Superkids Charity

Beautiful Waiting Children Available

2011-12-12T08:36:00.001-08:00

All these children dream of a family and home of their own

I was fortunate to meet a group of incredible children on my last trip to China and Taiwan. They are all just waiting for a family to call their own.

Miao Miao, age 5, is a sweet girl who is wearing an orange sweater. She had a small mark on her forehead at birth which has faded. She is a little shy and quiet. She enjoys running games and really likes to play in a ride on toy car that moves forward as you twist. She has been living in foster care for three years. She is in kindergarten and enjoys school.

Da Da, age 8, was a sweet, confident, handsome boy who has been living in foster care for almost 5 years. He has a slightly wet sound to his speech and a shortened uvula. He is in his second year of school and achieves high grades, especially in English. He was a funny boy with a good sense of humor. He told me he likes chasing games and transformers. He did not like Asian poems he has to recite and memorize in school and then he recited one shook his head and said see. He was looking for my agreement about how terrible the poem was.

Pin Pin, age 7, is a sweet boy who came right from school to meet with me. He wore his green school uniform and was very handsome with a big smile. He had surgery for gastrochesis as a child but has no trouble with his stomach now. He is in first grade and told me that English and math were his least favorite subjects. I asked him to draw a picture and he drew a police car and described it to me as he drew.

You You, age 7, came from school in a bright yellow uniform. He has a deformity of his (R) hand and thumb. He spoke confidently and described what he could and could not do with his hand. He could use this hand to assist and pinch objects between his middle and ring finger to hold them. He was able to string beads and play with blocks. He gets top scores in his classes at school. He drew me a picture of a tower and then drew fruit in the tower. He asked me what it looked like to see if I could guess correctly. A smart, sweet, confident boy.

Xun Xun, age 4, lives in the orphanage and has a spinal deformity. When he speaks, he uses simple, two word sentences. He can also count 1 – 10. There has been a question of possible strabismus as well. When given a crayon he was able to scribble on paper. He was also able to put on his shoes and preferred to keep his shoes on when not leave the playing on a mat. He was able to throw the ball but did not catch.

Qing Qing, age 4, is a pretty girl who has congenital hip dislocation and bilateral club feet. She has had surgery for both. She walked stiffly with a little waddle and had trouble sitting down on the play mat. She takes care of all her own self care activities and attends preschool in the orphanage. She likes to look pretty, likes having her hair done and is attached to her caregivers. Her caregivers told me she was a good observer and liked new things. She sang a song for me.

And I met these two remarkable boys in Taiwan:

Hong Hong, age 10, is a sweet boy who had on a red checked shirt. He had just come back from School when I met him. He is very well coordinated and his favorite thing in School is Gymnastics. He drew a beautiful picture for me with animee- like characters. He wrote some English words for me. His caregiver says he dislikes cleaning up and likes to play pillow fights with the three other boys in his room. He is a sweet boy whose eyes just sparkled.

Fan Fan is a sweet 8 year old boy who followed all my directions. When I asked him to draw a picture he had trouble getting started. When he spoke he used a very soft voice but caregiver told me he speaks more loudly with his friends. He is in a room with three other boys. He makes friends easily. His favorite color is blue and he loves to watch cartoons. He is a handsome boy who loves to play.

For more information on Gladney’s Asia Waiting Child programs click here www.asiawaitingchild.wordpress.com)

Click on Photolist (photolist link- http://asiawaitingchild.wordpress.com/view-pictures/) to learn more about the children that are available for adoption through Gladney.

2011-11-21T06:16:00.000-08:00

Sorry everyone, I was unable to blog for the last several days in china.

I've had a chance to reflect on what an incredible day we had at the foster care station. I loved meeting all of the children. It is over whelming to reach out and touch the hand of a child who is waiting for a forever family. All these children are cared for and most came with a caring foster parent, foster grandparent or foster aunt. Those who didn't, came directly from school in their school uniforms( so cute)with officials from the foster care station. They'll smiled, laughed and were ever so cute. The other thing that was great about this day was meeting children who are matched with families. These children are bright, articulate and just beautiful. To hear more about these children register for the Gladney asia waiting children's webnair on Dec 1st.

Once Gongzhan and I got on our flight, we flew 3 hours to Harbin. This is in very northeastern China. We arrived there around 10 pm. We were met by Rocky and Susan. Rocky would help facilitate travel/photography for the next several days, Susan is an official in the province with the CCCWA. We stayed in an older Russian inspired hotel that was very beautiful. The next morning we were met by Susan who took us to see a center for the treatment of cerebral palsy. There was some very good treatment going on. There was also a nice mix of Easter and western treatment going on. I was impressed and would have liked to have more time there.

After this, we took the van for a trip to Jiamusi social welfare institute which is about 3 and a half hours outside of Harbin - very close to the Russian border. It is a large orphanage that is clean, newly refurbished and the children I saw were very well cared for. They have many new rehabilitation rooms and are beginning to build a rehab program. I was able to greet many children and work briefly with some really cute boys.

Following our time in the orphanage we had a meeting with the officials, orphanage director, and staff. This group was so welcoming we really felt connected to them. We left the orphanage in Jiamusi and checked into a beautiful hotel where we were treated to a banquet by a provincial official. What a beautiful welcome - the food was great!

The next morning I was off to the airport for a flight to Beijing. I was a little nervous about the Jiamusi airport thinking it was so small. I was convinced it would be a 6 passenger propeller plane. If everyone does not know, I am afraid of flying and it's a miracle I fly to china. The plane ended up being a jet and I got to Beijing fine. Checked into a familiar hotel and spent the afternoon shopping. Off to bed by 8 then to the airport the next morning at 5:00 am.

What a whirlwind the last three days. Continue to follow my blog in the next few weeks for more info, reflections and china updates. Don't forget the webnair either.

Also, it is national adoption month. Support, think of and pay tribute to everyone in this process. Birth mothers, foster families, adoption case workers, orphanage caregivers and all the children waiting for forever families. They are in my heart today and always.

Peace, Pat
PT

I forgot to update you all on Edna. Edna Gladney traveled to Harbin and rode in the van with us to Jiamusi. You can see her picture at the airports in pudong with gongzhan and Jiamusi with me. It was edna's choice to stay in china. She skipped the return journey home with me. More children to see, more orphanages to visit. Truly living out her reputation. You go Edna!

Gladney Partnership Children in Foster Care

2011-11-10T07:12:00.000-08:00

I spent today evaluating Gladney partnership children from the Shanghai Children's Home Foster Care Center. These children are available for adoption through Gladney.

In the morning, I saw four children who were in TERRIFIC shape. They had minor to no issues at all. One very bright, confident, and handsome boy spoke to me a few words in English! He was friendly and engaging and so full of love!

In the afternoon, I evaluated two more children who had minor issues. One boy had an issue with his stomach as a baby, but that issue has resolved, so he has no medical issues now. The other child has a deformity of his wrist and hand on one side. He was very capable and had a lovely personality. They were both friendly and so, so sweet.

Many waiting orphans have very minor or no issues at all. They are healthy- physically, emotionally, and intellectually. I feel honored to work collaboratively with Gladney and the Shanghai Children's Home to find forever families for these children. We want people to know that there are boys available for adoption as well as girls from China. Many of these boys are smart, sweet, and just waiting for a home.

More partnership updates tomorrow,
Peace, Pat
PT

Lots of Love and a Busy Day at Shanghai Children's Home

2011-11-08T07:33:00.000-08:00

Today, I joyfully returned to the Shanghai Children's Home (SCH) - for the 5th time! I have grown so attached to the children and staff here. They are a second family.

Most of today, I trained SCH caregivers and rehabilitation staff. I was graciously received by Sonya, Roy and Valen. I am happy to say that I had a great day! In the morning, I evaluated children with a variety of needs and presented ideas and methods for treatment. In the afternoon, I worked intensely with caregivers in charge of caring for orphans with cerebral palsy (CP).

Once again, I was impressed with the caregivers, particularly those in charge of children with CP. Children with CP usually respond very well to proper intervention. The caregivers at SCH really love these kids and had so many insightful questions and ideas. I demonstrated techniques that improve positioning, breathing, and movement so that these children have an improved quality of life, and the caregivers an easier job.

I worked a long time with a beautiful boy with severe CP. He was very difficult to position and without proper positioning, it is difficult for children with CP to move at all. His caregiver, however, was bright and eager to learn. She quickly learned how to set his body into good alignment and...... in 1 ,2 3, she positioned him without my help so that he could lift his head up and say "goodbye" to us.

Children like this boy will unlikely find a forever family to call his own. But helping children learn to sit up, so that they can see people face to face and view the world, brings them out of darkness and into some light.

As our day came to a close, I was blessed to observe a beautiful expression of love between two waiting children. A boy with only mild issues shared his cookie with the boy who had severe cerebral palsy.

What a great day!

Getting ready to evaluate partnership children. More to come soon.

Peace,

Pat,

More Adventures with Edna

2011-11-07T09:11:00.000-08:00

Gongzhan and Edna on the high speed train

On Saturday morning Gongzhan, Edna and I traveled to TaiChung via high speed train. This is no easy job considering the amount of luggage we had. I am sending you some photos of Edna on the train. The trip to Taichung, which is in the center of Taiwan, only took an hour. The train runs thru mountains, fields and cities. In the midst of mountains, remote areas, or cities we could see very beautiful temples. Taichung is a large city. Not like new york, but still large.

We checked into our hotel and then were off to a quick lunch and meeting with the officials from the New Hope program. They are very gracious. I gave a presentation and Gongzhan did much work on the program with them. Everyone had a great time taking pictures with Edna. She was an honored guest.

It is clear that Gongzhan is very well respected. Traveling with him is an honor. The officials from New Hope hosted us for dinner at a restaurant that specialized in seafood. We saw fish lips, frogs, kidneys from who knows what animal, and lastly crocodile jaws. I was good with everything but the crocodile.

Gongzhan, Edna, and New Hope Staff

The next day I was off to Shanghai. On my way to the airport, my facilitator, Mr. Yeh decided I needed more sightseeing, so on the way to the airport, he stopped at the Grand Palace Hotel, host to Madame Chiang Kai-shek Kai Sheck. We also visited the Tomb of the Martyrs. I thought Mr. Yeh was great.

I arrived in Shanghai without a problem but Edna got stopped for a security scan. They were quite inquisitive about her. I explained we are celebrating 125 years at the Gladney Center and it's Adoption month. They just shook their heads and let us through. I was met at the airport by Roy from Shanghai Children's Home. Edna and I both received a gracious welcome. The last time I saw Roy was in NYC.

Tomorrow I begin evaluating the partnership children from the Shanghai Children's Home. I can't wait to see the kids.

Pat,
PT

Travels with Edna and a Great Day at Chengyi Orphanage

2011-11-04T06:48:00.000-07:00

Gongzhan, Edna, and I made it to Taipei!

As part of Gladney's 125th Anniversary Celebration, Gladney staff, families, and volunteers are taking life size cutouts of Edna Gladney wherever they go. When I arrived at JFK, Gongzhan was there - with Edna!

Note Edna's stylish rain gear.

Edna enjoyed the airport. They let her thru security because they said she was not much to scan as she is a cardboard cutout. We arrived in Tokyo aprox 14 hours later. Good flight, but due to limited seating Edna was stuck in the overhead bin. She did not mind the bin except during turbulence.

Here is Gongzhan and Edna in Tokyo airport.

Edna looks refreshed , Gongzhan not so much. We had a moment when we realized Edna did not have a passport or visa. She cleared security easily.

Here were are in the hotel after a good nights sleep.

Here is Edna and Mr. Yeh our facilitator. We lost Edna for a while today because we forgot she was in the trunk.

Here is Edna at the Chengyi orphanage.

Today we visited the Chengyi orphanage in Taipei. The director and staff welcomed us graciously. It is clear they care deeply about all the children under their care. There are older children without issues as well as special needs children for whom we will try to find forever families.

I met two boys at Chengyi today and they were so great! One boy is eight and is supposed to have trouble focusing. He was well connected, he followed all my directions. He was the sweetest boy whose focus was excellent when working with me. He was such a beautiful spirit! The second boy is ten and had been diagnosed with ADHD, but he no longer needs medication. He has been at the orphanage over 4 years, goes to school, and is an excellent student. He was a delight!

Each boy drew me a picture and the older boy identified the things on his picture in English words because he is already learning English in school. He was so sweet and his eyes sparkled.

These two boys are happy and playful and so need forever families. I wanted to take them both home with me. They are just out there waiting for a family to love them and say they matter. For right now they matter to me and I will think of them here dreaming of their forever families.

More tomorrow,

Pat,

The Magic of Adoption

2011-11-03T04:54:00.000-07:00

Less than 24 hours to go before I leave for China. I was shocked today when we lost power for the first time since the storm. Of course it was right after I put all my extra clothes into wash. I had several minutes of anxiety and then remembered how many people have been without power since Saturday. Needless to say the power is now back on and clothes are drying.

Today I am reflecting on something Janet Fink (Superkids founder) once said to me. She said she did not want to miss out on the magic of adopting. I think there is an amazing magic of a child that is grown in your heart. Of that child finding his or her way to you, the parent. Also, the magic of this new person you get to meet who will be part of the center of your family. I think of the parents and the children as two glimmering lights on opposites of the world, waiting to unite. I am uniquely lucky to be part of the process that brings these lights together. I have been lucky to meet some of the parents who are adopting children from the partnership program. I feel very lucky to be assisting in this process. How happy and lucky can I be to meet all these wonderful children and so many great families! I can just feel the magic.

Pat

Our Mission

2011-11-02T06:00:00.001-07:00

I am thinking a lot about what my mission is in China and Taiwan this trip. Every time I travel it is with a great deal of hope and thoughtfulness about the future. I meet many children when I am in China. I meet a large number of children with minor disabilities. Many of their issues are not really considered disabilities here in the USA. They don't effect how the kids will live nor will they make life harder in the long term. These are the children who are part of the partnership program with the Shanghai Children's Home. Our goal with the partnership children is to help them find their forever families. We speak to prospective parents and try to give them an idea of what the children are like.

There are many other children that I get to meet and work with who have serious medical issues. These children will probably not find forever families. My goal with these children is to make them feel special and loved - to assist in their rehabilitation and with any special needs they have. I think about these children when I get in bed at night.

Today, let's think about all the children in orphanages, not just in China, but around the world. Let's send all the positive energy we can to all these children. I hope they can know that in some way, there are people who love them.

Peace,

Pat

More than 1,000 Steps

2011-10-28T06:21:00.000-07:00

This journey will be more than 1000 steps. Much more. I am leaving with Gongzhan Wu (Gladney VP and director of the Asia Program) on Wednesday, Nov. 2nd and the latest itinerary reads like this.

NY to Tokyo 6737 miles

Tokyo to Taipei 1330 miles

Taipei to Shanghai 427 miles

Shanghai to Harbin 1041 miles

Harbin to Jiamushi 3.5 hours by car (mileage? maybe 150 miles)

That would make 9685 miles one way.

Returning I go from:

Jiamushi to Harbin 150 miles(roughly)

Harbin to Beijing 659 miles

Beijing to Tokyo 1307 miles

Tokyo to Home 6737 miles

That makes 8853 miles on the return trip.

Total 18,538 miles in all. I cannot believe it. The distance around the earth at the equator is 24,901 miles so I will not equal that. If I started at JFK and went 18,538 miles to the west I would fly more than half way around the world and end up somewhere in Italy. Please pass the spaghetti. But then again didn't spaghetti come from China?

Although this will be an exciting but arduous journey it is for an important purpose. To help children find their forever families, and for those children who will never find forever families to provide whatever comfort, caring and joy we can offer to them and to their caregivers. I am the lucky one. I will be meeting so many amazing children in all these cities. I cannot wait for this journey to begin. Wish I could go tonight. The only problem is my suitcase is not packed. Better wait till Wednesday.

Peace,

Pat Marcus

Preparation Begins

2011-10-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

Even the longest journey begins with but one step. I am about to begin a journey of many steps. It will be from NYC to Tokyo to TaiPei, TaiPei to Shanghai China and Shanghai to Jiamusi. I will be traveling with Gongzhan Wu who is in charge of the Asia program at Gladney. Our purpose is to bring information about our waiting children program to Taiwan. We will then be in Shanghai to meet more Gladney designated children from the Shanghai Childrens Home, spend time with the rehabilitation staff and the children in the orphanage. We will then fly to Northern China to speak with caregivers and staff in an orphanage there. All in ten days.

That will be many steps. Many new faces, new opportunities to get to know the wonderful children and make a difference. As a volunteer for Superkids my goal is to make a difference in the lives of children who are waiting for forever families and those who will never find their own special family. I feel so lucky to be part of this program.

Every day from now to Nov 2, I will be packing, preparing and eagerly anticipating this trip. Hope I have enough room in my suitcase for all I want to bring. Will keep you all updated.

