Temple for Children

July 10 2006

Today I began my volunteer placement at Bal Mandir. I really like it so far and I think I will really enjoy my time there. It is unbelievable to actually see hundreds of children who do not have a home to go to or parents to care for them. It’s heart-breaking. I knew exactly my intentions on my way to Nepal but the impact that just one day at Bal Mandir has had on me is incredible. It makes me want to stay here in Nepal and devote much more of my time to these children. I’m already wondering how I am possibly going to be able to leave them all at the end of August.

Bal Mandir is the largest orphanage in Nepal where 250-300 children live at any given time. Bal Mandir means ‘Temple for Children’ and it used to be a palace about 70 years ago. It is much more spacious than I ever would have thought. However, I really had no idea what to expect. This is the first orphanage I have ever visited. All of the female children are sent to this specific orphanage. There are also boys but all the girls are sent there. They are children of parents who have been killed, put in prison, children who are unwanted by their parents and who have been abandoned or who are disabled. During my orientation last Thursday, I visited all the different groups of children. They range from new borns to 17 years old. It seems to me that the children are well taken care of at this orphanage.

Today, during their nap time one little boy, Suman woke up crying. I wasn’t really sure what to because nobody told me how to care for the children. You’re just shown where to go and that’s it. I wasn’t sure how to deal with them – if you had to keep distant at all with regards to getting attached or adding to their already confused emotions. Finally, I reached my arms out to pick Suman up and without any hesitation and only knowing me for about 20 minutes he clung on to me with all of his strength. I don’t think I can really describe how sad it made me feel. The children do not get a lot of one on one attention. That is the saddest part. A lot of them are very subdued and just stare off in space. Sometimes, it is hard to get thier attention. It is definitely not how a typical child would react but they are neglected so frequently when they cry and when they want attention. They know that crying won’t get them what they want. There is only one or two caregivers in the room where I volunteer and there is over twenty children between 18 months and 4 years old. It is a sin for them. I found the hardest part was to see the children like this. I tried really hard to make some of the children laugh but some of them still just stared off like they were depressed. So sad. I just hope that I can bring some joy to some of their days.