Diamond_weekends

WEEKENDS WITH CHILDREN FROM ORPHANAGES

A Weekend meeting for children from orphanages was held in October. Children from the Orphanage in Suprasl, children from "Diamond" Club and teachers who are volunteers cooperating with "Diamond" Center participated in that meeting.

The aim of such meetings is to enable children to spend their time in a family atmosphere.

There were 18 people all together. Most of the children and teachers knew each other from our summer camp in Narewka. It was then so nice to see each other again and to remember about the time we had together in the summer. During the weekend children could choose amongst various activities such as games and plays, talks, walks or help with preparing meals in the kitchen. On Saturday, before lunch children played table tennis in the "Diamond" Club. After lunch we spent 1,5 hours swimming in a nearby attractive pool, at a local hotel. The Directors of the Hotel have made it possible for us to swim for free. In the evening, right after supper, children went to spend the night with families that are friends of "Diamond".

The time we spent with children was extremely interesting because of the possibility to build close relationships. We could get to know their problems. One of the boys was very depressed. On Sunday, one of the teachers tried to talk to him. He found out that the boy has spent all his life in the orphanage. Another 17 year-old teenager confessed that he was sad because of the adoption of his little sister. "I know it's a great chance for her for a better life", he said, "but for me it means I will probably never see her again. And I love my little sister. The situation was the same with my other brother and sister. Already for 2 years they are in foster families. I have never seen them since they had left the orphanage. I don't know how they are doing. It's very sad for me."

When you hear such stories, it's hard to say anything or to give any wise advice. It's only God who can find an answer to such difficult problems. Only He can change tears and sadness into joy.

Design based on work by Roland Kuehn and Tyler Eastman.