Inside a Romanian Orphanage

Part 1: Changing a Child's World

My first day at the orphanage was overwhelming, with 235 children ranging in age from birth to 3 years old. I worked in a room of 16 children aged 9 months to 3 years. They all wanted to climb over me, pull me down, and hug me at the same time.

For the first week, I just observed - through a mass of legs, arms and bodies - to see what the children did and how they did it. They had no concept of playing or how to play. What do you do when you are given a toy? The children liked to throw it against the walls, out the window or hit each other on the head - all of which made very interesting sounds! The children were very lovable, all wanting attention at the same time, and I learned early on to walk into the room and sit on the floor straight away to avoid being pushed over.

My days started with hugs all around, although not all the children like to be hugged or even touched. One little boy liked to run and hit the wall, bounce off, fall down, get up, and then start the process all over again. He wouldn't allow me to touch him for the first 5 months. Finally, he got tired of watching the other children seemingly having a nice time being hugged by me. On the day he allowed me to hug him, he had been bouncing off the walls and I made a grab for him as he sped by. I held him in the breast-feeding position with one arm under my arm behind my back, and held him firmly, rocking him and singing quietly. He stayed in that position for 20 minutes. He was 3 years old and my arm was ready to drop off by then, but I didn't want to put him down. He laid perfectly contented for the whole 20 minutes, putting his thumb in his mouth. He relaxed and went into a semi sleep. After this he was a frequent visitor for his turn for a hug!

© Leslie McCarthy

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