Birthdays and awakening

So this trip really has been a once in a lifetime.

I'm SO grateful that not only I am here, but also for the country I have come from, and the family that brought me up. I guess I've been thinking a lot about why I am who I am... and how it is that I have found myself all the way in Moldova, visiting Orphanages, and becoming involved in the middle of the human trafficking wars e.t.c.
I think a lot of it comes down to (as always) nature and nurture. I've always found myself observing the world and with a heart for people... which is often hurt by seeing those in terrible conditions for no apparent reason other than a difference in birthplace or time. But my parents were great, they travelled with me and answered my questions thoughtfully and provoked me with seeing and experiencing other cultures.

Me in Aitutaki at a friends house, they had a trampoline!

Aitutaki has a lot to do with who I am today (for those of you that don't know this about me I spent the beginning of my childhood on a small island in the pacific, that had a lot of poverty on it-this is like 18 years ago now- where there were very few white families). I learnt not only what was important in life; like family, happiness and freedom, but also how irrelevant money was to the success of all of these things. I didn't wear shoes when I walked, I had second-hand toys, and TV was a VHS tape replayed in black and white (The Lone Ranger being my favourite show at 5yrs).
BUT being one of the only white children (an outsider) made me flexible as I had to adapt, learn the language and adjust. The freedom and close-knit family community made me value people and love.
And that is why I am who I am... and why I always take a doggy-bag away from restaurants no matter how flash they are (to give away or eat later... because I just can't bring myself to waste good food) :) haha.

So, back to the present.

The little girl who asked me when I would be back... :(

The last few days have been "intense". I think that's the best word to use here. After sending that last blog I had lunch in the orphanage dining room (consisting of Moldovan soup, chicken and some ground corn- which looks like mashed potatoes), then as it was a little cold outside I played indoor soccer with a ball that LITERALLY fell apart as we played. hee hee. It's kinda what ended the game to be honest... there were pieces of foam ball everywhere by the end of the game as we all departing sweating and laughing.

Me and Leanne then said goodbye to some of the older girls we'd made friends with and gotten along really well with. Most of them came from the orphanage themselves, though from before Phillip Cameron arrived, when the conditions were horrible and there was no hope or laughter.
One of the girls (Galina) has actually found herself not only back in the orphanage she never wanted to see again, but as the assistant director at 23yrs of age. She is small in stature but has this incredible strength about her... she is really a mother to all the children, and has the difficult job of playing both father and mother to them, and dishing out punishments when needed e.t.c. our conversations would constantly be interrupted by a child (usually an older boy on behalf of a group) asking for something or checking if what they were doing was ok. It was incredible the respect she had, with just a nod or a no her word was final and accepted. I think she has enormous respect among the children.

Some of the kids, outside the fron tof the new orphanage

Saying goodbye to the kids was so hard. Even in a day and a half we had begun to know some better than others, and had those we'd played with most. One little girl gave me a broach, which appeared to be revered by her, I tell you, that little broach meant more to me than any of my numerous possessions back in NZ.
It took a good half hour to get from our room upstairs into the car to leave, because we just kept hugging and kissing the kids goodbye. They were so lovely, it's hard to fathom the backgrounds they have come from and to think their families chose to abandon them, or worse.
One little girl asked in Romanian when I was coming back (urgh, that terrible heart-breaking moment) I had to have translated that "I could promise I would, but I want to". Reality, what a killer.
I really do hope to.

The village where the orphanage is... this is the town

One of the other girls from the orphanage, Irina came back with us as it was her birthday the next day (turning 20) and she wanted to see her sisters in Stella's House (she was one of the first rescued). I got along really well with her, and hope we can be good friends in the future... soon she will be going to the US to study business at University, and told me she hopes to come back to Moldova to help here and to improve the economy and provide jobs for the orphans rescued. At the moment Moldova has 80% unemployment and the percentage of which is much higher in the small villages.
This basically means everyone has a small field, with a few chickens and maybe a goat if they're lucky, and this keeps them alive and allows them to trade for the little else they need. Generations live and will live like this unless something changes.


Anyhoo, on a drive to the Child Protection office in the city (to pay the guards which have to patrol the orphanage to protect those inside) a young woman with no hair and a baby walked past. Mia recognised her as a woman who had been housed for a short time at the orphanage as a young mother... as she was saying hi and chatting Irina explained how the mother had no hair since birth (and thus was ridiculed/getting a job was impossible) her child too had the condition which had meant no father or income. Unfortunately she was extremely thin, and it was explained to me this was because she spent the little money she had on alcohol, and this was why she had left the place of support early... because she didn't like the rules (taking care of your child well, not drinking excessively etc). Sad, sadness everywhere.

