Volunteering

Orphanage in Bangkok

     I have finally gotten to do my first volunteering in Bangkok.  On Monday Renee, Bea, Abby and I went to an orphanage that Abby has been involved in for about a year.  She said that she had heard that this is one of the cleanest and best run places for small children.  I was a little anxious about what I would see, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Here is a picture of the little girl that I was assigned to that day.  She is about 14 months old and her name is Somchai.  

She cried when I first held her, I guess I looked a lot different from the women that usually take care of her.  We each took our little ones across the compound to a room where we were to play with them for the next 2 hours.  We were warned not to bathe the children since it was winter ~~  ha ha ~~  I thought.  But they were serious!  We were sweating like pigs in this room - it must have been 85 degrees with pretty high humidity.  They had the windows open and the fans on, but it was hot.  So anyway, we did not bathe the children - I don't think that would have crossed my mind anyway. 

     Here we are playing.  I had just pushed her around and around the room on this horsey.  She doesn't look like, but she was smiling!  

Abby told me that women can drop their babies off at this place and they will take care of them for up to 2 years.  Then the women have to decide if they want to keep them or adopt them out.  Abby had fallen in love with the little girl that she was working with.  I asked her if she was going to adopt her, but Abby said that the way they do it in Thailand is that you put your name on a list, and even if you want a specific child, they will give you whatever child is next on that list.  You can't ask for one that you know.  So she isn't going to do that. 
     It was a fun experience.  We are going to be doing that 1 time a week.  I will show you more pictures of the facility later.