Pat,
PT

Priceless

2011-07-14T10:36:00.001-07:00

Dear internet friends and followers,
I am now back home in the lovely USA. Truth be told I have been here over a week. I apologize greatly for the abruptness of this post- but the return was a well maneuvered, full Hood family surprise for my mom’s birthday. Obviously, there could be no alluding to this date prior to my departure. The result of all this trickery was absolutely priceless. I have never seen that level of shock in my mom’s eyes or heard her shriek like that in my glorious 29 years of life.
The following will thus be one last bloggy attempt to give a semblance of verbal expression to an experience that is utterly impossible to sum up in words alone. I will use mastercard to help me. I hope it’s not copy written:

2 Cameras
52 braces (ankle foot orthotics)
Wearing the same backpack full of cloths for 8 months
1 debit card
14 airplane tickets
1 cell phone
6 orphanages
Innumerable bus rides
4 jars of “imported” peanut butter
9342 pictures
1 12X12 box of souvenirs
3 new Colombia mothers
1 pediatric walker
13 hours of video
47 blog posts
5 visitors/best friends coming to see me
0 Malaria pills (despite the fact I carried a huge vat of them throughout my entire trip… waiting for the moment they became necessary)
3 horseback rides
1 salsa lesson
2 lice infestations
*********************************************************
Closing my eyes and smiling all the way down to my stomach with memories of thousands of amazing kids…. priceless
Giving me something to fight for….. priceless
Being inspired almost everyday….. priceless
Thank you for accompanying me on this priceless journey. A few of my favorite photos to sign off:

Thanks again for all the support, shout-outs, emails, visits and well wishes of those of you who silently followed along. Thank you so much!!! Chao…. hasta luego.
KO

Return Visit to Shanghai Children's Home

2011-06-10T05:46:00.000-07:00

Return Visit to Shanghai Children’s Home – May/June 2011

June 9, 2011

Following on the heels of Gladney’s March visit to the Shanghai Children’s Home by two child development specialists from the NY area, we are pleased that in May and June we were able to visit once again in furtherance of the Waiting Child Partnership between the Shanghai Children’s Home and Gladney Center. This most recent trip brought Gongzhan Wu (Gladney VP & Managing Director) and Lindsay Hatcher (Gladney social worker) to Shanghai for 2 days. On this visit Gongzhan and Lindsay were able to gather additional information and photos on some of the children already matched with their adoptive families. In addition, they were able to meet and interact with some of the children who will be assigned to Gladney and available for adoption in the upcoming months. Please REGISTER now for next week’s webinar if you are interested in learning more about Gladney’s waiting child program and our most recent visit to China.

Mango Hunting

2011-06-06T05:51:00.000-07:00

There is an activity here at the aldea in Costa Rica that is a novelty to me. The daily (sometimes tri-daily) mango hunt. It appears I have arrived to sunny Costa Rica just in time for mango season. I love mangos… or at least I thought that I did. That was until I became witness to the vest and fervor with which these kids of all ages hunt and subsequently eat mangos. As Maura mentioned “you don’t have to worry about them going hungry, that is nice.” Yes it is nice, they have ’round the clock snacks… if they are savvy enough to get them.

As far as I can tell, there are three methods to hunt a mango:

1. “Easter egg style”– this is where you just walk around and look for them in the grass. And there are tons. The risk in this method lies in the fact that the vast majority are malo (bad). The are either obviously bad and smushed with bugs flying all around them. Or, what I consider to be the scarier alternative, surprisingly bad. I have been witness to a few kids who have sunk there teeth into a “ground mango” and immediately spit and made a huge scene– bad mango. This is typically the method adopted by the littlest ones, or at least the less coordinated ones. Because at a certain level you move on to advanced hunting.

Ground Mangos

Method 2: The chuck– basically you find whatever you can lying around. This may be another mango, a soccer ball, or a huge stick etc. It seems to me they like using the big sticks… that way they can adopt kind of a sidearm sling thing. And these kids can pick out a target like nothing I have ever seen before. I will be walking through park area with on (personally not paying any attention to the trees) and the kid will stop me, point and tell me “look, there is a ripe mango” and after they describe exactly where it is to my non-mango-hunting-eyes, I see it. There it is, gleaming in the sun… amongst the other 30 that are around it, not quite yet ripe. Kind of like this.

Can you spot the ripe mango?....

Once the target is elected it is not uncommon to see three or four kids throwing said gigantic branches into trees. Shockingly, I have only seen one injury to date as one little boy had a stick drop from the sky and land on his head. I was nervous… but its been a week and he told me today that his head has totally healed (and sure enough, the knot that I had seen a week earlier was almost gone).

The side-sling chuck

The jump chuck

Even the little ones understand the thrill of the hunt.

Bringing the big boys a stick that she found.... to hunt her some mangos

Method 3: The climb–This for me seems to me to be the most “skilled” method. As there are only about 3 or 4 teenage boys who I have ever seen attempt it. Yep, you guessed it. They scale the trees… and I mean high. This is also the one method that seems to be forbidden, a punishable act here in the aldea. But every now and then when they think no one is looking (or maybe no one is looking) you can spot someone up in the tree.

Method 3: the climb

I am not joking when I say this is the absolute number on activity right now. And it is what is on everyone’s mind… especially those that tend to perseverate on things. Sometimes the promise of a mango following a job well done is the only way that we get through a hard therapy session. But perhaps my most favorite mango story to date surrounds on of my most favorite kids here. I say kid, but he is actually on of the older teenagers in the aldea. He is 17-years-old… but is more like an adorable, loving, sweet, funny 5-year-old in a 17-year-old body. We were working with him last week and he could not get mangos off his brain. He just kept talking about them, honestly every 30 seconds he would bring up mangos again… no matter how hard we tried to change the subject. His main obsession was the fact that he wanted to “climb the tree to get that mango”. Like I said, he was talking about the one ripe mango that he some how spotted in the tree. On mango that was literally 50 feet off the ground. And he is not a tree climber.
But he talked about that mango. About how if we would just let him get up from the table he would climb that tree and get that mango…. and don’t worry he said, he would come right back. There was not a shadow of a doubt in this child’s mind. That mango was his… if we would just get out-of-the-way. He was certain. That kind of certainty, to me, really is kind of beautiful. From my (oh so mature) adult eyes, I knew it was an utter and complete impossibility that he could even get 5 feet of the ground in that tree. For me it was all about the doubt. For him, the sure success and capability.
Well, we finally finished. And he marched right up to that tree. Grabbed a hold with two hands, and dug his toe in. Hopped up on the other foot to houst himself up. Attempt 1- no go. 2,3. Then he turned to me, did this adorable little giggle thing that he does. Shook his head and said “nope” and of he went. Never mentioning the mango again.

Dang I love these kids.

Mmmm.... mangos

Notice the fellow in the swing... he has a mango too

I think she likes mangos too

I'm Starting With the Man in the Mirror

2011-05-25T04:52:00.000-07:00

No message could have been any clearer, if you want to make the world a better place….

You should teach kids in an orphanage the dance steps to Michael Jackson’s Thriller (and others)!!

More fantastic visitors have come and gone. Two OTs from Philadelphia, Maura and Nicole, were here with me all last week. They are two awesome therapists who I met when I slept on their couch last fall when I observed in the CHOP international adoption clinic. Love them!! And well, Maura is perhaps the biggest Michael Jackson fan I have met in a while (rivaled by a few of the boys at Arther Gough–the home we are working with here in Costa Rica). Thus, amongst doing over 15 evaluations… we managed to squeeze in a few song/dance sessions.

It was really cool to have the expertise of occupational therapists this week. We worked together to evaluate the 15+ kids that I am going to be working with during my time here. We were able to really look at the whole child and come up with some great treatment ideas that I am very excited about. And the kids absolutely adored them. I mean totally infatuated and enamored. I am pretty sure this is the first of many many trips like this for these girls– they are definitely lifers. They left with some great pictures and even better stories/memories. Here’s a few:

Nicole, Maura and the crew

The awesome toys they brought... pure therapy of course

I think that we may actually see one or the both of them back very soon to adopt this sibling set (that is if they did not already sneak them in their suitcases)

Yay therapy

Evaluation time... hard at work.

Thank you guys so much for coming! Thanks for everything you did in this VERY short week and all your help in the future.

More soon

Shanghai Children's Home

2011-05-20T05:51:00.000-07:00

Now that we are back from China, I thought everyone might like to know a little more about what it is like to be in the Shanghai Children's Home.

The Shanghai Children’s Home (SCH) is in the Hong Qiao area of Shanghai. There is a large gate and a reception area when you arrive at the orphanage. The first area you enter is the administration building. You walk into a glass lobby with a large conference room to the left. We have had many meetings in this conference room with the directors of the orphanage. Many of the families adopting children from SCH start in this room and see a short film about the orphanage. We saw this film on our first trip to Shanghai. This building houses mostly offices and administrative space.

The next building is the rehabilitation center. The first floor has a gym, with mats on the floor for treatment, offices and private treatment rooms. On the second and third floors are a small sensory gym, a school for children with autism and more treatment rooms and areas for a program for the deaf. There are also classrooms for training and offices for the staff.

The orphanage itself is housed in a separate building. There are actually 4 areas separated into “gardens”. There is the rose garden, jasmine garden and I think 2 more gardens. Each “garden” contains more than 10 rooms of children. Each room will have about 20 children. They sleep in safe cribs with nice linens and cute teddy bears. Days are spent in walkers, chairs, wooden fenced areas with mats for tummy time or in the activity rooms. Outside there are landscaped paths, a fountain, a stream and many bridges and statues.

The orphanage itself is clean and the children are well cared for. We saw kids in clean clothes, well fed and happy. Bed laundry and clothes were clean. All the care is good. There is a medical staff there with nurses and doctors who see to the needs of the sick children. Some children are sent to the rehab center for treatment. They may go daily or 2 – 3 times per week.

The grounds at The Shanghai Children’s home are beautiful. I will attach some pictures for everyone to see the buildings. The staff is happy and always pleasant. They enjoy working with the children. I am always amazed that the administrative staff know the children well enough to tell you their stories. There was a young man, Stephan, who helped us with translation at SCH. When we were in the orphanage, he picked up a little boy and carried him around with us. Stephan told us that he just loved this little boy unfortunately, has blood cancer and will be receiving chemotherapy.

While families are waiting for their children that are in the Shanghai Childrens Home they can know that the caregivers and everyone at the orphanage is looking out for their welfare.

Pat

2011-05-16T05:23:00.001-07:00

It takes a village…

16 05 2011

Week one in Costa Rica: done and done. What a big change it has been to be here…. I mean pretty much in. Such a big change in fact, that the only way to fully and truly explain it to you all is the tried and true list form.
1. In Colombia we had 3 locks on the door. (that was in addition to the guards with guns outside the apartment complex). In Costa Rica we still have a guard (no gun, but he does have a machete that I think he uses in place of a weed-wacker), but we leave the doors wide open most of the time (I don’t even have a key to the place).
2. In Colombia the exchange rate for money was 1,850 pesos per dollar. In Costa Rica it is 510 colones per dollar. Therefore 5,000 Colombian pesos was like $3 and 5,000 colones is like $6. And that is totally throwing me for a loop. The small coins that were worth less than a quarter in Colombia (that accumulated in my backpack like pennies at home) are now worth $1 (and my bad habits of misplacing/hording/disregarding this change could become a real money drain.)
3. In Colombia I was one of 3 people who was outside jogging (and wearing running shorts). In Costa Rica you see Ticos and Americans alike– running, walking, jogging, etc. at all times of the day… in running shorts shorter than mine (men and women).
4. In Colombia I had to travel over an hour to the orphanage but the grocery store/malls/metro/etc. was just across the street. In Costa Rica I can walk to the orphanage but the grocery store is a car ride ot bus ride away.
5. In Colombia the only fastfood restaurants and chains that I remember seeing were: dominos, mcdonalds and an occassional subway. In Costa Rica I even saw a Walmart today (enough said).
6. The orphanage that I am working at is unlike any that I have been to before. It takes a village to raise a child…. and this place has really brought that philosophy home. It is actually called an Aldea (which means village), it consists of 8 casitas (little houses for those of you not so spanishly inclined) in which 5-12 kids live. The caregivers, called tias (that means aunts) live there too. Thats right, they live there. There are always at least 2 in each house. They live there 24/7 and work 11 days then get 3 days off. They are responsible for all the typical mom stuff– they take kids to drs appointments, cook, (don’t have to clean though because there are other auxiliary staff to do that– brilliant idea in my opinion in that it frees them up to actually spend time the with kids), help with homework, deal with behavioral issues and so on and so on. Each of the casitas are totally self-sufficient with a kitchen, living room, bedrooms, bathrooms- a real deal family home.
And this layout really makes the whole vibe totally different. It feels like a neighborhood. You see all the kids play outside together in the playground, basketball courts, swimming pool, open space between the houses. Then at meal-times they all “run home” to their respective houses and eat. They just seem more adjusted, comfortable, protected. And this is a challenging population. Over 50% of the kids here have moderate to severe delays (cognitive, physical, speech etc.) and other medical conditions requiring extra care. But because of the structure, the involvement and commitment of the staff and tias, this place really seems to be working.
It has already been a great learning experience for me to see this alternative organizational framework. I am sure there will be LOTS of stories and updates. Sadly, this blog post will not be accompanied by photos because I seem to have accidentally lost my camera (I believe it is sitting in one of the over 6000 red taxis of San Jose). Dang, almost made it the whole trip without a really-dumb-absent-minded-keely-moment. But it appears it has arrived. So until I make it to the mall (see #4) or Walmart (see#5) I will give you all some well deserved visuals of this beautiful country.
That is definitely the one thing the two places have in common: beautiful, green, sunny, tree-y, mountain-y, flower filled, gorgeous countries. I am excited for lots of exploring.
KO

Asia Webinar - Boys from China Available Too

2011-05-10T07:16:00.000-07:00

Xiang Xiang is a little boy with a spinal deformity.

Dong Dong is a little boy with albinism.

Ya Ya is a little boy with post operative CHD.

Most (but not all!) children adopted through the “standard” China program are little girls – but did you know that there are many little boys with mild to moderate special needs available for adoption from China? On the shared database there are currently 1110 profiles of boys (as compared to 416 girl profiles).

Gladney’s upcoming Asia Waiting Child Webinar will be focusing on adopting boys! The Webinar is on Wednesday, May 11th at 1pm EST, be sure to register today!

Boys available for adoption are all ages! 1-3 years old; 4-7 years old; and 8+. If you can imagine these little guys growing up through these stages and want to be a home and family for a waiting child who happens to be a boy – please let us know! http://asiawaitingchild.wordpress.com/

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

2011-05-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

Medellin… a picture is worth a thousand words

There is one thing that I know for sure… kids living in orphanages LOVE cameras: having their picture taken, taking pictures, and looking at themselves in pictures. I mean absolutely love. I mean you could entertain a handful of kids an entire day with nothing more than a digital camera. The battery would die before they would tire. What I am not as sure about, is why they love it so much. Is it the novelty? The power of creating an image? The coolness factor? The ability to see themselves? (there aren’t a lot of mirrors in many of these places) Do they just like to touch, see, play, do? Maybe all these… maybe none. In every country, in every orphanage I have worked in the crowds are the same when you take out the camera. So, I have several ideas about projects I would like to someday conquer with the kids and cameras, but for the time and resource requirements, we started small: picture frames.

It’s a little thing really. Something we middle class Americans take for granted. The luxury of being surrounded in your home by your family’s smiling faces. We plaster our homes with picture frames. I know for me, in all my moves, on of the things that really makes me feel at home is when I hang up all my pictures of my friends and family. In the majority of institutions I have visited, the walls are a sad desolate extension of the rest of the building. Sometimes they are painted a fun color, but more often than not they are the usual off-white, brick, blank, emotionless wall. This place needed some pictures!!!

So I worked with the kids in small groups and they each made their picture frame. This was fun… but the best part was to follow. After they finished painting, they each had 2 pictures with my camera. They could do whatever they wanted with these pictures: take it of someone/something, take a “selfy”, I would take pictures of them alone, with whoever they wanted, in whatever pose the wanted. These were THEIR pictures and THEIR frames and they were able to make a choice of whatever they wanted to do (a rare opportunity when living amongst a group of kids this large) We had some serious creativity amongst the crowd!! And then of their two pictures, they chose one that I printed to put in the picture frame they made. Here are some pictures of the journey:

Frame painting

Hard at work

we glued tissue paper on the frames with the littlest ones

the finished products


Proud owner of a picture frame #1

: Proud owner #2

And there are over 40 other proud owners who now have a little something to look at on their beds and walls. Just a little piece of home.

Kelly Reflects

2011-05-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

Kebeb Tsehay is the orphanage I spend the majority of my time in when I'm in Ethiopia. I consider Kebeb Tsehay almost like a second home. I have SO many memories here. There have been some BIG changes here in the last few years, as evident by the completely changed landscape of buildings. When I was there the first time, the open space began as a "playground," with broken swings and lone slides. When I left after two months, the playground had been torn out, there were a few decent sized holes and eucalyptus logs sticking up from the ground. I had no idea the magnitude of the building these sticks would become. This new building is large. Like, larger than life large. I did a double take just to recognize the orphanage when I walked up.

It was so eerie walking through the old buildings. The rooms that used to be filled with laughter (and tears) are quiet and still now. There is dust from renovations everywhere and broken ceramic tile pieces scattered on the ground. It felt like if you went back to visit an old house and it had been completely changed. I'm not really sure who is more affected by the loss of the old buildings; me or the children. The buildings will be remodeled and filled again with the sounds of too many children, and I know I will see it all again, but it won't be the same. I'm learning that with every trip, things will change. Children will come and go through orphanages, workers will turnover and there will always, always be more things to work on. Just because each trip is different doesn't mean each trip isn't just as worth it.