Taking a walk around with Leanne and the US girls

I skyped my parents after getting back and found my Dad had researched stats on Moldova and found (unsurprisingly) they have the largest alcohol consumption in the world which has risen by 900% in the last few years, to an unbelievable 18.2 Litres (talking pure alcohol, not the added flavours/water). I asked Irina what the drinking age was and she just shrugged... anyone can drink.
There is so much needed here. And unfortunately the country, in search for independence (only gained in '91) and "western culture" has only latched onto the worst of our worlds, drugs, alcohol, sexual exploitation and vanity... the gap between rich and poor expands, and corruption rules over all.
it is a big battle, but the truth is always exposed, and those who live lives of lies and deception always tangle themselves in their own nets. Eventually.

Okay, sorry, I'm rambling... I'll tell a few stories then must get on with the day.haha.

One terrible and one good, so you will know which paragraph to miss if you want a more pleasant view of the world as your reality. Ooosh, I'm a little harsh... it must be the environment, though I won't apologise for it.

The turn-off sign to the orphanage (or town where it is)

Story 1: About a girl Phillip Cameron and his wife tried to adopt. In the very early stages of their visits they really began to love this young girl from the orphanage who had a slightly Asian look to her (every now and then you see someone who has a bit of Mongolian or some kind of Asian background), she was one who had family but was both not wanted and from a terrible background. They asked her if she would like to become part of their family, and she did, so they approached her family and begun the paperwork. For her to be adopted the parents had to sign her over, the mother agreed to do it for one bottle of whiskey.
The girls grandfather (who was also bad news) was angry at this so he told the young girl that she was only being adopted for her organs and that they would chop her up and sell her as soon as they adopted. Sadly trafficking for body parts happens too, and Leanne even had a woman tell her quietly at church one day that her and her mother got into an unmarked taxi one day, only to stop around the corner where three large guys with knives jumped in and drove them out into the country... they began praying and crying and for a reason we will never know they were dropped in a forest... she is sure to this day they were after body parts from their talk. Anyway, the young girl got scared and so they stopped the adoption. Later she got a boyfriend who sold her to traffickers where she was prostituted out, she then went crazy and assaulted a policeman (or so the story goes) and is now either in a Moldovan prison or mental institute... which I can imagine are some of the most terrible places on earth.
This really broke the Cameron's hearts, to see what could have been and what was. And since then they have never tried to adopt again, though most of the girls who call them Mum and Dad go by the last name Cameron.

Story 2: When the Providence orphanage first opened a year ago, they had an open day to show the families and children that they were good people and had no hidden agendas. One little boy begged his grandfather for weeks to come see the orphanage, and so him on the open day. They had a look around the place (which would have been like nothing they'd ever seen before) they hadn't eaten properly in three days and so when they ate lunch with the others, they just had plate after plate, and the grandfather loaded his pockets with oranges and biscuits to take home. After this the boy decided to stay right then, in the clothes he was in, and waved his grandfather goodbye without tears.
He was then given a little "welcome bag" with a teddy bear, a hat, scarf and gloves... he smile just kept getting wider and wider.

Russian dolls at the market in Chisinau

He then was taken upstairs by the house parents (they live in family settings with a couple and like 7 kids, to try and make a family atmosphere) where he was showered and put in PJ's. He then was taken to a room to choose his own clothes and shoes. This was pretty overwhelming for him, and he picked shoes that were 4x too big, because that was how he thought you chose shoes (so they would last longer), many of the kids have never worn fitting shoes until they come, and find it strange wearing them.

He's been there for a year now but still has trouble in school because he was used to working in gardens with his grandfather (seriously, the kid is a maximum of 8years old... generously), and still goes working for his grandfather in the school holidays, coming back with bleach blond hair from the sun and working all day.
It really is a happy story though, because he now has the opportunity to go to school, has clothes and food and a future... soon he will be speaking English and dreaming of what he wants to become. This is success.

Most of the kids have to go back to their families in school holidays, because their parents want them to work or earn money for them. I found out yesterday that the government (to earn money) lets people rent orphans in the holidays at 80c a day... I feel sick just thinking about it.

I wanted to finish on a high note but today I think will be the hardest of all as we are going to see two state run orphanages, which are like the providence orphanage before it was fixed up.

Wooden Magnets at the markets in the capital city

It's not ALL doom and gloom though, the kids made it worth it. To see the young kids playing and happy and with futures is evidence that lives are being changed, and each child had such an effect on the future, in changing the opinion of their society, investing hope etc. The older kids who are going to university and have a passion to help others and change their nation really impress me.
And the biggest one is the fact that this all was started and run by one American family who couldn't turn away and wanted to help. through them and fundraising for the kids, all this has happened. And it is incredible and changing lives, Moldova, and is an example for the world and others...
It goes to show you what is achievable when you are focused and you are driven for a good cause.

So glad I'm here, I feel incredibly blessed to be a witness.

Having lunch with Irina on her 20th Birthday...From left: Leanne (Next Level International), Mia (Stella's House Big sister), Amy (Big siter intern), Irina (heading to US soon) and me (Kendra)