Maria

This week two new babies joined our group, both named Katya, and both 3 months old. They also both have brown hair and brown eyes. One is a little more alert than the other but for the most part they are pretty similar. We also have a new baby but she has moved to us from Group 11, one of the groups for children with disabilities. They are doing some refurbishment in their classroom, so all of their children have been dispersed to various groups. Maria is 3 years old and has beautiful blue eyes and blonde hair. Her legs are under-developed and that is why I think she is in our group, she can't move, so we need to treat her like an infant. It is pretty clear, however, that Maria is often in a lot of pain and, as far as I can tell, nothing is being done to manage the pain. I rub her back, which has ribs sticking out at odd angles, when I can. She spends most of the day laying on her back. I try to put her on a soft bed, but the caregivers often lay her in the hard playpen. She cries in either one. When she is in the hard playpen, I put a large stuffed dog in there with her for her to lie on, but it doesn't seem to help. She likes being picked up, but even then she seems in pain. She can pull herself up onto her arms, but isn't able to crawl. She moves about by rolling. I feel like she needs more stimulation. She is often lying in a crib staring up at the ceiling. The babies lie in a crib that has this thing hanging down with lots of rattles and toys attached. We can move it and they all stare up at the noise and the bright colors. But Maria is too big for the baby crib. I think that Maria, as a three year old, would need more stimulation than the babies, anyway. She would need toys that lit up and made noises. I even wonder, if she joined a class where they sing songs and play games, she would start to improve. Right now she makes baby sounds 'mamama' and 'bababa' and claps her hands but sometimes I wonder how much of that is actually disability and how of it is being under-stimulated. The plight of children, and people, with disabilities is really heart-breaking here. I chose to work with the infant group because I have done research on infant brain development and want to try to improve the development for infants who are not being held. However, the groups that have children with disabilities also pull on my heartstrings. The caregivers in those groups are a bit more callous. They are not as nice to the volunteers. I feel like they think, what is the point. Many of these children will not live long. The volunteers are often the only smiling, kissing, hugging, talking to the children will ever get. Which isn't right, and isn't fair, but for a poor country, children with disabilities are on the low end of priorities. (Once again, read Boy from Baby House 10, to learn more about the struggles of children with disabilities growing up in orphanages in post Soviet countries).

It has been two weeks since the volunteers arrived and now they are leaving me. Two more volunteers arrive on Sunday, which is village day in Gratesti. Apparently there will be lots of dancing, food, etc.
This week we went to another opera. This one was by Johann Strauss, called Die Fledermaus (the bat). It was $6. I think the Moldovan opera company took some license with the play, because there was quite a bit of dialogue for it to be considered an opera. And it seemed to deviate from the original play, or the one on wikipedia anyway. I think the volunteers had a really nice trip. They gave me a card thanking me for my help, although when we translated it it actually said that I was a really good boyfriend. Compliment taken! It is hard to believe I have been here for a month already. I am halfway through my trip. Time goes so fast!