Playground at Kebeb Tsehay

More playground

Construction begins. This dirt wasn't pretty in the rainy season!

A few eucalyptus sticks and a big hole are how it all began

And here it is now...!

Crazy this came from sticks in the mud.

2011-04-28T05:43:00.000-07:00

Gladney China Waiting Child Program:

Today we have just posted three new children available for adoption to our photolist page! The children are all in the Shanghai Children’s Home. If you have not yet visited our photolist page and are in need of the password, please email mary.chapman@gladney.org. http://asiawaitingchild.wordpress.com/

Project Play Going Strong

2011-04-26T04:41:00.000-07:00

What a difference a month makes

Back in Cali, 4 weeks later. Who knew there would be so many updates!

ProjectPlay
Wow! Little kids really are amazing…. and apparently so is ProjectPlay.

In my return, I entered the baby room at Oscar Scarpetta and was astounded to look around and see babies moving all over the place. Babies that one month ago were laying in care seats and propped sitting were now walking and crawling everywhere. Know I realize that some of these changes are just normal development, but I have to believe that ProjectPlay also has something to do with it too. I am thrilled and impressed with the success of ProjectPlay to date. There are definitely a few kinks to be worked out, but overall… the bare bones of the operation (as they say) are running smoothly. The adolescents are taking their responsibilities very seriously and are very invested in the improvements of the little ones. I was met by hugs and kisses and questions of “did you see so-and-so walking?” “so-and-so is starting to say a few words” “so-and-so can sit up all by herself.” They felt really proud.
The ProjectPlay gym is an exciting whirlwind of activity when the adolescents are working with the little ones. And the supervisors, Wan Su and Ana are doing an amazing job keeping them focused and motivated. They are reading books, running, jumping ,climbing, coloring, painting, laughing, hugging, playing pretend. Here, see for yourself:

Is the doctor in?....

: Bouncing Tramp and Ball Pit
A little time to paint

: So many babies so little time

Chiquetines Update
The amazing volunteer crew at Chiquetines are still VERY motivated working to improve the gross motor skills with the baby’s and toddlers here, especially those with neurological disabilities and developmental delays. We taped our first in-service right before I left for Peru. While I was gone they all watched the video… and began implementing the programs. Ee had a follow-up hands-on session this week. This core group of women is absolutely amazing and totally committed to these kiddos. There are about 5 of them that plan on working to provide “physical therapy” using the programs we designed together (with my “You can be a physical therapist too” handbook). Hopefully these little ones continue to make progress.

This is what I look like when I explain stuff in Spanish

My buddy continues to struggle to heal from her injury… and after her hospitalization has had to spend LOTS of hours in bed. So, I spent the morning coloring, playing board games, taking goofy pictures with her. I didn’t want to leave… those moments where I can’t help but think– this should not have to happen to a little girl like this, not just to go through all the health stuff she has been through, but to do it without a mom. Without someone to dote over her, play with her, hold her and tell her it will be okay. Instead, she spends all day in her bunk-bed, most of the time alone. It’ll break your heart. But she is so darn happy.


High class all the time

The Crew
I am thrilled to be back with Magnolia… this time I am staying in her house with her and I am enjoying every minute. It has been great sharing my stories of Peru, pictures and lots of laughs with all my many friends here. Was lucky enough to get to go with Magnolia and a wonderful Australian family to visit some sights on Saturday. This family has two little girls 10 and 13 adopted from Colombia and are spending their vacation showing the girls their country. So fun to get to see this side of the coin! What a fantastic crew!!!!

Lunch with the Aussie Girls

On Tuesday off to Medellin to reconnect with everyone there… more to come.

KO

Two More Waiting Children Matched!

2011-04-25T07:07:00.000-07:00

We are excited to announce that Gladney has matched two more Waiting Children with their forever families this week!

Le Le and Zheng Zheng will be joining their families soon.
Also this week, we received several more profiles of Waiting Children who are designated to Gladney. We are working on getting their profiles translated and will be posting them to the Photo List page soon! Be sure to check the Photo List page often, as it is updated regularly as we receive new profiles and new information for children http://asiawaitingchild.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/how-to-request-photo-list-password.pdf

Kelly and Nick's Journey

2011-04-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

Superkids physical therapist, Kelly Mortellite, and her husband, Nick, are thrilled to begin the journey to adopt a child from Ethiopia. Below is their inspirational story.

Introduction

Nick entered the military right after graduating high school and spent ten years between active and National Guard duty. He finished up just a month before we got married so after the wedding, we were assured there would be no more deployments. We were married on May 27, 2007 in Cincinnati, Ohio and Nick moved down to North Carolina where I was in school.

I graduated from University of Cincinnati with my Bachelors in Health Sciences and continued on to Duke University where I earned my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. A short ten days after graduation, I boarded a plane to spend two months living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, volunteering as a physical therapist in the government orphanages. I was so blessed to have this experience and know God used it to change me. I came home, excited to see my husband again, but devastated to leave the kids behind.

What Now?

Knowledge is a great thing right? I mean most of us spend a great deal of money and time trying to acquire knowledge through schooling, travel, or through the counsel of our older and wiser friends and family. We strive to know about the world around us, but when we gain some of that knowledge, what do we do with it? Kelly and I are at a stage in our lives where we have been confronted with some new information about our increasingly small world and we’ve asked ourselves the question: what now?

What we’ve learned has come from a combination of research and Kelly’s first-hand experience in Ethiopian orphanages. She had the chance, as many of you know, to spend two months in the capitol city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia working as a physical therapist directly with the children of the government run orphanages. Kelly’s job wasn’t just to help children, but also to educate their caregivers on better ways to take care of the children or “kiddos” as she calls them. Things like ensuring the kiddos get out of their cribs and spend time outside in the sun They are so understaffed that spending time with each child throughout the day isn’t a possibility. Children often feed themselves with a bottle and there simply aren’t enough hands to pick every child up every day.

The pictures and videos Kelly sent home definitely had some eye-opening moments for me and a bigger reality hit both of us as we learned more about the magnitude of the orphan crisis in Ethiopia. This link will take you to a video made by the Gladney Center for Adoption and you will see some amazingly awful numbers and some beautiful children: http://adoptionsbygladney.com/html/services/human_ethiopia.php

Now that we know there are over six million orphans in one country what do we do with that knowledge? Do I pretend I didn’t see the part of the video that said twelve percent of six million children will die before they are five years old? Let’s pretend something else. Let’s pretend I was good at math (a stretch I know!) because numbers this big don’t seem real to people like me on the other side of the world. 12% of 6 million is 720,000. If that number is still too far out there let’s think about a football stadium. My team, painfully, is the Cincinnati Bengals and their stadium holds over 65,000 people so you would have to line up ELEVEN Bengals stadiums filled to capacity along the Ohio River to match the number of orphans that will die in Ethiopia before they are five years old.

Multiply by eleven, then imagine all of those people gone. That's the number of orphans that won't make it to their 5th birthday in Ethiopia.

So what now? Something! Just do something is the thought screaming through my head when I try and understand this massive problem. Of course it is too big for my wife and I to tackle by ourselves, but we don’t feel that’s what we are called to do. Kelly and I are confident we have been given a chance to gain this knowledge so that we can simply do something. For us that something is adoption and we couldn’t be more excited about it. Earlier I asked if knowledge really is a great thing. If you can turn it into wisdom by applying it to your life, then I say yes, knowledge is a great thing!

Kelly was given a fantastic opportunity through Superkids that turned into a love for the people of Ethiopia and when she brought that love home with her it was infectious. The passion she showed and the desperate desire to return to help as much as we can was passed to me and I’m so grateful. As we learn we are continuously faced with the simple question of “what now?” The best answer we can come up with is, just love.

Kelly and Nick returned to Ethiopia this past February providing much needed aid to orphans in Addis Ababa. You can follow their entire journey on their bloghttp://justloveethiopia.blogspot.com/.

Keely in Lima (week 2)

2011-04-14T05:24:00.000-07:00

Week 2 in Lima (as I write this now two and a half weeks later) was such a flash. The whole time I was in Lima really… it was a pretty intense and jam-packed few weeks. An abbreviated catch-up would go something like this:

Birthday party for the girl’s great aunt… a mariachi band showed up (no pictures, but worth an honorable mention!!)

We did a follow-up session for the teachers of the preschoolers in Pamplona working on behavior management– we did a role play activity to practice positive reinforcement of behaviors. It got a little crazy, but they had a great time! It really felt like we barely hit the tip of the iceberg with the training possibilities for these wonderful ladies. I really hope to come back one day (with lots of preschool teachers!!)

"Students" during role play

Me and the crew of preschool teachers

I visited several preschoolers to help the teachers start to implement some of the new information that I had given…. and mostly just goof around with the kids.

The stare down at snack time

But this is not the only group of teachers in the “head start like” program in Pamplona… there are also about 30 teachers that work with kids 6 month to 3 years old. We had an in-service for them one morning. And then the next day I spent the morning in 2 and 3 year old classroom. And it is one of the models they are trying to implement in which the moms (or grandmas) come with the kids. Such a cool idea, but very challenging. It really has taken a lot of commitment from this teacher AND these mothers to participate in this class several times a week.

The bunny dance

Peek-a-boo time

Kids and moms during song time

And I continued to have tons of fun with my “family” in Lima. All us girls had a photo shoot at the park a few blocks from the apartment

Me and my buddies

It took a LOT of attempts to get that previous picture perfect shot!!!

And we also went one evening to this cool park in Lima. It is HUGE and has all kinds of fountains. Impressive during the day, but at night they have an all-out light display and it becomes a sort of wonderland. It was awesome. Here we are in the tunnel– there was a little concern before we went if I would fit in the tunnel… but alas, no problem.

The infamous tunnel

After Lima it was off to Cusco and the Inca Trail! I loved loved loved my time in Lima and can’t wait to the next time I am there… and yes, there will be a next time!
Muchisimas gracias a mi nueva familia en Lima!! Nunca olvidare ustedes y todo que hicieron para mi. Amigos (primas) para siempre. Nos vemos pronto y un fuerte abrazo!!!!!
KO

Pat reflects on her visit to Shanghai

2011-04-13T07:01:00.000-07:00

Now that we are back for a few weeks I am constantly thinking about Shanghai and the amazing children we had the privilege to meet. I wonder when these "Special Needs" children will find forever families. What we define as special needs in the USA is very different from what China defines as special needs. So many of these "special needs children," would not be defined as such in the U.S. Many of the children we evaluated will have no residual issues once they are placed in loving homes. Many who had problems as infants had no issues when we saw them. I'm sure its scary reading profiles and then thinking, "What are the children really like?" I'm sure everyone would be pleased to know the children we saw were all in good shape.

We were pleased this time to visit a foster care station that supervises 120 foster care cases for a suburb of Shanghai. They were kind, personable and efficient. The foster care station was so clean you could have eaten off the floor. It was bright and colorful and decorated with bright colors. The children in foster care were confident and at ease. They played with the toys and made themselves at home in the activity room. The people at the foster care station knew these children well and enjoyed their work. They laughed and joked happily with all the kiddos. I loved being there and meeting all the children. It made me want to work there too. There was just a sense of happiness in the work. I hope when we go to shanghai again we can return to the foster care station and give them an update on how everyone is doing with their forever families.

Pat

Beautiful Zheng Zheng

2011-04-08T07:44:00.000-07:00

We continue to look for a family for Zheng Zheng (age 5). Pat and Kathy met Zheng Zheng while they were in Shanghai, this is what Pat would like to share with prospective families for Zheng Zheng:

"When we met Zheng Zheng, she was wearing a little red jacket. She was brought to the district foster care center by her foster mother. They have a really nice relationship. Zheng Zheng and her foster mom had watched all the activties we were doing with the children before her, and she was so eager to show us all that she could do! When she entered the area we were seeing the children in - she spontaneously started demonstrating all the gross motor skill activities we had asked the other children to perform - standing one on leg, hopping up and down, bouncing a ball! Zheng Zheng demonstrated her fine motor and cognitive skills as well. She drew us a picture of a pink bunny, with a red sun and blue clouds. She also drew a house and wrote her name on it in chinese characters while she waited for us. Zheng Zheng is a sweet child who really wanted to please. At first she was quiet but the more time we spent with her the more she relaxed and opened up. We had brought some toys as prizes and she chose the dinosaur finger puppets as her prize. When Zheng Zheng is adopted she will need some speech therapy/oral motor therapy. My hope for Zheng Zheng is that she will find a great home..... just like she drew in her picture."

A second webinar featuring children from the Shanghai Children's Home whom Kathy and Pat met on their recent trip will be held later this month. When the date is set for this webinar we will post it to our Waiting Child Blog and also send out an email to everyone receiving this letter. http://asiawaitingchild.wordpress.com/

Russia So Far..Gladney VP and Whitney go to Russia

2011-04-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

Russia so far

Whew! Since Marshall and I have been in Russia it has been a whirlwind tour! We arrived in Moscow very early Monday morning. We took a quick nap and then met up with Tatyana (our in country coordinator) and went to see Red Square. It was amazing! Then we ran a few errands and then we went to the train station. We took an overnight train to Pskov. We arrived at 6:30 am on Tuesday, took another quick nap and then went to the Pechory Baby House. We met with Dr. Natalia and then toured the baby house. After visiting the baby house we went to see the very famous monastery in Pechory.

The next day, we met with Armaine, the director of social services in Pskov to sign the humanatarian aide agreement between Gladney and the orphanage in Pskov. This project will give girls who age out of the orphanage and are pregnant a place to stay as well as provide education for older children in the orphanages on how to take care of themselves once they age out. After signing the agreement, Marshall and I toured the orphanage where the project will take place.

Then we went to the train station and took a train overnight back to Moscow. We checked into the hotel and then had a late lunch at the Hard Rock here in Moscow. Tomorrow we will be driving 3 1/2 hours to the Ryazan region to meet with officials.

Whitney

A Day in the Life of an Orphanage

2011-04-04T06:48:00.000-07:00

A Day in the life

So… many of you probably wonder- ”If I were to hang out for a day at an orphanage… what would I see” And thus I present for you the following pictorial journey: A Day in the Life.

You might get to meet the hen that enters the adolescent girl’s dorm.

Chicken in the dorm while the girls are doing their homework

… for the sole purpose of laying an egg on one of the girl’s bed. Yes, the same girl. Yes, almost everyday.

Freshly laid egg on bed

You might see a whole bunch of adorable little toddlers playing in the baby pool.

Our first swim!!!

Or the huge group of 5-year-olds who jealously stand by watching and wishing they did not have to go back to school.

Man that looks fun!

You will definitely see laundry… lots and lots of laundry!

More clothes than lines!

And possibly a bunch of school aged boys who found a VERY fun toy (aka.. a wheel barrel, shovel and rocks).

Hard at work

You might even get a dance lesson or two.

Kristi's first dance lesson in Colombia

But only a select few… the most lucky of the lucky. Those who dare to dream. Will end their day at the orphanage by picking lice out of their hair.

The lucky ones.... de-licing

So folks. I hope that begins to give you an idea… mostly that one can NEVER know what to expect when stepping foot in an orphanage. But you can be sure you will be amazed.
KO

Beautuiful, Available Waiting Children

2011-03-31T06:02:00.000-07:00

Last week Gladney hosted a webinar that featured two therapists, Pat Marcus and Kathy deMaCarty, who recently visited the Shanghai Children’s Home to work with staff and children who are available for adoption. During the webinar, Pat and Kathy spoke about some of the children they met, all of whom are designated to Gladney for adoption. To view the webinar click here. The children featured can also be found on our Photo List page.

Featured in this webinar is a healthy 5 year old boy, Jia Jia who is still waiting for his forever family. He is sweet and has big personality! Listen to the webinar to learn more about him.

A second webinar featuring additional children will be held in the coming weeks. Be sure to check back here for more details and to register! http://asiawaitingchild.wordpress.com/

Kristi Connects with Teen Orphans and Experiences a Small Earthquake

2011-03-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

Guest Post from Kristi (and a few asides from me)

First of all, may I just say that I loved spending time with a good friend…even if that meant time combing lice out of our hair, attempting to salsa dance with rhythmic Colombians about two feet shorter than us, experiencing our first Earthquake, or cuddling some adorable orphan children.

(Keely aside): as yes, the earthquake. I had forgotten to tell you all about that little surprise. It happened sometime during the night. To me the experience continues to be a blur as I did not ever totally wake up– I instead had a dream that explained the movement as a very strong wind. And for some reason… this seems to be the prevalent explanation in my mind to date. I actually have to remind myself that the wind can not in fact shake a building, that we lived through a very small earthquake– our first ever by the way. Kristi however fully came to and tried to get me to pay reverence or at least acknowledge the event… no dice.)

The first day on our way to the orphanage Keely said to me “I love being this engaged in my life.” I left with that same attitude simply by seeing the amazing human spirit through the kids I met. I am such a sucker for teenagers and I left feeling for the difficulties teenagers encounter living in an orphanage. Therefore, I am going to share this with you as Keely does an amazing job of sharing about all those babies:).

As, teenagers we have so many crazy emotions/hormones you name it and it is hard enough when you have a positive role model to go to. No one is available to help with homework (They can’t call a friend for help as they have no phone), no one is there for boy/girl troubles, no dating, and maybe most importantly there is no one to teach “life skills.” I can’t imagine never having dealt with money, jobs, transportation, grocery shopping,…..LIFE, before being on my own at 18 like these kids will be. On my plane ride home I could not get a few of the teenage girls I met out of my head and just wish there was some way to give them a hand through the trying life outside the orphanage.

