The first thing Daniel saw this morning when he opened his eyes was his parents, who then sang Happy Birthday.
Today Daniel turned one year old. He had a great day that included receiving his first soccer ball and Colombian soccer jersey and shorts, and ate his first piece of cake. By most accounts that is a pretty good way to kick off a long series of birthdays.
Before we celebrated, however, we returned to the orphanage from yesterday. We brought with us some specific items the orphanage had mentioned needing. This time we were able to tour portions of the facility and meet with the founder and his wife.
The building is nondescript and only has a small sign identifying it as an orphanage. The building is connected to the others on the street. If you weren’t looking for it, then you could easily miss it.
When we entered the building, it became obvious that it was connected to the other buildings. From the outside its size was deceptive, but once indoors there were some stairs to the second floor and then a hallway that lead to an atrium between the buildings where sunshine and warm air could be enjoyed.
And it was being enjoyed by several children bound to wheelchairs. There were other children with varying degrees of functionality and independence. Numerous nurses and aides were attending to the children. Colombian singer Shakira blared on the radio while a couple of children danced to her music. Fifty –three children call this orphanage home.
We were fortunate to have a conversation with the founder and his wife. They truly have wonderful hearts and are doing God’s work by helping children who have no family, are dependent on others for even basic functions and will likely never be adopted.
The orphanage keeps a low profile and doesn’t do a lot of publicity or fundraising. That said it survives on donations from a network of professional colleagues, adoptive families, grants, etc. Over the years, the orphanage has made connections with people in far flung countries as France, United States and Australia.
“Sometimes people feel if they can’t donate a large amount of money, then they can’t donate anything,” the founder explained. “But if you give me ten dollars, then we can buy rice for meals. Anything can help.”
An orphanage that specializes in helping disabled children has an entirely different level of need than others with healthy children. I didn’t realize how great the need is for physical therapy equipment, air tanks, wheelchairs, guard rails for beds, etc. that are needed for special needs children. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I didn’t make the connection until we toured the facility.
“Ninety-five percent of the children we receive have a major disability,” the founder says. “The other five percent only need a surgery to have a normal life.”
What does that mean for the five percent of children? It means they are put on the special needs list and their chances of being adopted are low because the majority of adoptions are with healthy children.
We left the orphanage discussing how we can help raise money for the orphanage. When we return to the United States, it’s our goal to help out as best we can.
During the evening, Tio Alberto brought Daniel his first birthday cake. We put on our birthday hats, lit the “1” candle and sang “Happy Birthday” to him in English and Spanish. We think he likes being the center of attention.
He enjoyed his first cake like all one-year-old children on their birthdays. Then we put on his Colombian soccer outfit and gave him his mini-soccer ball. Tio Alberto and Claudia helped teach him how to kick the soccer ball.
The boy can’t walk yet and he is already enthusiastically kicking a soccer ball. He must have Colombian blood running through his veins.
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