We went to the government orphanage expecting to pick up one child.
We came home with 5.
Cassie (SCH long-term volunteer) told me they were leaving to go get a new baby, one who has a similar skin condition to one of the boys already at SCH, and asked if we wanted to come along to film. After an immediate, “YES,” I scrambled to grab the camera and extra batteries and hopped in the car.
Upon arrival at the government orphanage, the mood immediately changed. The place itself was literally dark – there were no lights on, just a long unlit hallway with several rooms off to the side. As we walked by room after room, I was shocked to see rows and rows of special needs children just lying flat on their backs on mats on the ground, with only a few caregivers in the room.
We found Carys right away, the little one with icthyosis (a skin disease that causes the top layer of her skin to continually flake off), and she has absolutely captured my heart. A full blog post about her will be coming soon.
Sweet Trisha was wandering around the halls and upon seeing Cassie, instinctively reached for her hand. It was in that moment I knew we weren’t leaving that day with only one child.
We found Lauren, one of Alana’s friends who already lives at SCH. Sarah (Director of SCH) said, “Should we surprise Alana and bring Lauren home today?” And so our pack of 2 became 3.
There’s one room full of kids with chronic illnesses that the government tries to get rid of as soon as possible. Some of these kids have been adopted, but when the parents find out what disease they have, revoke their adoption and the child is abandoned yet again. One of these children, Anna, already had her paperwork in order to move over to SCH so she came along with us that day as well. Our pack grew from 3 to 4.
Finally, baby Katherine caught our eye in one of the rooms, a sweet babe with cerebral palsy who is additionally possibly deaf and blind. Squadmate Kat fell in love with her instantly and she joined our crew completing us out at 5 kids for the day.
It was difficult walking away from the rest of the precious children, knowing they all deserve the kind and loving home environment that SCH would provide for them in contrast to this government home. However I left assured that this was not the final trip we would be making to the orphanage, as SCH is constantly expanding and bringing in new kids as quickly as they have the resources to do so.
Check out the SCH webpage for more info on the incredible ministry they’re doing here in Hyderabad, India!
Forever His,
Grace
