tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970003.post1321427067653450501..comments2024-02-25T21:33:44.400-06:00Comments on Garden of Eagan: So you want to visit an orphanage...Leah Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02326240393099112570noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970003.post-47543256541211436262017-08-31T07:54:31.205-05:002017-08-31T07:54:31.205-05:00Good post...very informative.Thanks for sharing..k...Good post...very informative.Thanks for sharing..keep posting on.<br /><a href="http://hopechennai.com/sponsor-a-child-in-need/" rel="nofollow"> Sponsor a child in need</a><br /><a href="http://hopechennai.com/donate-to-children-in-need/" rel="nofollow">Donate to children in need</a>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03884163615241982946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970003.post-36360619533543443552017-08-22T16:51:06.782-05:002017-08-22T16:51:06.782-05:00Thank you for sharing this. It's a brand new ...Thank you for sharing this. It's a brand new perspective for me. <br /><br />Tammy and ParkerParkerMamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02699831003510100066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970003.post-13769582334951700912014-07-09T21:50:34.343-05:002014-07-09T21:50:34.343-05:00I agree with you, there are better ways to support...I agree with you, there are better ways to support them, training staff first in my mind. Teach them how to be truly there for the kids and to respond to their cries. I have spent 6 weeks visiting an orphanage when we adopted Kara and I saw many lazy caregivers (and some wonderful ones) who could have responded to a child's cry, but chose not to. If they just cared for them, their little brains would continue to develop normally and they would not have a lifetime of attachment issues as a result. Arizona mom to eighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01875806984101641881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970003.post-7083923771258918592014-07-07T09:11:52.216-05:002014-07-07T09:11:52.216-05:00There's a book on amazon called "Parentin...There's a book on amazon called "Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child" that might help with the bonding. I read it a few years ago in preparation for an adoption that fell through so I am not experienced and have not walked in your shoes, but thought maybe that would help. <br /><br />Very eye opening piece about volunteering. My facebook feed is full, right now, of kids coming back from those kinds of trips saying exactly those kinds of things. Fatcathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10687367589610368444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970003.post-2598393191390592362014-07-06T10:03:54.313-05:002014-07-06T10:03:54.313-05:00Bobbie, we have a family mantra, "Hugs are fo...Bobbie, we have a family mantra, "Hugs are for family, handshakes are for friends." Our general rule is if the don't live in our house they do not get hugs. We used to carry around a little ring with pictures of each household member. Before enter an event/store/etc I would take out the ring of pictures and remind him these are the people who are allowed hugs. All others are fist bumps, handshakes and high 5's. I think it was beyond him at the time though and we need to revisit this. Really, it drives me crazy. When we are out and about, if I'm pushing a cart his hand must be ON IT, no exceptions. (same rule applies for Abel and Audrey) If no cart then they're holding my hand, and yes, I have gotten adept at holding 3 hands at once!Leah Springhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02326240393099112570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970003.post-11320507156528734402014-07-06T08:11:20.880-05:002014-07-06T08:11:20.880-05:00My daughter went to Estonia last l year along with...My daughter went to Estonia last l year along with a couple of other teenagers from our church. They spent 3 months working in a summer camp - washing dishes, serving food and helping with activities for the kids. The kids were from a variety of places. Some were orphans, some with disabilities, others just kids on summer camp. Those kids knew that the camp was only going to go for a week so they didn't have any hopes that our kids would stick around for them. I think this is a good, practical way to help. It certainly changed our kids lives. It was hard work but very rewarding because they provided such practical help. If someone wants to volunteer, helping out at a summer camp is a good way to do it.