Susan told me that a group of students and a few parents were traveling to an orphanage in a small nearby town on Friday. She told me that she thought I would be welcomed to go. Because she was teaching, Susan was unable to go. We had spent a lot of time talking about investigating the situation with orphanages before we got to the field and this was our first opportunity to visit one. When our team arrived, we were treated to a drink that tasted very much like good ole southern sweet tea, only it was hot. The lady who hosted us gave us a brief overview of the situation of the kids in her facility. Though the facility was identified as an orphanage, most of the children either went home each evening or lived in dorms during the week- returning home on the weekends. My impression was that the facility looked and operated like a school, though the workers were far more involved in the social welfare of these children than would typically be observed in the states. These children are Roma, also known as gypsies (though the term "gypsy" is akin to a racial slur). They live in very poor conditions. It is a common practice for Roma girls to be sold into marriage and sometimes prostitution by the time they are 14 years old. If the family that buys the girl doesn't like her, she is often returned home with any children she may have had. Education has very little perceived value. We were told that there were some children from a home for disabled children who come over for part of the day. I was very curious to see those children.
The game plan of our team before we arrived was to engage the children in games. A soccer ball and a small nerf basketball were brought along and came in very handy. Because it was cold outside, the kids were given the option of going outside with the boys and playing soccer or staying inside and playing games in the classroom. After watching the games and seeing that some of the disabled children were not following what was going on, one of the ladies on our team suggested that we go across the hall and play with the children who had disabilities. In our group were four children, one of who was in a wheelchair. We began playing games and I was told that the smallest girl in the group did not talk, but the more she played the less shy she was. She began making vocalizations as she got excited. At one point, we thought she was saying some words and so we began playing games to get the kids to make animal noises, which this little girl did with no trouble. Though my Bulgarian is very poor, it appeared that she was speaking to her friend during our games. As our time was ending and everyone was heading outside, one of the ladies asked if this girl with whom we were playing had a coat. She was told that she had been given lots of coats, but her mother (who was reportedly mentally disabled) said that she burns them for heat. What a tough, challenging environment for this precious little girl.
