Orphanage

Recently, I went to an orphanage in Dalian City with a whole slew of teachers. It was Saturday morning and we were going to hold and cuddle with the babies at the facility. We arrived around 9:00 and stayed a little less than one hour. I was told that there were 200 babies and children in the facility. It is government run and has an even mix of boys and girls in their care. Legally, you have to fill out a lot of paperwork and get a special permit to visit the place each time, so we were flying under the radar, which is actually why we were not allowed to stay longer.

I ended up holding and playing with a little girl named "xian". She was six months old, and at first appeared quite scared of all the foreigners that wandered into her nursery room. (There was a whole hall of nursery rooms separated by glass windows. Each room held about eight cribs.) Xian cried and wimpered and acted fussy for quite a while, while many of the other babies seemed quite comfortable being held. Finally, I put her down on the floor on her back and started massaging her forehead and face in the same way that the chinese masseuse's do to me. This seemed to relax her and she became a little more lively and interested in her surroundings. I then started massaging her muscles and moving her limbs to stimulate her body and brain. I can only imagine that these babies spend almost all of their time on their backs in those cribs. I think they need a lot more physical movement and stimulation than they get on a daily basis.

Anyway, I had a great time. I was lucky that Xian was healthy and active after she warmed up to me. Many of the babies were covered with chapped dry skin that was bloody and blistered. I can only imagine it is a result of the terribly dry Dalian winter weather. Who knows? But many babies looked the worse for wear. There was a hight percentage of babies that were physically handicapped or developmentally delayed as well, which is most likely why they were given up to the orphanage. So sad. I intend to go more frequently whenever I am free.

One thing I find amazing is that if a Chinese couple wants to adopt a baby, they must medically prove that the woman is infertile. Isn't that wild? With the one child policy and the number of needy children, I would think they would want to adopt children regardless of whether the woman could have her own biological baby or not.