Kailee and the orphans

Yesterday was my granddaughter’s birthday and I should have slept soundly the whole night after an exhausting day, but… I was tossing on my bed.

There was something strange in yesterday’s affair that wouldn’t leave my mind. Something that was far different from the first two birthdays of this adorable girl. Her first birthday was lavish and involved international travel and a buffet dinner complete with a clown and his antics and the kids enjoying the fun. It also extended to another day at the beach with friends and family around her.

The second birthday was in Funarium, a British kiddie indoor playground complex with function and learning rooms, and is the hangout of expat and affluent kids, even the king’s grandson. On both birthdays gifts and much attention were heaped on her although at her innocent age all she could appreciate was the shouting and screaming with pleasure at the slides and other playground equipment. Now how did the trend suddenly change in the third birthday? And why is my heart aching so?

At three, Kailee had grown to become more conscious about the people around her. She was starting to take interest in other children and the adults within her scope of understanding. The kindergarten supervisors in church started to take notice about her being caring towards other children and that she had the inborn gift of sharing. We too noticed that she had that attitude of gentleness and affection and we knew that we had to nurture this god-given gift.

This third birthday offered the opportunity for her to exercise this talent and God supplied the perfect venue. It was an orphanage in a province north of Bangkok that had about 200 orphans ranging from a few days old to 6 years. It had 100 staff members, including guards, gardeners, cooks, laundry and maintenance personnel, nurses and administrators, which would give you the picture that there could only be less than 50 personnel directly involved in handling the 200 kids.

A few months before yesterday we approached the administrators of this orphanage and we were told how the party should be conducted. They specified the only food and drink that we could serve and the rules on our behavior. A day before the party we made sure that we had the 200 Yakult bottles and 200 slices of chiffon cake, ice cream good for a hundred adults and Kailee’s gifts of toys, powder milk and disposable diapers for the babies.

Thoughts of fun and laughter filled our minds as we drove to the orphanage and we were expecting to be greeted by jumping and smiling kids. We unloaded our stuff from the car and then met with a lady who was assigned to tour us through the beautiful and well arranged complex of bungalows interconnected by covered walks and interspersed by playground equipment. Each building housed children of a specified age group, and facilities were adequate and surprisingly well maintained.

We were then brought to the mess hall where we set up the food and soon the children started arriving. About only 50 kids – the age of Kailee, were permitted to join the party, and so the rest of the food had to be taken to the other kids in their bungalows. The children who came found their seats and Kailee personally served a few. After the kids consumed their share they were herded back to their quarters and the party was done. Now why is my heart pining?

Where was the laughter and the noise that accompanies parties of this sort? Why were the kids not jumping around, grabbing things, smiling or shouting in glee and merriment? Why was everyone passive and silent? I simply had to recall one or two of the bungalows we visited that housed the under-1-year-old babies to understand this phenomenon. On the floor of these rooms I saw about a dozen babies supine or prone on the floor learning to balance their heads and nibbling on a toy or just simply dozing off.  No one was around them because the orphanage was understaffed and their ‘moms’ had to be occupied with other concerns. (taking photos in these rooms is not allowed)

I realized that Kailee lived in a totally different world from these orphans. A place where she had at least 5 people who fed, bathed, played, responded to her every need or simply bonded with her. She may be like the orphans in a sense that she doesn’t have a dad, but she certainly has a mother and the rest of the family that see to it that she never is in need or want of love and attention.

This event is my fifth encounter with the thousands of orphans around the Kingdom of Siam and it has bolstered my resolve to stay involved and committed in uplifting the plight of these innocent kids. I know Kailee will grow up with the same desire and dedication in her heart.

update: 27June2010

last night we had an extra-ordinary high voltage electrical storm that lasted for more than an hour, and the loud crashing thunder was really bothersome. i took a look at kailee cuddled by her mom assured and comfortable... and then my mind wandered back to the orphanage with the tiny infants and toddlers each in individual cribs a meter apart without a mother to snuggle up to... and i felt a jab of pain in my heart. i could only pray that Jesus had this all within his scope of love and mercy, and that an angel had a reassuring arm around each baby. God bless the orphans!