaving and I am demonstrating a plane taking off. He is looking at me very seriously with his big and searching eyes. He is also demonstrating a plane, probably the coming flight of his own. He is pointing his cheek with his tiny finger and is waiting there a kiss for goodbye. After kisses and hugs I have to escape the room and I can see him blowing a lot of kisses after me.




Lea Jantunen