<br />Tigger (aka Karyn)https://www.blogger.com/profile/14735958024662927411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970003.post-70776065269805265982014-07-06T01:10:23.558-05:002014-07-06T01:10:23.558-05:00This is the thing that has been in the back of my ...This is the thing that has been in the back of my mind for a few years now. Every time I would read about someones experience visiting an orphanage and playing with the kids...Years and years ago now I went to our local animal shelter to look at a dog. He was a big dog and I had young children, so I 'visited' with him a few times, to see what I could see. Anyway the person in charge got mad at me because she said I was leading him on, and getting his hopes up! At the time I thought;"Hmm, he's a dog,lady!" However how much worse would it be for a CHILD to have this experience? Not once or twice, but repeatedly?As for the talent thing, I can sew. There is a charity that distributes dresses made out of pillowcases for kiddos with sans clothing. Right up my alley. You can get a vintage pillowcase used for .25-50. We all have Something we can contribute.Melissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15698048718456255433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970003.post-1314696540188392562014-07-05T21:54:27.900-05:002014-07-05T21:54:27.900-05:00Hello! Thank you for your article. What kinds of ...Hello! Thank you for your article. What kinds of things do you tell Asher to help him understand? We have had our 5 1/2 year old home for 3 years and he often will hug (and sometimes even kiss) strangers. If someone is nice to him or gives him something (happens often because he is friendly and cute!), he will exclaim that this person is his friend. I don't want to discourage him from being outgoing and friendly, but it scares me how easily he gets close to strangers. I have talked about someone trying to take him and how he can kick, scream, bite - but he probably wouldn't recognize that someone is a "bad guy" if they acted nice. Thanks!!Bobbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456503228082302523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970003.post-3630242635231089522014-07-05T18:49:32.241-05:002014-07-05T18:49:32.241-05:00Sadly, the Peace Corps is pretty much the same thi...Sadly, the Peace Corps is pretty much the same things -- there's a huge gap between people with the sorts of skills that would actually be useful to the locals (eg experienced farmers, civil engineers who do low-tech, low-maintenance irrigation, etc) and the sorts of people who sign up for the Peace Corps (21 yo me, with a newly-minted degree in astrophysics). I had a great 2.5 yrs, it was a truly eye-opening experience but there was precious little I did that was helpful. I was supposed to teach high school math/science but there was no high school in "my" town.<br /><br />I subsequently worked for a large NGO and ran head first into the Law of Unintended Consequences. I managed a project that aimed to improve healthcare delivery in a remote, rural region with basically no doctors but quite a few RNs. Getting doctors to move to the region was a non-starter, so we coordinated training the RNs to the Bachelor of Nursing level -- it worked great, the quality of healthcare in the region improved in a statistically significant way. <br /><br />So we decided to train the BS nurses to Master of Nursing level (the local equivalent of a nurse practitioner), in the hope that they'd eventually be able to train midwives too. The NGO was pretty excited and I really felt this was going to make a BIG difference. <br /><br />It did. Approximately one nanosecond after the Master of Nursing degrees were awarded, pretty much all the nurses quit their remote, rural nurse jobs in order to move to the capital, as they got fabulous jobs laying 5x what they were currently making at various Embassies. <br /><br />My five-year, two phase nurse education project succeeded only in removing pretty much all the nurses from a renote area desperately in need of healthcare. THAT is what around $400k + good intentions accomplished. We made things MUCH worse!<br /><br />The potential to do way more harm than good looms large. Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14075630681598355493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970003.post-10600390051899479892014-07-05T17:06:39.182-05:002014-07-05T17:06:39.182-05:00Good point Hevel! Good point Hevel! Leah Springhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02326240393099112570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970003.post-20566554855563560322014-07-05T17:04:28.813-05:002014-07-05T17:04:28.813-05:00This. So, so much. I won't share what I've...This. So, so much. I won't share what I've been called for suggesting that people avoid the "let's go cuddle disabled babies" tour. There are so many ways to help children in institutions around the world, but I am firmly against this one. Thank you for this. I will be sharing it with everyone who wants to do one of these trips...Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08502625442668400560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13970003.post-12531208785456979152014-07-05T17:01:50.185-05:002014-07-05T17:01:50.185-05:00Better yet: If you want to go on a vacation, do so...Better yet: If you want to go on a vacation, do so. Spend your money to boost the local economy and don't be under foot of local staff. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10938825726219160823noreply@blogger.com