Dom Orione

We started volunteering at an orphanage named after its founder. We are primarily helping with the disabled toddlers. Since they have limited staff and the kids need to be fed individually, we help feed them lunch. Then we try to make sure the kids are clean, changed, and lying in a dry crib. This is actually kind of hard since we cannot find sheets any where. Changing the kids is also difficult because they all have limited movement.

Since volunteering we learned that the kids usually come to the orphanage through the church. Children are brought to the orphanage when the church community recognizes a child is being left at home unattended. There are currently 40 children at the facility. Some of the children have interesting stories. One child they actually found living in the forest! They told us that is why she smells everything like an animal would. She seemed to like our scent...we think. Another girl, Armanda, came to the orphange by choice because she was beaten at home.

Over all Dom Orione has been challenging, but it is nice to know we are helping a little bit. Yesterday Paulo, the director (we think), gave us a tour of Dom Orione`s vision. They are currently building a hospital where the kids will be able to receive medical attention. In this building they are including a place for physical therapy as well. We are happy to hear this because a lot of the kids we have worked with would benefit from physical therapy. They plan to run this new facility solely on volunteers so they can provide services to the community for free.