Kristi helping with English homework-- man our language is hard to learn

(Keely aside) The thing that amazes me most about these kids is that despite all this, the majority of them area GREAT kids. That is why it is so easy for visitors like Kristi (Janet, Lisa, Sabrina… me) to come and fall in love with them. They are engaging… and they are seeking someone to connect to. I know I have said it a million times, but the perseverance of these kids, of their human spirit, it never ceases to amaze me.

Columbia is a beautiful country where nearly everyone I met was extremely kind. However, upon my arrival home I was thankful for one thing… a hot shower. I know this is not the last time I do something like this….hopefully Keely finds a way to keep with this journey so I can come once in a while. It was truly eye-opening and wonderful at the same time.

Thanks for reading,

Kristi

Marshall and Whitney visit Bulgaria

2011-03-28T09:05:00.001-07:00

Bulgaria Day 1 and 2

Greetings from Bulgaria! Marshall and I traveled all day on Wednesday to get to Sofia, Bulgaria. Then we connected with Rosi, a member of our incountry team, and hopped on a flight to Bourgas, Bulgaria. On Thursday, we visited the orphanage for infants in Bourgas. This orphanage housed about 160 children ages 0-3 We were very pleased with the condition of the orphanage and how well the children were taken care of there. We met with the orphanage director and she told us she was very interested in providing for the sensory and emotional needs of the children in the orphanage as well as creating a family type enviornment for the children with special needs.

After visiting the orphanage, Marshall, Rosi, and I were driven to Varna, Bulgaria and we were able to walk the "board walk" in Varna which is a city on the coast of the Black Sea. On Friday morning, we visited the orphanage in Varna. Again it housed around 170 children ages 0-3. The Varnas orphanage had a fire in December and is still making repairs. We were able to see the progress that has been made. I was pleased to see that the orphanage director is passionate about raising money to make the needed repairs quickly and that she hopes to make the orphanage even better than before.

After visiting the orphanage we hopped on a plane and flew back to Sofia. We were picked up at the airport by Petko (another member of the Vesta team) and we drove straight to the office to talk with Milena (our in country lawyer). Milena informed us of the progress of the program and also gave us a few updates.

Can We Fix It?

2011-03-24T07:07:00.000-07:00

Bob the Builder… Can we fix it?

Keely's words of wisdom

Bob the builder, yes we can!

I don’t know if Obama and Bob the builder had a feud over this little phrase or not. But either way, I think that they are both onto something. It’s the question that I ask myself everyday and hope, oh how I hope, that the answer is in fact- yes we can. There may be some of you that have heard my “shpeel” but I am pretty sure that most of you have not. The shpeel I refer to is my way of explaining my intentions, my interactions, the big picture that I dream of for these institutions that I am working with: to help the many many children in this world living without parents. So here it goes:

The Problem:

We are currently living in a world with almost 145 million orphans. A number that may be deceiving because often the term “orphan” refers to children who have lost their parents to death, abandonment etc. But the figure more than likely does not include the millions of kids (even in the US) that are living parent-less (or family-less is perhaps a better way of putting it) because they are under protection of the state. It’s a daunting figure. I have always said that kids are a unique population because they are one of the few that can not advocate for themselves. They rely on us, on adults. This is a problem that we, as adults, should not/can not ignore.

There are many groups of people/organizations/governments who are fighting for these kids. The efforts to address this problem is and must be multifaceted. There are organizations working to bring peace to war-torn regions, others improving health care, education on pregnancy prevention, micro-financing and economic stimulus, and much more… all huge factors contributing to the problem of family-less children in this world. You have adoption agencies (both domestic and international) working to bring some of these children to loving families. BUT, you still have millions of children living in institutions, a number growing every year. While all other groups fight from the outside in, it seems to me what is especially important about the work that I am doing here, is working within the system…. fighting from the inside out. We are working inside these homes, to make them supportive environments where children can grow and flourish.

Don’t misinterpret me… I absolutely believe that a loving family is better than and institution. But for many children in many countries, institutionalization is the only option. So we have to make this option the best it can be. And hopefully one day, it will not have to be an option anymore. Until then… the war has been waged.

So whats the point?

The point is that if we can love these kids, teach them to love, to trust, to learn… if we can help them become productive citizens that contribute to society. Help them become responsible, healthy, employed people then maybe the next generation will have less parent-less children. The alternative?– they get kicked out of an orphanage at 18 have no life skills, limited empathy, no idea how to handle money or live on their own… spend everything they have and end of having to make money in horrible unimaginable ways such as war, drugs or prostitution– having 6 babies, the next generation of orphans is even larger than the last… I think you see where this is going.

The breakdown (or build-up)– how do we help these institutions? We are building a house, a home, a life, for these kids (This is where the Bob the Builder analogy comes into play).

We start with the foundation: The foundation is the basics of keeping the kids alive- health care, nutrition, safe lodging, diapers, weather appropriate clothes, clean drinking water, etc. It’s the bare minimum. And you can’t build a house on a rocky foundation. You can’t invest in quality of life projects like education and career training, if there is not enough formula for the babies that last few days of every month. Money must first be invested here to make future projects sustainable.

Next is the walls: this is the developmentally supportive care. In Spanish they use the word stimulation to describe this pro-active care. Basically it is giving kids the attention, affection and opportunities that they need to learn. Huge amounts of research and millions of governmental dollars are invested in improving the early years of life in the US. We understand this sensitive period of development is hugely important to setting the stage for learning and succeeding later in life. This is a HUGE part of what Super Kids invests in. And it is basically as simple as this: you have to experience to learn. You have to be spoken to in order to learn to talk, you have to be out of your crib in order to learn to walk, you have to be loved to learn to love…. we help orphanages develop programs and infrastructure to allow, and hopefully even encourage, these kids to learn.

A huge part of building the walls, includes teaching caregivers and staff how to work with the children with disabilities. Often there are large numbers of children in institutions who have physical disabilities (not just talking about “orphanage delay” here, but chronic disabilities) for a variety of reasons. And often these children experience very little personal interaction. Not because the caregivers are cold… but because these kids require SO much assistance– there is just not enough time. These women are taking care of 30 kids, it’s just a pure matter of resources. They do not have the time or equipment to keep these kids engaged often leading to very stiff little bodies that barely move, sickness, and definitely unrealized potential. We work hard to educate, dispunge stereotypes about abilities of children with special needs, equipment provision and training to allow these kids to participate with their peers.

The windows: the windows are education. Yes, we are building a house. But it is CRUCIAL that these kids begin to understand that there is a world, a society, with very different rules outside the walls of their institution. An education is very important to the overall goal (remember what that was after all my rambling?… to make productive citizens). Many many institutions work hard to help children across the world recieve an education and this population of kids should not be forgotten in these struggles.

The roof: The roof is life skills training. At 18 (in some countries it is a little older) The doors open and you are forced to leave your home. The institution you have been raised in. And you are expected to know how to survive. The problem is– orphanages themselves are a culture. They have very different rules, norms, than society at large. Some examples: There is no money in orphanages… these kids have no idea how to budget, understand saving and spending. Limited independence… they are cared for on all levels and so often do not know how to cook, clean, etc. because someone has been doing it for them (this is can be the polar opposite in some places with children helping with daily chores… but this is generalized for example purposes). And they definitely do not have a trade skill. They often don’t leave with any tools to help them get a job or keep a job.

So the roof is thus finding ways to teach these adolescents these skills. And the REAL success is when the roof can help protect the rest of the house- when it can lead to self-sustainability. For example: teaching adolescents to garden and using the food to feed the orphanage, teaching them crafts and selling them to support the projects, training adolescents to be caregivers etc. AND giving them opportunities to experience the outside world by going on trips, learning to navigate the bus system, learning to go shopping. Just think for a minutes about all the things that you do in a day– how did you learn how to do them? who taught you? if you lived in an institution with 100 kids and never got to leave beyond the gates… would you have these skills?

So that is the house. And when you have all these aspects fully incorporated, with sounds structure. Then you can really protect and nourish the kids inside of them. Can we fix it? I sure hope so.

Thanks for reading

Gladney VP Marshall Williams travels to Czech Republic

2011-03-23T13:19:00.001-07:00

Czech Day 3

Today Marshall and I traveled with Lucie and Martine to visit two orphanages today. The first was a orphanage for children 1-3 years old. It was about 30 minutes outside of Brno. It was a very well run orphanage. The walls were painted in bright colors, the caregiver ratio was 1 to 3, and the staff really seemed to be looking out for the best interest of the child. The orphanage director welcomed us and spoke to us about how the orphanage is run and how they assist families in taking care of the children.

We then drove back to Brno and had a quick lunch. After we went to an orphanage for children over 3 years old. Again we were very please with the way the orphanage was run. There were 21 children that live there and they live in 3 "family" units. Each family unit lives on one floor and each floor has a kitchen, living room, and then bedrooms for the children. It was a very neat concept to see.

Marshall and I have learned over the last two days that the Czech goverment is really invested in keeping families together. The government has many programs in place that enable parents to work through the issues they are faced with. Also, we learned that about 500 domestic placements are done each year!

After our visits, Marshall and I picked up our bags from the hotel and headed to the train station. We rode the train back to Prague and will stay here for the night. We fly out early tomorrow morning to Sophia, Bulgaria!

A big thanks goes out to Justin L. He has really helped us get around the last two days and has shown us a new side to Brno!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Czech Day 2

Today Marshall and I met Justin, an American missionary that lives in Brno, who escorted us to our meeting with the officials in charge of adoptions in the Czech Republic. We had a really good meeting and we talked a lot about thier systems for adoptions and they were particularly interested in how we support our families before and after they take placement. Tomorrow we are going to visit two different orphanages one in Brno and one about an hour away.

After our meeting, Justin took us to a lovely little French restuarant run by nuns. It was very very good. I had onion soup and a spinach crepe. Marshall had chicken noodle soup which looked like high class ramen!

After lunch, Justin took us walking through Brno and told us a little bit more about the city. Brno is the home of Mendel who came up with genetics. We ventured up the very steep hill to Spilberk Castle. It's very small but has wonderul views of the city. Justin also let us know that we are so very close to Vienna which I didn't know. Brno is a merchant city it has one of the largest trade shows in Europe and we saw that building from Spilberg as well.

Its been a busy day, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow!

Keely Lands on Her Feet in Peru

2011-03-23T05:13:00.000-07:00

20 03 2011

Phone call– me and mom:

Me: Good news ma. I am safe and sound in Lima, staying with an amazing family with two adorable little girls.

Mom: Oh good. I was a little worried this time, but it looks like you landed on your feet…again.

Let me fill you in a bit. The short of it is: I left Colombia on said deportation day (March 11th) with basically no idea where I was going to stay when I got to Peru. Well, that is not totally true. That morning, before I left, I started getting a little nervous and thus got online and made a 2 night hostel reservation… just to assure I had somewhere to go. I got here late friday night and headed to the hostel. Next day arranged to have lunch with Giuli (more on her later, my volunteer contact here in Peru) and by the end of the evening Saturday, she had made a few calls a friend of a friend over-heard the convo in the car and before I knew it I was getting a tour of my new home. So here I am, happy and safe.

I have been reflecting a lot on that statement “landing on your feet.” But more, I guess the luxury, the luck, to have the faith that I will land on my feet. But even more… the luxury to jump in the first place. I am referring to the ability to take risks, follow my dreams, travel… to be the modern-day nomad that I am.

My experiences here in Lima have made me keenly aware of just how lucky I am to live my life this way. And most of that resolves around a community of Lima, Pamplona, that I am quickly falling in love with. I first heard about it as Giuli and I sat in her livingroom talking about all the amazing projects of Buckner Peru. Giuli is an art teacher… that now works for Bucker Peru wearing several hats including working with volunteers/mission groups, follow-up and she spends lots of her time “in the field” working with children in several orphanage/institutions and children at-risk in low-income communities. I loved hearing all her stories and projects. But the one that immediately grabbed my attention is an amazing prevention program they have started in a small area of Pamplona. They are working with 80 families in this sector of the city. At its most basic root, it seems to me, they are working to give these families, these children, hope. They are allowing them to dream, develop an identity, to value themselves. They are working to help them realize, truly believe, that they can achieve more. They are working to change the mentality such that these 80 families no longer sit idly with their hand in the air and request humanitarian aid,no, they are helping them organize, open their world view, and realize that these people– these 80 families in this few blocks of the city– can do it themselves. They are doing this through amazing creative ways: art, education, community projects.

Pamplona, bottom of the hill

Top of the hill... all those structures are houses

Giuli has helped me jump right in with this community. Today she and I gave a full day course for the almost 60 preschool teachers in Pamplona. There is a government program(which to my understanding appears to be very similar to headstart) that “supports” these programs. “Supports” being in quotes because they basically provide the bare minimum– a roof, a few tables, a few books and toys. The teachers are amazing, strong, animated women… but they are not teachers and have no formal training, they are women from the community committed to the future of these kids. They receive almost nothing and work very hard: there are 20+ students (age 3-5) for 1 teacher.

Preschooler outdoor play time

More recess

Burning some energy... choo choo train in the street right in front of the school

So today we covered preschool teaching 101 on 6 hours. They loved it. I of course want to stay and keep working with these women. I will spend a few days next week observing various classes to help them put into practice some of the things we discussed today. But there is so much to do. And they are so eager to learn.

Giuli working on puppets with afterschool group

I will also visit a few orphanages while I am here, including a special needs orphanage with over 100 children with disabilities. It’s quite an impressive place with lots of therapists and qualified care-givers. It has definitely been quite an experience!

And yes, the icing on the cake of my Peru experience, my new “land on your feet” family. They are so amazing. I have felt at home since the minute I arrived. We have had slumber parties, homework parties, art sessions, watched movies. They have taken me all around Lima to show me the big sites. And I really think that it is their personal mission as a family to introduce me to as much peruvian cuisine as possible (which I of course do not mind at all…. and neither does my stomach, butt and thighs). So in return, I have introduced the family to exercising. We take family runs at the park (which the six-year-old said was the “best day of her life”). It is relationships like these that make traveling so special– it’s about jumping, risking, and getting really lucky sometimes to land on your feet.

The fam... before one of our many feasts. Homemade ceviche.

Pajama party.... post blindfolded make-up game

Thanks again for all the support!!! Miss you all.

Gladney Waiting Child Webinar this Thursday

2011-03-20T05:59:00.000-07:00

Special Gladney Webinar

China Waiting Child Adoption Program &

March 2011 Superkids trip to Shanghai Children’s Home

Please join us for this special webinar featuring two child development therapists who recently visited the Shanghai Children’s Home for a one-week trip to train orphanage staff and meet some of the children available for adoption through Gladney’s Waiting Child program. This webinar will be a wonderful first-hand account by Pat Marcus who is an occupational therapist, and Kathy deMaCarty who is a speech therapist, about all they did during the course of this important trip sponsored by Gladney’s SuperKids Charity.

The webinar will be held on Thursday, March 24th at 8pm EST. Space is limited so be sure to register for the webinar today!

Project Play Continues

2011-03-16T15:53:00.001-07:00

13 03 2011

I can’t even believe how this project continues to move forward. We worked the last two weeks giving the adolescents 1 on1 sessions assisting them during their play sessions with the little ones on their “caseload.” It was so much fun. I continue to be thrilled with the supervisors, Ana Maria and Wan Su (physical therapy students from Cali in their final few months of school). They do such a great job assisting the adolescents and keeping the session moving. Mostly I just love their attitudes– they are doing a great job. Here are a few quick pics of the adolescents conducting the play sessions.

Right before I left, we had a little party to kick off the program. We invited all the staff, ate Doritos and cake, and signed the contracts. This was a pretty significant moment for the leaders (adolescents) because from this point on, they will be receiving payment for their work. Also, I surprised them with the awesome t-shirts that I had made. They (of course) loved that too!!

The ProjectPlay crew with Cappie

I am really proud of how the workers at the orphanage are embracing this project too. Last Thursday, I finally officially presented the entire program to the psycho-social staff. They all were very supportive and thought it was a fantastic idea. In fact, one social worker commented that she had already seen a change in the way that the adolescents were addressing the younger kids in the institution– with more interest and acknowledgment. The director of the orphanage told me about several of the adolescents visiting her a few days before teaching her about motor development of infants and gross motor activities you could do to strengthen development (and they were using this type of language to talk about it. And one of the psychologists had a fantastic idea: they could have monthly meetings with the adolescents to talk about the progress of the children and treatment ideas. She saw so much potential in the project, they she wanted to be more involved. She talked about how it would help the adolescents but also how a meeting would help her and the other professionals and they can inform the professionals about changes they are observing to make their tri-monthly evaluations more accurate.

And everyday there are more and more kids interested in participating. Right now, only those that are 13 and older are able to be leaders. However, there are 4 younger girls (11 and 12 year olds) who are VERY interested in participating and have been involved and helpful throughout the entire training process. Thus, Ana is going to give them “future of ProjectPlay” classes every week. They will not be official leaders and will not receive pay, but they will work with Ana and learn about development, how to fill out the forms, develop their skills working with the children and will eventually age into the program.

I left feeling really good about what we were. And now they have about a month “trial period” while I am in Peru to see what hiccups there might be… and then we can brainstorm changes once I get back.

Once again, thanks to all of you who have had a role in making with program happen. So far it has been a great success!!

Kelly's Wonderful Work with Orphans with Disabilities

2011-03-15T05:15:00.001-07:00

This was my second time in Ethiopia working at Kebeb Tsehay and I feel pretty comfortable with the people and knowing my way around things so we didn't have any problems jumping right in. I had a few days to dig through and process everything I noted my first day back to the orphanage and get an idea of what we could feasibly accomplish during our short time (no matter how long you are in Ethiopia, it is always short- I have decided I could live there full time...now there's a thought! :) and never feel like I get it all done). Alex is seriously AMAZING. He is SO dedicated to the children with disabilities at the orphanage and I have so much faith in his capabilities. I mean we can teach him or show him something once and he just gets it. He's creative and smart and loves these children as his own.

(Alex)

It is also reassuring to know Alex's presence is constant and stable. We know, therefore, anything we invest in him- time, money, equipment, training- the children will benefit more fold that we can probably grasp. We were so excited to create a "physical therapy binder" of sorts which was birthed from a three hour training program we gave to the nurses. We had an informal, practical session with the nurses at the orphanage reviewing appropriate positioning specific for each child, development and how to best intervene with each child to prevent deformity and improve quality of life. If there is something I learned from last time, the best thought-out training with the best preparation is only as good as the people you present to. I need to clarify- I presented to AMAZING caregivers last time. They were interested and engaged during the training sessions and implemented so many of our recommendations in the following week. When I returned this time around, I realized that there had been SO many changes at the orphanage. There have been new directors, new buildings of epic proportions (literally, I had to do some double takes to make sure I was still at the same place!), the old buildings are undergoing renovations, the school building has changed and there have been a lot of changes in caregiver staff. In fact, there were only about four caregivers that were the same. Many have apparently retired or moved on, along with all the information we presented 1.5 years ago. We've been brainstorming and our future plans are for another post entirely, but our wheels are turning for longevity and sustainability of all projects, including training sessions. So the nurses we're very interested in our training program and once again, began implementing our strategies quickly. Nick and I know this is all fantastic but lessons learned, how can we assure all of these new strategies will continue with more staff changes?

Alex and Kelly with Binders

We received special permission to take pictures of some of the children for this binder. We spent one morning working individually with each child, taking pictures of different positions and physical therapy interventions. We were assured that a few basic English comments alongside each picture could be read since the time to translate just wasn't there, so we created a 22 page document that includes color pictures with simple, easy to read blurbs describing the what the picture displays. I was actually fairly shocked at how many hours this took to set up, format and print (although I shouldn't be surprised that things take long in Ethiopia by now :) ), but all that just made the final product that much more gratifying. We made two copies- one to be kept in the room with the children for the nursing and caregiver staff that have a few less pages because some of the higher level physical therapy interventions could cause damage over the long term if not implemented exactly correctly, and another for Alex that was complete with all the pages including those related to the stander (we'll be getting there too, I promise!). If the nursing staff changes, there is a copy for the new nurses to see with clean pictures and descriptions. If the binder disappears from the orphanage, Alex, our dependable, reliable, wonderful friend and who spends the mornings of Monday-Friday at Kebeb Tsehay, has another copy that he can recreate if needed. We used binders, page protectors and a simple format to hopefully increase the life span of our training manuals. This binder is the first on a small scale of what we're thinking for the future, but it's a start having taken some previous lessons with future visions which is what this partnership is all about.

K

Pat and Kathy's Final Days in Shanghai

2011-03-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone,

We are up and moving here in Shanghai. We were woken up last night at about 3 am as many in the hotel are up watching TV. We think everyone is trying to get updates on the earthquake. Our last days in Shanghai went by so fast. On Thursday, we spoke to rehabilitation center staff on the topics of speech therapy and cerebral palsy yesterday. They are eager to learn and we did several practical demonstrations of techniques for them. We also spoke to a group of community parents on techniques for children with autism. We did both practical demonstrations and lectures. They were very grateful. In the afternoon yesterday, we spoke to the teachers of the children with autism about setting goals for these children and how to improve their educational. We are so pleased to have the opportunity to work with so many different types of staff, so that even more children can benefit.

Last night after speaking for almost 6 hours we were invited to a reception dinner by the director of SCH. The vice director was also there and we teased about her about being the "director of food " because she always picks the dishes at the dinners. This dinner was traditional Shanghai cuisine; several whole fish, a dish I think was tripe, roasted duck, a soup with fish balls in it and a delicious desert soup with small dough balls it. Everyone loved dessert and the whole dinner was delicious.

We all summarized our visit and they were very pleased with the outcome of all our training. The best part of the trip was meeting all the children who will be part of the Gladney partnership. They were so amazing and we can't wait to see them find their forever families.

We need to get breakfast and leave for the plane. More summary of our trip and more photos to follow in a few days.

Pat and Kathy

Brace Trafficking

2011-03-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

13 03 2011

Well. Lets call it just one more lesson learned.

It turns out, that if one has more than 10 of the same item when they travel internationally… said person must prove that they are not going to sell the items. To get more specific, if one asks a friend who is coming to visit to bring “a few braces” which turns out to be a donation of 56 braces, that person should ask for a letter verifying that these braces are in fact donations. If not, this poor friend will have to attempt to defend herself (in Spanish of course… which she does not speak) and explain why she has 56 braces (which for those of you who are not great at math is 46 over the legal limit). Basically you put said friend in a horrible position– she is now a brace trafficker.

The trafficker herself

Luckily we had Magnolia the super-translator who they let enter to help Cappie. The result was that we had to get a few letters from the orphanages to prove that we would be providing them with braces. One day later we had the black duffel bag in hand– a black duffel bag the size of a small adult, filled to the brim with braces. At this point I should send a HUGE thank you to the fantastic people who provided us with all these braces. CASCADE http://www.dafo.com which seriously is the best pediatric brace company in the world (I feel I have the authority to say that since I have seen braces in 4 countries now and they are hands down the best I have seen… okay, maybe I don’t have that authority– but I am going to say it anyway) They have a fantastic program in which they send gently used (or braces that did not fit kids appropriately) to organizations (like Super Kids) to provide bracing option for kids in need. And the other box of braces came from my FANTASTIC friends at Allied Therapy and Consulting http://allied-therapy.com in Arkansas where I did my residency last year. Thank you all so much for your kind (and not to mention speedy) donations.

We transferred the braces to my backpack and off we went to fit the kids. It was sooo awesome to see how the braces helped some of them. There is one little toddler, Louisa, who has increased muscle tone in her legs and thus has a hard time standing and attempting to walk– but with the braces she was able to take steps with me holding onto her hands… oh my gosh it was so awesome. I almost cried.

I think she liked them too

still happy... and walking!

We found braces that fit 8 kiddos (16 braces for those of you keeping score), plus two pairs of stretching braces. Magnolia, Cap and I took these braces to ”el Centro” the downtown part of the city where all the street vendors are, cheapest of the cheap merchandise, and we bought shoes for everyone. It was kind of funny– I just marched up there with my bag of braces and started sticking them inside shoes to see if they would fit. You have to understand that finding shoes to fit over braces is quite difficult even in the US. Usually you need to have pretty wide shoes to fit everything appropriately, but we made it work.

Cap modifying braces

Late night brace modifying session....

Finally… Cappie and I spent one evening a few night before I left pounding, glueing, cutting, ripping, sanding, poking holes… the experts call it adapting/modifying braces. I think what we did was more of a beat the crud out of it til it works type mentality. But we did it. And here are a few little dudes in their shiny new brace and shoes.

This little guy needs braces so he can spend time standing to help strengthen his bones

One of the much needed "stretching braces" that several of the kids can use

This little guy wasn't so sure about his braces... its the first time his little feet have experiences anything like this

Braces help this little girl stand up straighter when she is walking

She was really excited that these little pink braces fit her... they were her favorites

And there are still lots more braces to take to the special needs orphanage that I will go to in Costa Rica (and don’t worry, I will have a letter prepared for this journey.) Braces can REALLY make a difference in a child’s function movement (skills like walking, playing, running…. the normal “kid stuff”) so I am thrilled to have these available!!!

Thanks again to everyone involved in making this happen!

Another Successful Day!

2011-03-10T11:16:00.001-08:00

Another day packed full of activities!

BTW, just so everyone knows, the orphanage here is very large and beautiful. It is set on stunning, open grounds with several large buildings. The last time I was here there were over 500 children living on campus. The caregivers do an amazing job caring for all the children! We really enjoy getting to know these wonderful women whom we respect a great deal - they work so hard! The rehabilitation staff is also large. This staff works with the children from the community as well as in the orphanage. I am going to attach some pictures of a training session that we did today to work on activities for children with developmental delays and cerebral palsy. We had such a wonderful time!

We skipped lunch wisely so we could enjoy the reception dinner being held on Wednesday evening. We had been to many receptions during previous trips, so we knew the food would be delicious and plentiful! We were so happy to just have a quick rest at lunch and get back to work. Just after lunch we saw some children from the community. Following our work and suggestions we proceeded to the rehab department to work with several more children from the orphanage. We were also able to take some time to re-visit several children who are designated to Gladney. We wanted the chance to visit with them in an environment they found familiar.

The best part of this trip is the chance to help in the process of finding homes for children with special needs. We were privileged to see today several adoptive parents picking up their children to take home. It gave me goosebumps when I saw one family walk through the gates holding their child in their arms. Well, I hope to have that image in my dreams tonight. Another update coming soon.

Pat

Kathy and Pat's Great Day at Foster Care Center

2011-03-09T10:01:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day!

Steven (SCH interpreter) picked us up at our hotel in a van and drove us to the foster care center. Accompanying were staff from SCH and the foster care center's supervising teacher. We were very impressed with the foster care center which provides activities for preschool children and supervision for foster parents. It was spotless and the staff was extremely open and welcoming. It was clear the staff really knew and cared about the kids because they kept adding in little snippets of information about the children.

Now about the Gladney partnership children. They are GREAT!!!!!!! Again, overall, they are in very good shape, most with mild conditions. They drew pictures for us, they danced - really showing off, they smiled and laughed and were just precious! They all have so much love to give!!!!

We were taken to lunch at a small restaurant in a private room - it was a great lunch!

After lunch, we returned to the foster care center to evaluate four more children who were so full of personality. One little girl leaned over and gave Kathy the cutest, big kiss:)

Wherever we go – we are met by children of all ages who just want to be held and hugged – so of course we try to do that as often as we can! The children are all beautiful. Each with their own special personality. This is one of the difficult and sad things about living in an institution – no matter how good the staff and facility – each child misses out on being the focus of attention and love. If only each of these children had parents who knew every detail of their lives. That is the gift that each parent gives a child.

All and all a wonderful day,

Pat

Pat and Kathys first day at SCH

2011-03-08T12:28:00.000-08:00

Pat and Kathy hit the ground running their first day at SCH

WOW what a day!! We had a very courteous meeting with the new director and assistant director of Shanghai Children's Home (SCH). We discussed our schedule for the week which includes formal lectures on speech therapy, cerebral palsy, and autism, hands on workshops about development and play, and of course evaluations of Gladney's partnership waiting children. We cannot wait to see the children and hug them all!

We also described how Superkids was started by Gladney mom and humanitarian aid program specialist, Janet Fink. Janet's daughter, Jeannie, was adopted from the SCH when she was a little over two years old. Jeannie had a diagnoses of crossed eyes and nystagmus, both which were corrected several years ago. We showed her a picture of Jeannie (now she is 8!) and they were so happy to see her looking healthy and happy! The staff at SCH cares very much about all their children and work very hard to provide nurturing environments for them!

We began with a visit to the "Snoopy room." The children ran towards us, arms in the air, trying to touch us. They were ADORABLE! We then went to rehabilitation center to provide evaluation and treatment plans for two orphanage children. What makes SCH wonderful is their rehab center, which treats both orphans living on campus and children living in the outside community. Families living in Shanghai who have disabled children, bring those children to SCH for treatment. We love working with SCH rehab staff because they are so intelligent and open to sharing ideas. It's a gift to travel half way across to world to work together and exchange ideas for the benefit of children. We brought them physical and speech therapy text books.

Then lunch came around. We had a soup with tofu, rice, mushrooms, a small whole fish, a type of turnip,and cabbage. Kathy did better with lunch than I did. Then they took us to a rest room for tea and coffee. After tea, we started evaluating the Gladney partnership children....boy, are they cute!

We evaluated 5 children today and overall, they seem to be in good shape. Some have very minor conditions and others more extensive, but they were all sweet, and loving, and beautiful. When we return to the U.S. we are going to host a webinar with more specifics about our trip and the children we are evaluating.

We were still seeing children at 4:00 when the buses were leaving, so our ex-expatriate interpreters kindly drove us back to the hotel. Tomorrow we are going to fostercare to see more Gladney partnership children.

They are giving us a reception on Friday night!

Stay tuned for more updates and hopefully some pictures!

Pat

Ethiopia Playroom Complete!

2011-03-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

Kelly Did It!

We are so excited the playroom has been completed! Mostly. Angannette made some awesome rattles with our old water bottles by filling them part way with chick peas and gluing the bottle tops on which the kids LOVE. I really love creating things in Ethiopia with just what we can find, which actually is a lot (see Merkato post), but it’s important to have in mind what you need before you go. Cheap and easy toys that are easily re-made and safe for babies through older children who use them as musical instruments. We also had the chance to go through some storage areas and see some things that Kebeb Tsehay has but aren’t using because their old buildings are under renovation. We pulled out some toys and stuffed animals but wish we would have had a few more hard toys, too. We set up one of those alphabet foam floors and some foam Ethiopian mattresses, along with some blankets and quilts that people gave us to bring over to create nice, soft spaces for the kids to sit.

Before

As soon as we finished, our first toddler wandered out to test out the space. He LOVED it. Raphael was playing with the balls we blew up, throwing them, chasing them, sitting down rolling them with us. It was only the second time I had actually seen him laugh. The first was when he was playing with an electrical outlet (yes, we made him strop). The director of Kebeb Tsehay came upstairs to check things out and said she loved it. The last step is that needs to be completed is covering the bamboo weave from the inside with a plastic so the kids won’t put apart the weave (yes, they figured that out quickly) and since of course we ran out of time (how does that happen?! No matter how long you’re there- two months, two weeks, there is never enough time for it!), we left some money for Alex to head to the Merkato and we have no doubt he will take care of it.

Busy making things safe!

Complete!

Here are some before, middle and after pictures (yes, we’re home now, we can send pictures!). If I could create my dream playroom, it wouldn’t be on a second story balcony with wire railing, but that’s the name of the game; creating great spaces that are realistically usable for caregivers that will be continued once you leave. Otherwise, you’re wasting time, resources and it can be pretty disappointing to see what you worked hard to create go unused. I know Kebeb Tsehay has plans to create a new playroom in the old buildings but that still won’t be realistic for them to carry babies downstairs and into another building, so hopefully this can allow the children to get more stimulation during the day and encourage better motor and cognitive development.

Kelly

Kathy and Pat's first day in Shanghai

2011-03-06T15:46:00.000-08:00

We are so excite to be in China! We got up at 7:30 yesterday to exercise and try to get on China time. After breakfast, we decided to go for a grand shopping adventure at the Yu gardens bazaar. We will definitely have overweight luggage for the return trip home. We shopped, shopped and shopped, along with talking picture after picture of the gardens.

(Kathy at Yu Gardens)

The Yu garden was first established in 1559 and was constructed over a period of 20 years. It was built by Pan En for his father who was a high ranking Chinese official ,in his old age. There are many areas of the garden that are exquisite, including a Rockery( a rock garden), Lotus pool and a beautiful bridge that has many turns. We were told this is because evil spirits could not turn corners. The gardens are beautiful and we were lucky enough to have been there when the Bonsai trees were in bloom. Kathy is an avid gardener and I love Asian gardens, so it was an amazing experience. It was a little rainy and foggy so it just added to the ambience of the garden.

We also had an afternoon pick me up at Starbucks. I had to take Kathy's picture several times as her son works in Starbucks. A man stopped us wanting to know why we came all the way to China only to take pictures of Starbucks. He laughed with us when we explained.

We are eagerly anticipating going to the orphanage tomorrow. Our ex-patriot translators will meet us at the orphanage at around 9:30. We are really eager to see them again. Kathy and I are going to spend the rest of the evening reviewing the profiles of waiting children.

I think we will sleep well tonight in-spite of our afternoon nap.

Bye for now.

Pat &Kathy

Words from Kathy

2011-03-02T06:53:00.000-08:00

Kathy is off to Shanghai this Friday!

I am Kathy deMaCarty and I have been a Speech Therapist for almost 40 years. In my late twenties I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Manila, Philippines and I was stationed at The Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf. I also taught Speech Pathology at the University of the Philippines. I still look back on that on it as one of the best times of my life.

I came away from that experience profoundly inspired and changed. I got so much more than I gave to the people I helped. I also came away from it with a greater understanding of culture and how it influences our belief system and our decision making.

I am thrilled to be going back to Shanghai Children’s Home. I was there 3 years ago but because of my knee I could not travel. Now armed with a new titanium knee, I feel that I can return. It was such a pleasure to share my knowledge with others who want to help the children in residence and those of the community.

I am coming to the end of my career, but I still want to travel, meet people of different cultures and the best way is to volunteer. Experience and adventure is high on my list of things that mean a lot to me and my ability to work with Superkids is a way to have both wonderful experiences and share some of my knowledge.

I am thrilled to be going back but I am not looking forward to that 15hour flight. At least I have an isle seat!

Update from Kelly in Ethiopia

2011-03-01T08:12:00.000-08:00

Playroom: Stage One!

What a crazy day. I experienced depths of the Merkato like I did not know existed. I have a love-hate relationship with the Merkato, really. It's the biggest market in Africa which just seems awesome to have the opportunity to wander around and pretty much every trip is
always successful. If the item you are looking for exists in Africa, you can find it at the Merkato. That doesn't mean you will always find it quickly, although you are definitely always moving. Today's supply list included baskets (of various shapes and sizes), glue (crazy strong awesome glue that only comes in a way bigger container than we actually need), thin wire (an entire roll of it- also way more than needed but the price was right), clothes pins and seven woven bamboo
mats. You may wonder what one person would do with those random things, and in fact, most people wonder what I'm doing at the Merkato anyway. Well, I'm building a playroom, of course!

Kebebtsehay is in a bit of a transition period with the opening of the new building and the current remodeling of all the old. Apparently there are plans for a playroom that will be in a remodeled part of one the old buildings, but that still keeps things a little difficult because it's not really feasible for them to carry 40 kiddos down a flight of steps, outside and into another building for play time. The upstairs of the new building, however, is busting at the seams with
the recent influx of children (think 3x the number I dealt with in 2009), which leaves little extra space for a convenient playroom. Enter the balcony. I was told there was a "playground" already
upstairs. Great. Let's go check it out. Well, we were taken upstairs and walked out to a balcony which is barely accessible because currently a crib is blocking the door from opening more than 12 inches. This really is convenient because the door opens to the baby and toddler rooms, but there is a wire railing with intricate, and sharp, designs in the iron. So today began step one of a two to three step transformation from making this space into a beautiful, yet unusable place for children to be. We covered the railings with woven bamboo mats using thin wire. It actually turned out looking pretty nice and the director seems pleased! I took a few pictures of before and after step one but we all know how Ethiopian internet works so uploading isn't quite an option tonight. Hopefully soon before I'm back in the States!

Tomorrow is another big day...hopefully the final steps of completing the playroom complete with a safe floor (to cover the current hard ceramic tile) and baskets of toys, including rattles made with old water bottles, filled with chickpeas and glued closed. We're also excited to be putting the stander together and training Alex on how to use it and which kids are most appropriate that would benefit from the stander. We're continuing to work on the physical therapy binder that outlines appropriate positions for kiddos and different developmental
and therapeutic interventions that mainly Alex will be utilizing, but we are also making the second copy to leave for some of the nurses and caregivers to reference, too.

It's always nice to have some real, tangible goals in mind and see some progress towards them. Today Yemamu was talking about how he likes working in the orphanages themselves because you really get to see the fruits of your labor and today, that definitely felt real. Some days are easier than others, some more discouraging and some more joyful that you thought possible. We're grateful to see some of these things coming together and really feel like we're getting a good feel for what things may look like long-term. We LOVE doing what we do and having the opportunity to be there. Thanks for all the support!

Kelly

Project Play begins in Cali, Colombia!

2011-02-28T06:47:00.000-08:00

ProjectPlay begins

24 02 2011 (check out Keely's blog and read about all her adventures in Colombia! Pretty soon, she will be on her way to Costa Rica http://superninos.wordpress.com/)

I think that I wrote a quick blurb about an idea that I had for Oscar Scarpetta: provide job/money management training to the adolescents at the same time we provide love/stimulation/play opportunities to enhance development for the little ones. How? you ask… well, this is the birth of ProjectPlay. The adolescents receive hourly payment into a group fund for providing the one-on-one play. The adolescents then get to spend this money on group outings, buying whatever they want for the group.

Thanks to the AMAZING support of donors for this program, we have been working really hard to get it underway the last few days.

I bought tons of toys, mats, climbing equipment for the kids to provide them a safe area to get to play. Play time/floor time in an orphanage is really like a war zone. It is a battle for survival– you either are the aggressor (the victor who keeps the toy and or gets the attention) or you are the weakling who sits in the corner and never makes a peep so no-one ever messes with you. We transformed this area into an AWESOME play space for kids from babies up to 8 or 9 years old.

The room before:

Pre- ProjectPlay

Bringin in the supplies:

Adolescents helping carry all the supplies to the room

The room after:

ProjectPlay playroom

The adolescents were informed of this opportunity a week and a half ago. They are learning the steps of employment: everyone had to fill out an application and undergo training before they are selected as a “leader of ProjectPlay”. They are learning ALL the ins-and-outs of the employee manual and the expectations of them as an employee. They spent almost 3 hours in a “class” about child development in which we talked about all the aspect of development and how they could enhance each (gross/fine motor, speech, cognition, behavior/social, creative etc) through play. We talked about using creativity and the millions of different ways you can use the same toys. Mostly I helped them understand how important the role of the the Leaders of ProjectPlay is to the success of the program.

ProjectPlay Leaders... so much learning, so little time

I asked them what the difference was between a street dog and a house dog. Their answers were right on– the street dog is wild, he could bite you, etc. The house dog listens to his master, he knows how to behave. I asked them what would be the difference if the “house dog” lived in the nicest house in the world but without an owner. And the “street dog” lived on the street with an owner who cared for him, fed him, talked to him and pet him etc. This stumped them for a minute. But after they all started discussing it, they realized that this “house dog” would be totally wild and the “street dog” would probably by clam and tamed. Then I talked about the new room– with all its toys, mats, bells and whistles. This is the beautiful house without an ownder– the big thing that will make a difference in the lives of these babies/young children is the people: the leaders of ProjectPlay. As Americans, we often hear the word play and automatically think of toys. But the truth is, a child with a rock and stick and a caring, engaging adult will learn WAY more than a child in FAO Schwartz with no interactions with other people. It was such a cool moment. All of them were smiling and nodding… like they even understood for themselves how important this connection would be. And they have been keeping up this awesome energy since.

Training day 2 consisted of reading the employee manual and discussing its content entirely and then making sure everyone knew how to fill out all the forms. One of the older girls commented about her shock in the amount of signatures that a job like this requires “I have to sign this paper too? can’t you guys just remember who I am?” The rest of the week will be observing play sessions. And then next week we start with the real deal.

ProjectPlay leaders (there are boys too.. they just were not here today)

I started introducing the play area to the little-ones today also. Talk about stimulation… this was totally overstimulation! All the newness. All the colors. All the toys that make noise and light up (because they actually have batteries) All the different feelings– of the squishy foam cushions. We spent the majority of the thirty minutes in a state of shock… them clutching onto me… me slowly working them into playing with a toy or two. One little boy however loved it. He was talking and making more noise than I have ever heard as he played with this light-up bus toy.

Lots of the kiddos looked like this the first 10 minutes:

Shock!

Followed by a little more confidence and a brief moment of play:

Boom Boom Boom... nothing like banging some rings together to really make a one year old happy

Holy cow… you mean I get to play with this thing for 20 minutes and no one is going to bother me:

He really liked this bus

Lots of the older girls (5-9 year olds) came in the room in the afternoon as we were cleaning up. They almost died. I think in a ten minute period they played with every single toy in the place.

The band

The ProjectPlay updates will definitely continue. We are starting this project as a 6 month trial and hopefully all will go well and we will see improvement on both fronts: development and job training/money management. But I think there is even more potential than that. I think great relationships will be formed between leaders and babies, leaders and supervisors, leaders and leaders. I hope that the leaders will have a sense of pride from participating. I hope that they will be role models for younger kids who want to participate in the program some day. I hope that they will be better more loving parents (eventually… please let this not happen for quite a while!). I hope this thing works!!

more soon

Pat and Kathy leave for China this Friday!

2011-02-28T06:32:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Let me introduce ourselves. My name is Pat, I am a pediatric physical therapist who has praticed for over 25 years. Kathy is a speech therapist who has praticed for about 40 years. We are part of superkids which is the humanitarian aide arm of Gladney adoption agency.

Pat, physical therapist

Kathy, speech therapist

Kathy and I are preparing to leave for Shanghai this Friday and we are so excited. We will spend the week at the Shanghai Children's Home. Our mission is to meet children in the Waiting Children Program and to train orphanage staff, local volunteers, and caregivers who care for disabled orphans. We have been preparing for this trip since last fall. All our preparation is about to come to fruition. We are fluttering around trying to pull our lives together and take care of a multitude of last minute details. My suitcase is almost as tall as I am. This is my fourth trip and Kathy's second trip.We are excited and nervous at the same time. Did we forget anything? Most of all we can't wait to get back to see the Children in the orphanage. We know we will see familiar staff and care givers. Several expatriate volunteers, who we have worked with during previous missions, will interpret for us again. We met them on one of our first trips to China and we can't wait to see them! Their ability to translate is great and their command of not only proper language but also common language is exceptional. They seem to actually think in two languages.

Kathy and I are meeting for breakfast tomorrow to go over last minute details. We will keep you all in the loop as to whats going on.

Even the longest Journey begins with one small step.

More from Kelly in Ethiopia

2011-02-27T11:55:00.000-08:00

Well we finally met with the director of the orphanage and we got the
go ahead to start work on a few projects.

Since this orphanage is run by the government, we weren’t allowed to take any pictures of the buildings or the kids so we had to get special permission to take pictures of any children we wanted to work with. We explained that the purpose behind our camera was to depict
the children in helpful, therapeutic positions. Once we had these pictures, we told the director, we could type up some directions which we would couple with our images in order to place in a binder. Our hope is that the caregivers could use this as a reference on a daily basis when there isn’t a Super Kids volunteer present. After another day we heard word that we could take pictures of the kiddos so we recruited our faithful Ethiopian friend Alex, who works with the
special needs children on a daily basis, and got to work. We now have the pictures and are excited to have started on our binder.

(Kelly is in the middle)

Another project we will ask Alex to be a big part of is the use of a stander. We are in the process of deciding which children are appropriate to use the stander and are trying to find ways to adapt it to some of the other kids so they can still have the benefit of putting weight through at least one of their feet without causing further damage. One of the many terrific things about the Ethiopian culture is their ability to improvise without great resources. Because they are so adept at this, we will be counting on their ingenuity to make the most of the equipment we are leaving.

More improvisations will be needed to complete a third project we are attempting with the infants of the orphanage. The building where the playroom for toddlers is scheduled to be has been under renovation for about two months now so almost all toys are locked in storage. Once
this room is complete, the director plans to “release” the toys, but even if the play room was finished tomorrow it wouldn’t benefit the infants. The reason is simply a matter of numbers and location. They are getting an influx of kiddos, but the number of staff stays the same. Couple the poor ratio with the fact that the caregivers would have to carry each baby down the stairs, out the building, and across to the next building and you see that the playroom isn’t very accessible for anyone who can’t walk down the stairs by themselves.

Our plan to help this is to turn a balcony, which is attached to the infant room, into a child-friendly playroom. If we can make this happen the kids can have a chance to get some fresh air and stimulation while the caregivers can hopefully get a small break from the crying of bored children. Time is running out and we are feeling like we could stay here for a year and still feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. Our friend tells us, “If you get one thing done in the morning and one thing done in the afternoon you have had a successful day in Ethiopia.” We’ll try and keep that in mind.

Kelly is back in Ethiopia....She has hit the ground running

2011-02-23T06:22:00.000-08:00

Words from Kelly:

Things have been both good and a bit disappointing. Some things that we're implemented in Kebebtsehay
seem to have been pushed to the wayside with the move into the new building and hiring a lot of new caregivers. I'm meeting with the director and then with Alex tomorrow so I'm hoping to have some more information as far as what is manageable, what's working, what's not working, etc. I will keep you updated.

There have been SO many changes at Kebebtsehay. There is a HUGE new amazing two story building on the campus that most of the kids have moved into. The babies and toddlers are on the second floor with some
of the older ones on the first floor. The two old buildings are currently being remodeled to house the oldest kids at Kebebtsehay. It was almost eerie going into the old baby house. It was still painted blue with the old dresser missing a couple of drawers but had dust and debris everywhere. It was silent. I explained the old set up to Nick;
what everything looked like, where it all was. This new building feels like a fresh start, in a good way and in a not
my favorite way. All the toys we brought before are somewhere unknown, the dry erase board with the schedule for the babies and toddler is also gone. I haven’t given up hope yet; since it was the weekend, the director wasn’t there and neither was Alex, so tomorrow I should have
some more information.

Home again...with a LOT of work to do!

It feels SO good to be back here in Ethiopia. It really feels like home and although some things look so completely different, the people are just as amazing.

There are a lot of new kiddos with special needs at Kebebtsehay; seven, actually. I haven’t had a chance to spend much time in their room yet except to know that a few of them are very sick. Tomorrow I’ll meet with Alex and the director to see what our objectives are for the next two weeks. I have some high hopes of getting all the kiddos who need physical therapy on a set program with Alex with the ones who are appropriate set up with the stander, donated from the AMAZING company Kaye Products. Seriously, check them out. What great people. Because the building is so new, there is some great space in the first floor and an outdoor patio on the second floor that the caregivers are open to having us create into a playroom to encourage some developmental stimulation. Ideally, we’d love to set up the first floor because it’s really an amazing space, it’s not realistic for the caregivers to carry all the babies and toddlers down there every day, so we can pretty much comfortably say that isn’t going to happen. We’re brainstorming the patio and will keep you updated, of course!

I also have been asked to present our caregiver education program again because so many new caregivers have been hired. We’re looking at doing some re-working of the information and trying to condense a little because I just don’t think we have the time to pull it all off to the same extent this time around. My mind is swirling with some
ideas of creating it as some sort of training program that all new employees of the orphanage must complete. Perhaps making it into a manual with great pictures and resources. Of course this also needs to then be translated into Amharic. Ekk. The babies and toddlers would really benefit from being back on a schedule again, so we’ll be
revisiting that part of what we had done last time, too.

We’re hoping to get a Kechene project going in a few days, so stay tuned! We have some good ideas to be working on once we’re back in the States.

Can’t believe I forgot to give you all the best news….ELSHADAY WAS ADOPTED! If any of you remember the kiddos we worked with last time we were here, Elshaday was one of the sicker kiddos. He had some serious
nutrition issues and impairments that we’re causing him to aspirate and Keely and I tried to get some things going for him, but you just never know once you leave. It is amazing news that he is somewhere getting the love and attention he needs and deserves. This really feels like one of the missions of Superkids coming full circle for me; working with a child, focusing on their physical impairments in an attempt to make them more functional and improve their quality of life and then knowing they have a forever family that will continue striving towards those goals every day. These are the things that keep me going.

I had some really amazing high hopes to blog every day….SO not happening. Not because I don’t have access to internet this time (theoretically, we have internet in our guest house), but because there is so much to do and so little time! Hope to be updating you all
soon! :)

K

2011-02-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

An excerpt from Keely's blog

(Keely is field director of Latin America)

30 01 2011

Keely has visitors!!! - Cali, Colombia...Orphanage:

So who were these visitors you ask? They were Janet Fink, the director of Super Kids, and two of her good friends- Lisa and Sabrina. Experiences like this are so cool– because you are so in the moment, you have to be very present. This is because so much happens in every second. You quickly find out who people really are. For this reason, you develop a unique bond with people who undergo it with you. You talk about things, things that really matter. And you really get to know them. I have known Janet for about a year and a half– but mostly as a voice on the phone or a talking face on skype. I had never met Sabrina or Lisa. But by the time they left, they really felt like old friends (yes, corny… but also very true). They just had this calm confidence and were so inquisitive and intelligent. I don’t even really know what to say– they were just so cool!
The basics of their time here looked like this: a day filled with sunshine and children. Evenings filled with conversation and lots of food (gourmet according to my current standards). I think the pictures will tell the story better than I can:

Keely, Lisa, Janet and Claudio the chicken... being tourists

The ladies bought the kids at Oscar Scarpetta some MUCH needed books. The kids loved them so much: turning the pages, looking at pictures, sitting on laps and reading the words. They played with the books ALL day!

Sabrina and friends in the toddler room

Reading 'til the cows come homeWe like our new books!

Spanish reading lessons

One of the older girls came and Spanish reading lessons as the ladies attempted to read to the babies in Spanish. She was VERY impressed at their reading abilities!!!
The books for the older kids were presented to the “library committee.” And the ladies were given a few small Colombian souveniers as a thank you. And then we all chowed-down some delicious Colombian food and drink.

Library Committee

And they were especially THRILLED about the twilight books!

Teenage girls will be teenage girls

They left with so many ideas. So many plans. I can’t wait to see what they can help us accomplish here in Colombia.

Packin up and movin out!

Janet, Lisa and Sabrina. Thank you so much for coming. You will definitely be missed.
The night they left, one of my best friends got here. I am so excited to have a buddy to explore with. And she is a PT too so I am really pumped to have someone to bounce some ideas off of. Next update will be the adventures of Keely and Kristi– I have no doubts it will be quite riveting! Until then…
Caio
KO

Keely's Colombia Adventures

2010-11-17T15:10:00.001-08:00

Physical therapist, Keely O'Dell, arrived in Medellin Colombia this week. She will spend two months in Medellin and two months in Cali providing caregiver training and rehabilitation to orphans with disabilities. Some of Keely's colleagues will be joining her throughout her stay. Check out her fabulous blog http://superninos.wordpress.com/

Check out these really Cute Baby Booties

2010-11-17T14:55:00.000-08:00

Thanks Jae, for working so hard with the Kechene Women's Association!

Our wonderful intern, Jae, just returned from Ethiopia. She helped older teen and young adult orphans in Addis Ababa create these "super cute," baby booties!!! Superkids will sell them to raise money to support programs for teen orphans in need of employment.

The Kechene Women's Association, is an organization of young women who have "aged out," of the Kechene Children's Home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

There are few opportunities for these orphaned young women once they have been released from government care. Most seek low-level service industry work in Ethiopia and Middle Eastern countries, but pay is extremely low and such work is dangerous in countries with few women’s rights and no citizenship protection. Unfortunately, many fall back on prostitution to provide for themselves.

The young women of Kechene need life-skills to navigate the world, earn a living and use money wisely. They need to learn how to set goals based on safe choices, self-sufficiency, and self-esteem. They need a future that offers a chance for a long, productive, and happy life.

2010-09-14T09:21:00.001-07:00

2010-09-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

A Successful Summer!

Thank you to Liana, Tanya, Anita, Joan, Mark, Neeha, and Rhonda for making this summer Superkids' biggest success! Teams of physical, occupational, and play therapists provided caregiver training and direct medical intervention to orphaned children in Addis Ababa Ethiopia and Cali Colombia. Superkids started a successful read aloud program in Addis that exposes orphaned children to books and improves literacy and language development. The Superkids Colombia team provided therapy and an exercise program for pregnant women in crisis living in Cali. We also provided funding for school age orphans in Medellin, Colombia to receive English language classes for 1 year. Superkids will send more physical therapists to China this fall to continue caregiver training.

Superkids is Growing! Over the past 3 years, Superkids has conducted 8 humanitarian aid missions in China, Ethiopia, and Colombia. We have worked with 7 orphanages, 4 foster care homes, and 1 pregnant women in crisis center. We have trained more than 300 orphanage caregivers, provided medical consultation for 100 children and infants with severe medical conditions, delivered 3 wheelchairs to teen orphans with spinal cord injury, and delivered more than 300 therapeutic toys.

2010-06-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

Summer Update

Tanya and Anita have been in Cali 3 weeks already! They have been busy training orphanage caregivers, treating disabled orphans, and working with pregnant women in crisis. Check out their blog http://superkidscali.blogspot.com/

Liana has been in Ethiopia almost 2 months now. Her reading project is going even better than expected and the Kechene Women are busy making braided wrap bracelets. http://lili188.blogspot.com/

Next week 3 more therapists arrive in Addis Ababa Ethiopia to provide caregiver training and treatment for orphans with medical conditions. Caregiver training will focus on feeding and exercise. stay tuned!

2010-05-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

Anita and Tanya arrive in Cali!

Hola! We made it to Cali, Colombia last night after a long day of traveling. Magnolia, who is an interpreter for Gladney, met us at the airport and took us back to her apartment where we will be staying for the next 8 weeks.

Today, she took us to the local shopping center across the street where she helped us purchase a cell phone. Tomorrow we meet with Julieta, the director of the Instituto de Oscar Scarpetta. This is one of the orphanages where we will be volunteering. We are really looking forward to getting to know the kids and the staff. Stay tuned for our adventures...

Check out their blog superkidscali.blogspot.com

Getting Ready for a Busy Summer

2010-04-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

Superkids is preparing for a busy summer! Liana is back from Guatemala and will be leaving for Ethiopia in 3 weeks. Liana will be working with teen orphans.

Superkids is also sending teams of therapists to Colombia and Ethiopia this summer. Our Ethiopia team travels this June and includes an occupational therapist/feeding specialist, a physical therapist, and a clinical psychologist. Superkids will also send 2 graduates from Duke University's doctoral program in physical therapy to Cali, Colombia for 7 weeks this summer.

All our volunteers will blog about their experiences, so stay tuned!

2010-01-17T06:21:00.001-08:00

Superkids in Guatemala, Liana is On Her Way!

Liana Moskowitz, a recent graduate of the University of New Hampshire, is spending the next 6 months volunteering for Superkids. She is on her way to Guatemala right now! Liana will be volunteering at Casa Bernabe for 3 months working with school-age orphans. She will then fly off to Addis Ababa Ethiopia to work with teen orphans aging out of the orphanage system. Liana will be blogging her journey, so stayed tuned. http://lili188.blogspot.com/

Superkids Latin America

2009-10-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

Superkids will be sending volunteers to Guatemala and Colombia beginning January 2010!! Founder, Janet Fink, just returned from a whirlwind trip to Cali, Bogota, and Medellin Colombia where she met with many orphanages directors to discuss the medical, social, and educational needs of school aged orphans. More info about Superkids Latin America coming soon!

2009-09-28T14:50:00.001-07:00

2009-09-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

Keely and Kelly 's Final Words

2009-08-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I have no excuse for this over month long delay in wrapping up our blog! I am sorry for the time lapse, but thank all of you dedicated readers who are all still anxiously awaiting to hear about the last few weeks of our trip, which were undescribable. As we mentioned in our last blog post, we found ourselves with a LONG to do list and only a short time to complete it all. Instead of chronological order, we’ll go in subject order. It seems the easiest way tie up all the details.

Oh, the chairs! A labor of LOVE. Lots of love. We spent weeks on what seemed like the never ending project. The real charmer about these chairs, however, was the day when we went to pick up the wood, just a few days before we were scheduled to leave, which was supposed to have the holes drilled in order to screw the seats and backs of the chairs and footrests in. Little to our knowledge, we show up to the shop and boy do things look different! I didn’t even initially recognize where we were...I thought we pulled up to the wrong part of the street. Sure enough, correct area, but the store was gone. I don’t mean the store was emptied out...I mean the store was GONE. The walls and roof and floor of the store were gone, and in it’s place, the dirt ground with a square outline of what once was a woodshop that we were standing in a few days prior. We managed to speak with a kid, maybe 12 years old, that told us the story. Apparently, despite owning the shop and the area on which it was located, the owner had been removed by the government who was reclaiming this last for something else. According to one of our friends, it might only be a matter of time before all these small businesses were scooted out so the government could do something else with the land. Fortunately, the boy knew where we could find the new shop. He hopped in our contracted van and lead us to the new location, in a nice, but plan storefront located on the first floor of an apartment building. Because of the relocation, the owner didn’t have time to drill the holes for us. He promised they would be ready by tomorrow morning, a Sunday, of which they didn’t usually work. Sure enough, Sunday afternoon I picked up the wood with Yemamu, dressed in his Sunday best for church, which happened to be a suit that was given to him by an American friend for his school graduation. Luckily, the new shop wasn’t located far from our house, which made it easier. In the meantime, Keely was in the mercado, hoping to pick up the last few necessities to finish off the chairs. To our dismay, she called, reporting that the mercado was deserted (a sight we never thought we’d see!). Because it was a Sunday, all the stores were closed up. She managed to find an open air second hand sale where she was atleast able to purchase the much needed bolts, allowing us to get the wood bolted to the chair frames. That day was spent sanding furiously, wood dust filling the air and the clothes of those who were kind enough to help us (thank you Yemamu, Keely S. and Misfin!), using our tools to tighten the final joints and spray painting to make the chairs look a little nicer. Monday, our last day in Ethiopia (literally...we left that night) Keely and I split up to divide and conquer. She went back to the mercado and have a few final pieces of fabric sewn for the covers of our head and lateral supports for Elshaday’s chair and picked up the miscellaneous items we had run out of or just never knew we needed. I ran last minute errands around town, picking up folders and markers, getting copies made and pictures printed. Monday afternoon, later than we had hoped but in enough time to finish it all up, we contracted a public minibus taxi that we loaded our proud masterpieces in that swept us off to Kebebtsehay for the last time. Once arriving, the kids were SO helpful in transporting and assisting us with the fitting of the chairs. We brought each kiddo out, one by one...Elshaday, Baletta, Yordi. We cut back the foam of our cushions, set the footrest at the right height, and belted them in. As we stepped back to check out the final product, they turned out better than we could have ever anticipated. The kiddos sat up straight, proper pelvic position, supported trunk. Beautiful. We spent a few minutes teaching a few of the caregivers, as well as Yemamu, how to properly position and secure the kiddos in place. Elshaday’s chair was the most involved...requiring not only a lap seat belt, but a chest harness in addition to lateral and head supports. His chair was set at approximately an 85 or so degree angle of hip flexion to trunk position, but it was tilted backward to discourage his head and trunk from falling forward due to his low tone and inability to work against gravity. These chairs were more involved than we ever thought they could be, but we are so proud of the final product and hear that they have worked out really well for feeding and spending time out of their crib. I can’t wait until we can get back to Ethiopia and see them again.

Our white board. A project that was finished thanks to the dedication of those who stayed beyond Keely O. and I. Although the board was planned out on a piece of white board, Keely S. and Yemamu took care of ensuring the board was completed. On one side, it listed the daily scheduled that was created during the afternoon portion of our caregiver education program. Feeding, napping and showering times were all built in, in addition to our newly agreed upon times including outside play, out of crib time for the babies and inside play time. Another portion of the board was used for reminders. Reminders to hold feed the babies, change children’s positions in cribs, wash your hands after changing diapers...all the little things we’re hoping really sunk in after our training sessions. The final section of the white board was left blank...purposefully. A portion dedicated to notes. Notes for the caregivers to write to each other about who is sick, who needs medication, who hasn’t eaten...all the really important things that don’t seem to always get transmitted during caregiver shift changes because of all the normal commotion. Keely sent us a picture of the final product, hung and in place. We were so lucky to have people on the ground when we left who cared enough to really spend some time ensuring our work was finished and implemented. Again, thank you Keely S. and Yemamu.

We were fortunate to have the opportunity to head out to the countryside, to Awasa, for two days. We experienced a side of Ethiopia we hadn’t seen in the previous seven weeks. The terrain changed during the drive from dry and desert/tundra-esque, to green and lush and beautiful. We saw the fields being plowed by hand, one countryside Ethiopian and one bull with a primitive handmade plow. It was amazing. We met a mother of three, who was pregnant with a fourth. Living in their modest thatch house, one of these boys, with only a shirt on, was shivering from the cold. I have never seen so many flies on one child...they surrounded his eyes, some even encroaching the eye itself. He never even flinched, while my first reaction still when a fly lands on me is to shoo it off, no matter how stubborn it seems. Keely put it well...this just demonstrated the enormous societal complexity that surrounds the rapidly increasing number of children in this nation. Awasa housed an amazing number of street children. As the largest city in Eastern Ethiopia (according to our friend Alex), many children whose parents pass away often walk into this city. Overall, this was an amazing trip that allowed us to experience the country in a different way than we had in Addis.

Sunday evening, the day before we left, we took a few hour hiatus from working on the chairs to surprise the older kiddos at Kebebtsehay with a movie night. We had this cleared with the director, Asenake, from a few days before, but we were just hoping and praying there would be electricity at the orphanage that night! If our seven weeks in Ethiopia taught us anything, it was to prepare for anything, as water and electricity outages cannot be predicted. Fortunately, lights were on and the kids were surprised!!! As soon as we stepped inside, we were greeted with surprised smiles and hugs. I took a minute to peek into the baby/toddler room and was welcomed with the usual "Kellllllyyyy, Kellllllyyyy, Kellllyyy" chants. Sounds that still bring a smile to my face and almost tears to my eyes. It was bath time and I didn’t want to cause too much commotion, so I slipped back out as quietly as one can once your name is being chanted by 8 or so beautiful little kiddos. It was such a nice time for us to see Kebebtsehay. We have never been there at night, and it just felt so comfortable with the relationships we had built to sit back in the evening and watch a movie. A few weeks prior, someone generously donated a tv and DVD player to the orphanage, so we had these surprise plans in our heads for some time. We picked up a few DVDs (some of which were specifically requested by the older boys!) which included Bolt, Madagascar 2 (not 1! they were very specific about this!) and Superman. We enjoyed Bolt, although having been purchased on the street (we didn’t know where else to get them besides the mercado, and our experience there was just as sketchy) we were a little wary of the quality of the "authentic" (we were assured it was authentic...hmmmm) DVD. Minus a few parts that required a little intervention of fast forwarding, rewinding, pulling out to clean and replaying in order to get past the skips, it went over pretty well. We were so lucky to have the chance to see these kids in the evening in their "home" environment. It was amazing to sit back and really take it all in.

Orthotic devices. These proved to be a bit of a challenge! After multiple trips to the orthotic and prosthetic clinic, different hospitals and doctors offices, we finally were able to get prescriptions we didn’t know we needed in order to have the foot orthoses made. Unfortunately (or fortunately, because we’re not sure he would have gotten the care he needed had we not already been at the government hospital), Elshaday came down with a high fever and was obviously ill while we were at the hospital. He was "admitted," which we thought would mean he would be going to the inpatient hospital facility in a hospital room, diagnosed with severe pneumonia. We were told he would be receiving a G tube, to which we rejoiced! Although Ethiopia does not perform G tube placements for permanent solutions, we were just excited he would be getting proper nourishment for at least a few days while he tried to recover from this bout of pneumonia since he has such difficultly sucking and swallowing, and we’re pretty sure most of his food ended up in his lungs (which is likely the cause of the pneumonia in the first place). The orphanage was so great at attending to him; they sent over a "mother" to stay with him during his entire hospital stay. It was sad to say goodbye; he was so clearly sick and we would have done anything to try and take some of his pain away. The next day, we went back to the hospital and to our surprise, Elshaday was in the same room we had initially left him in. He was being treated, we were told, with antibiotics. Unfortunately, no G tube. We were still hoping, though. The next few days passed, and Elshaday was brought back to Kebebtsehay while we were there. No signs that he ever received his G tube. He was seeming to feel better, though. The other two, Baletta and Yordi, received the prescriptions needed for braces and Keely was able to have them evaluated at the clinic and the appointment was set for when the braces would be made. The appointment was a few days ago, and we are anxiously awaiting to hear how it went.

We were able to get Addisa to her final neurologist appointment to interpret the CT scan results. As we has feared, according to Ethiopian medicine, the damage was done and there was nothing that could be done for her. The neurologist explained that since her skull sutures were already "closed" (not exactly closed, they had formed overtop of each other instead of forming together and fusing in a smooth manner), no procedures would be able to help her condition. He recommended physical therapy to try and optimize her ability. We talked to Alex who spends time at Kebebtsehay with Yordi each morning making sure he gets out of his crib about some things that would be good for her. We know Alex will take good care of her. He’s so concerned about their well being and so dedicated to making sure they are all taken care of. Keely put together a "PT kit" for him before we left to help him continue some of the things we were doing, too. There were things for him to do measurements, explanations of exercises, tools to fix the chairs if they broke...we left all sorts of stuff that hopefully he’ll be able to use!

Our last night was the most difficult we had...more difficult that we could have ever imagined. We had gotten to know these kids, the caregivers, our friends in Ethiopia. We built relationships and trust and genuinely love these people. There were LOTS of tears. Only a few of the little ones seemed to understand that something was changing with our goodbyes, but all of the older kids, who have seen people come and go so often in their lives, knew what it meant that we were leaving. The caregivers offered us dinner and a coffee ceremony on our final night, which was so thoughtful. We spent this quiet time with the caregivers, reflecting on our past seven weeks and what we would miss the most. They told us what they learned, and it was so encouraging to see they were incorporating our ideas into their routines. Once we finished up with dinner, we walked outside. Mind you, this Monday night there was no electricity and it was getting pretty late, so it was close to pitch black minus the two candles we had been using to see. As we opened the door, we could hear all the older kids sitting on the steps singing/saying, "We love you Keellly!" over and over again. This name, Keelllly, is what Keely and I were both called, a bit of a hybrid of our names together because the sound of Kee is a little difficult for them to make. It was so touching, and made the tears flow even more. We really, really LOVE these kids.

Well, I think I may have covered most of the main things pretty thoroughly! Needless to say, we got more and more busy as time went on, and although we were there seven weeks, we could still be just as busy seven months later. There is just so much need and so many different things we can do to help these kids who really need the love and support we can offer. There just aren’t words for me to describe our overall trip. It was amazing, life-changing, encouraging, saddening, full of laughter and love and tears and experiences. We hope we impacted those we interacted with, because we know they touched our lives forever. We love Ethiopia; the country, the people. It was so hard to leave, but we are hopeful it won’t be too long until we can return again. Again, thank YOU for all your support for Superkids and Gladney. We couldn’t have done it without you. Signing out, for now, but not forever.

K&K, DPT

Check Out Our Slide Show!

2009-08-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

Keely and Kelly Returned Home Safely

Keely and Kelly finally returned home after 7 incredible weeks in Ethiopia. During their summer in Addis, they taught caregivers how to properly care for healthy children, provided direct physical therapy to disabled orphans, built special chairs for orphans with severe disabilities, made orthodics for children with deformities, brought lots of love to many lonely orphans, and made life long friends. Check out the slide show below.

2009-06-30T06:22:00.000-07:00

Keely and Kelly Update

Boy, Have They Been Busy!

Hello Everyone!!!

So incredibly sorry about the ridiculously long hiatus in blog posts. We would like to officially blame it on the incredibly inconsistent power of late. For those of you who are not familiar with the inter-workings of Ethiopia, the city of Addis is prone to frequent power-outages. Finally, we have time to sit and write… and there is so much to tell!

There are two more adorable kiddos that we want to introduce you too. First is Addisa. She is (we think) about 6 months old. Her name, which we assisted in making, is Addisa Metesenot (which means “new wish”) She is a beautiful baby girl. She came to the orphanage about three and a half weeks ago. Upon her arrival, the caregivers brought her to our attention due to concerns they had with her health. We immediately noticed her frequent seizures and continued to be very concerned with her neurological condition due to overlapping suture closure in her skull. Kelly masterfully got her to relax and fall asleep on that first day. And we have learned since that she loves to be on her belly…it’s the only way she can catch some restful sleep.
The last week and a half, we have been very busy trying to determine the neurological ramifications of the abnormal suture closure. Thanks to the amazing support of Superkids, we were able to take her to the foremost pediatric neurologist in Addis, Dr Ayele. He referred us for
a CT scan. Kelly and our Ethiopian guide Yemamu took her to the CT scan on Friday. Little Addisa handled things pretty well all in all…but for Kelly it was a little nerve racking! We have grown so attached to this little girl. We have the results in hand and are awaiting our follow-up visit from the Doctor to learn about the potential options. For now, we are just going to continue to make her life more comfortable and help teach the caregivers to properly handle and feed her.

The second… Masquenaw aka Baletta. What an amazing spirit this little girl has!! Baletta is the kind of child that just immediately fills you with joy. When you say that her laugh is contagious…it really doesn’t do it justice. She sits in her crib, rocking back and fourth and randomly dies laughing!!! And we mean this is a full body shaking … sometimes she laughs so hard, it is silent and she is just sitting there jiggling! She particularly enjoys watching the two of us dance. She can sit up in her crib unsupported, but gets very little stimulation or even time out of bed. We have lots of ideas on improving her core strength and seeing what she can do.

Finally, a small correction…. Elshaday is actually a boy. Embarrassing as it may be to admit, gender is a VERY difficult thing to determine here in the orphanage. Pink it turns out… as well as every other color in the rainbow and ribbons and bows are actually gender neutral. A miscommunication (mistranslation) with a caregiver led us to believe he was a girl, until we observed a diaper change about two weeks ago. So sorry about that!

We spend a lot of time throughout the weeks working individually with these kids… but this week was a little different. And very exciting!! We completed our caregiver education program and it was a HUGE success. Over 35 caregivers, axillary staff members and government
employees attended the 8 hour training session. We performed the program on Tuesday and Wednesday so that all could be in attendance. The director of the orphanage, Asenake, was thrilled with the information covered and we were thrilled with the interest and sincerity with which everyone approached the program. We can’t wait to share all the videos and pictures of these amazing days with all of you!

The morning began with the didactic session. We lectured on motor and social development with an emphasis on age appropriate sensory stimulation, positioning during sleep and play, language development, sharing, feeding, hygiene/illness prevention, bone health, and body mechanics during lifting. We also did a great role play activity to teach behavior modification with an emphasis on positive reinforcement. So much laughter and lots of learning too. After a
delicious lunch and coffee ceremony (oh and of course a morning tea) we continued with our hands on learning session. In this session we brought several infants to the classroom and allowed the participants to practice swaddling, infant massage, positioning and play
techniques, and oral stimulation prior to feeding. Following the afternoon tea break, we finished up with a group conversation in which we encouraged caregivers to develop a consistent schedule that incorporated many of the recommendations including “out of crib time”,
frequent repositioning of infants, outside time and lots of play. They were amazing participants and we had a lot of discussion, brainstorming and problem solving to arrive at an agreement that we are all very proud of. Next, the caregivers were encouraged to list the key elements learned during the class and discussion of how they want to try and implement this into their day. We were so impressed by their dedicated responses. The plan now is to create a white-board
with recommendation reminders, schedule, and a place for caregivers and nurses to write notes to improve communication about children. Like we mentioned, an overwhelming success. We definitely want to thank our translator Bisrat and of course our backstage man Yemamu for
making everything run so seamlessly, it could not have been better!

And what was even more exciting were the two days following! We walked in to observe increased caregiver interaction with the kids. Lots of singing and talking. There were infants out of their crib on the floor mats in all different positions and several of them were given massages…. and toys!!! The toddlers were taken out to play in the morning according to the developed schedule (which we had NEVER seen them do prior to the education program). We saw lots of toys (which also means lots of tears….sharing is REALLY hard with all these new
exciting toys). But we were overall impressed with the attempts of the caregivers to address all these behaviors with several of the strategies we taught them in the program. We also saw improved positioning of feeding and oral stimulation for the children that have difficulty feeding. WE ARE SO PROUD!!!!!

Let’s see, the last big project. We are trying desperately to get ankle foot orthotics made for Elshaday, Baletta and Yordi. Our goal is to provide them with braces that will help prevent deformity and also allow weight bearing to improve the joint mobility, muscle extensibility and bone health. And hopefully…with time increased functional independence. The process is slow, but we are very hopeful that Monday we will finally have all the steps in place and be able to
visit the orthotist for our official assessment.

We can’t believe our time is almost through!! The time has really flown by. The “to do” list is exceptionally long including: finishingour supportive feeding chairs, creating infant positioning devices, making positioning pillows for the kids with disabilities to decrease deformity, continue to work with caregivers to implement new changes and create white board. Oh, and of course the big “movie night” we are planning for all the older kids the night before we leave… complete with popcorn and everything.

Everyday is an amazing experience. We thank all of you for your continued support throughout all of our projects. We couldn’t have done it without you! We are so blessed with this opportunity. We promise more pictures and videos when we get home. Until then….

K&K, DPT

2009-06-23T11:15:00.000-07:00

Keely and Kelly Update

Hi everyone! Internet has been slow in Ethiopia and Keely and Kelly have been very busy! Today they are conducting a 2 day training for orphanage caregivers.

K & K have been busy working with disabled orphans. Several of these orphans have foot and leg deformities. K & K found a place that can make ankle/feet orthodics to help prevent further deformity and allow them to weight bear.

A new girl was recently brought to the orphanage. She has a skull deformity and seizures. K&K found a neurologist in Addis who will give her a work up and CT scan this week.

K&K have also been overseeing some jewelry making as part of Gladney's Brighter Futures Project. www.brighterfuturesproject.com. The teen orphans pictured above are making beautiful ribbon necklaces that will be for sale this fall. Proceeds from sales will go to life-skills training for teen orphaned girls. Most teen orphans around the world do not have the skills to live constructive, independent lives. The majority end up on the streets. If you are interested in supporting our Brighter Futures Project please visit our website and buy some bracelets!! They are very pretty and make a great gift!

More updates coming soon!

2009-06-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

Read about Lauren and Lisa's work in China

Our First Day at the Jiamusi Children’s Home: May 25, 2009

We were so excited to get to meet the children! When we arrived we were welcomed by six of the sweetest preschoolers who could not have been more precious. They were eager to talk and play with us and I was touched by how quickly they trusted us enough to sit on our laps.

I was instantly struck by the selflessness of the caregivers – we had presented them with chocolates upon our arrival and they reserved all of them for the children. So after getting to know the children over a chocolate snack, they were in full play mode. At first we played together with toys but in no time at all they were happy to crawl into our laps and even dance with us.

The children were evenly split by gender – 3 boys and 3 girls. We learned that most of the children were living with slight intellectual or physical disabilities but they received high-quality care to address their needs. Children who had needed surgeries were given them at a young age and physical therapy specialists helped with motor skill development. Despite their different abilities they played well together and with us.

The children were fun-loving and also responsible. They were sure to always throw away their trash and rearrange their toys when finished. The older kids watched out for the smallest girl and held her hand to walk her to the bathroom. It was truly touching.

May 26, 2009

Today we were welcomed by eight beautiful babies! For the rest of our time we will rotate between working with the infants we met today and the preschoolers we met yesterday. The babies were also equally split by gender and many had special needs. One of the older babies had already received corrective surgery for clef palate and is doing very well.

While all of the children’s needs were met, the low caregiver-to-child-ratio (1:8) unfortunately made it hard for each child to be held enough and receive enough personal attention. Therefore we strove to give as much attention as possible to the kids who received the least. We fell in love with the happiest baby we’ve ever seen. She radiates happiness and despite her clef palate, she has the most sincere smile and her eyes light up as she laughs.

2009-06-02T06:03:00.001-07:00

Kelly and Keely Update

Yordi and Elshady

We have had a wonderful opportunity to spend a lot of time with some special kiddos. We are going to introduce you to them throughout this week.

Yordanos, aka Yordi: What a delight this little fellow is! He is constantly smiling and laughing and making his favorite sound: oohhh-woop!!! He is the joy of the orphanage, all the kids love him too! He is around six years old and has made a lot of progress in the last year thanks to the love of a special caregiver, Alex. Yordi loves to be held, cuddled and tickled! He does great sitting in his chair and can really use his right hand to play with you and interact. It is unclear exactly what Yordi has been through in the past, but there are some reports that he had a brain injury when he was very small. Although he has significant visual and auditory impairments, that doesn't stop him from being a happy little boy! With the right love and attention, he has soooo much potential! We are excitied to work with him and see what gains he can make.

Elshaday: We noticed her huge eyes and bright smile right when we walked into the nursery. On this day she was laying on her back, very quietly and very still. We have already seen so much progress as she has gotten to know us. Now when we come in the room she starts waving her hands around and quietly cooing and grunting to get out attention. We have no information on her medical history, but there is definitely evidence of some type of brain insult. She has very limited core and head control making it very difficult to sit or actively play. Our biggest concern her difficulty feeding and coordinating the muscles around her mouth. We see so much potential for her. With intensive therapy who knows the limit for this bright little girl.

We hope these picture begin to show the beauty and life of these kids. We look forward to keeping you updated about them and the many others!!!

K & K, DPT

2009-05-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Keely and Kelly Update

Week Two

It has been a productive week. Its amazing how much…and how little…we get done everyday. The majority of the week, we have been conducting developmental screens of all the kids 4 and under. Many of the infants have presented with sensory and motor delay. We are using the
information that we have gained to put them into appropriate motor groups. One thing that has really amazed us is the increase in initiation of movement and engagement in play just during the
evaluation. At the start, most of the children are laying motionless on their backs in the cribs. By the end, we notice increased reaching, interest in toys and self-exploration and overall more
active movement. This has given us a lot of hope for the potential ALL these kiddos have.

We also developed a questionnaire for the caregivers at both Kechene and Kebebtsehay so that we can begin to better understand their difficulties and questions so that our educational programs will be relevant and worthwhile for them. We have started to work through their responses. As we were already keenly aware, their significant limitation is resources: diapers, formula, limited number of caregivers and medical treatment. We are going to work in the next week to better understand their current system such that we can help them get the most out of the resources they do have. This is a very challenging task- the balance of reality and optimism!

Yesterday, we had a surprise opportunity to spend time eating lunch with several adoptive families and their new children. It was a very rewarding opportunity for us to see the possibility that exists for these kids. There was a swirl of emotions for these families and children. As one husband and wife put it, “we are on day three of parenthood!” What an amazing and exciting time for them as they learn to adjust to their roles as parents to these incredible Ethiopia children.

Tomorrow we are going to assist the Gladney Center for Adoption by going to their foster care centers and helping perform personality updates for 40 children in their system. These updates are sent to adoptive families every 2 weeks to help keep them up to date with their child. We are both very interested to see the condition of the foster care centers to see how the care provided differs from the orphanages. We hope these personality and picture updates offer hope and excitement to the adoptive parents and we are fortunate to have the opportunity to provide them.

We are looking forward to the weekend and sorting through our evaluations to see where we’ll go from here. Thank you for your continued support and love.

Keely and Kelly

2009-05-24T06:35:00.000-07:00

Superkids in Ethiopia

Kelly and Keely Update

Beautiful Children

We basically hit the ground running in our time here at Addis. After quickly getting settled in (buying groceries and a cell phone), we spent the last two days getting acquainted with two of the government orphanages: Kababitsahay and Kechene. We are so excited and have tons of beautiful kiddos and great projects to tell you all about, but first a quick introduction to the orphanages.

Kababitsahay houses infants through children aged 12, both girls and boys. Kechene has a small number of young children under the age of 12 but is primarily a home for young women 12-18 years old. All the children in the orphanages are finishing up school and about to begin summer vacation.

Basically the last two days we have been holding lots of babies and playing with kids in order to perform a very VERY general physical therapy triage to see what kids are in the most need of our services. We have also done a lot of observation of the caregivers and the structure of the orphanage to better understand the children’s routine: including their positioning, feeding, sleeping and play patterns. What we do know is that they all love to be held and cuddled. It is heartbreaking to let go of one even if it is to pick up another.

These observations and discussions with the director of the orphanage have given us a lot of great ideas. Our programs will aim to improve the movement and the development of the children as well as educate and supporte the caregivers and other orphanage staff. We hope to
have a more solid outline of these programs in the next week, but for now here is a glimpse of our plans:

1. Direct 1 on 1 care: There are currently 5 children with physical impairments limiting their participation in all activities. We are confident that we can positively impact their functional abilities with physical therapy interventions. We will develop and implement treatment plans which we will teach caregivers to continue upon our departure. We were delighted at the spirit of these beautiful children. They are all full of life and smiles and love all this new attention. Very soon we will introduce you to them individually.

2. Caregiver education: We will implement several full-day training sessions for all the child care providers. These programs will include education in: proper positioning/holding/lifting, feeding guidelines, hygiene, the importance of play, promoting bonding, behavior modification and tips to help caregivers with body mechanics and scheduling to ease their burden as well.

3. Age matched play groups: We are going to have play groups of 3-4 similar aged children and work on developmentally appropriate play, movement and peer interactions. We can’t wait to see their faces as we slowly begin to introduce all the toys we have brought to share!

4. Jewelry Program: Gladney provided jewelry and craft materials such as beads. ribbons and threads which we will deliver to the young women of Kechene. They will make jewelry and crafts that we will bring back to the United States and sold to support the children of Kechene. (so save your Christmas money!!!)

Thank you endlessly for your support of Superkids- Ethiopia. We are so excited to have the opportunity to serve these children on behalf of all of you! Since being here, we have had the opportunity to realize the enormous impact that Gladney Center for Adoption has on the welfare of these children. We are amazed at the breadth of support they provide to orphans and the orphanage system including: education, nutrition, clothing/shoes, shelter, medical needs and the list goes on and on. It is truly an inspiration to be involved with this organization that is invested in these children with such integrity and love. We will carry this vision and your support in all our interactions with these wonderful children!!

Kelly and Keely, DPT

2009-05-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

Brighter Futures Camp Update

Meet a fourteen year-old Chinese boy who received his wish for a forever family.

http://www.wfaa.com/video/nspparent-index.html?nvid=363243

http://www.wfaa.com/video/nspparent-index.html?nvid=363241

I suggest you have some tissues on hand!

2009-05-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

Lauren and Lisa have arrived in Harbin, China!

Duke University undergraduates, Lauren Kelly and Lisa Du will spend their summer in Harbin, China working with orphans at a local welfare institute. They are doing well, catching up on sleep, and looking forward to meeting the children. Stay tuned for updates.

(Lisa)

2009-05-20T05:46:00.001-07:00

Keely and Kelly are on their way!!!

Yesterday Keely and Kelly left for Ethiopia. Below is their update from London.

(Keely)

(Kelly)

We are sitting in the London Heathrow airport waiting for our last leg of the flight to Addis. We are both excited, yet a little sleep deprived already! We have packed 98 pounds (yep, 98!!!) of toys and therapeutic necessities, donated of course by Superkids, the Duke Doctor of Physical Therapy Class of 2009 and the Strasburg Presbyterian Church in Strasburg, Colorado. We are so blessed to have the opportunity to deliver these items and can't wait to begin working for the next seven weeks.

Stay tuned for more updates!

2009-04-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

Superkids in Ethiopia

Meet Kelly and Keely

Superkids is so excited that Kelly Mortellite and Keely O'Dell will be volunteering their time this summer in Ethiopia. Both Kelly and Keely are physical therapists who have a passion for helping children! We are blessed to have them on our team!!!!!!

Kelly

My name is Kelly Mortellite and I will soon be a graduate of the Duke University Doctor of Physical Therapy program in May. My passion in physical therapy is pediatrics and I love working with children. Another personal passion for me is international humanitarian aid, so the mission of Superkids touches close to my heart. I am most looking forward to embracing a new culture in Ethiopia, having the opportunity to work with disabled orphans and making a long-lasting effect by educating caregivers on optimizing development through activities, handling and positioning techniques. I am excited to spend the summer building relationships with the children in Africa and consider myself blessed to be working with an organization as wonderful as Superkids.

Keely

I am currently a physical therapy student at Duke University with expected graduation in May, 2009. I am excited about this opportunity as it unites my passions for travel and providing physical therapy services to children. I hope this experience will be the beginning of a life long journey to bring healthcare to underserved communities both nationally and internationally. I am very excited to share my knowledge with the kids and staff, but am equally thrilled about how much this experience will teach me. I love to laugh, play and have fun…I expect to do a lot of that during my 7 weeks in Ethiopia!

2009-03-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new blog! We are looking forward to updating everyone about Superkids and the orphans we help. Below are highlight from 2008!