Lopyan Orphanage

A couple of weeks ago we went to Lopyan orphanage, about an hour or so outside of Sofia. The embassy has been helping this orphanage out for a couple of years now, donating food, clothes, toys, school supplies, etc., and we were really looking forward to going on this trip to take them the most recently collected clothes and toys. Lopyan's kids range from 2-13, and there are about 50 of them, I was told, though when we got there there were more than that.

Bran and a new friend. I gave Bran and Nuala little bags of stickers to give out to the kids, and some other folks brought some, too. The kiddos were covered in them! Nuala was a bit hesitant at first, kinda stuck by my side, but Bran jumped right in. It was really cool to see the American kids and the Bulgarian kids just playing together, because really, kids are kids. About 35 people and a couple of dogs went from the embassy. There were... let's see...13-ish children along.

Maeve was the youngest embassy visitor and was quite a hit. Here's one of the older girls holding her. So many of the kids were trying to hold Maeve and fussing over her. It was cute.

Little Petranko. I tried and tried to remember all the names I was bombarded with while we were there, but now I only remember Petranko's. He was 10, but only a little bit taller than N&B, who, to be fair, are about as tall as a normal five-year old.

The kids also loved taking pictures with the cameras.

Two of the older children.

Gwen, the fun girl who babysits our kids sometimes (N&B just LOVE her).

Playing Duck, Duck, Goose with the children.

Some of the older ones put on a dance show for us.

This boy... This is probably my favorite picture of the whole day. This little guy has some special needs and was just the smiliest little fellow. He was standing in the back of the room near Zac and I during the show, and had two stickers that Nuala had given him -- one on each hand. And he was just so thrilled with them. Couldn't stop smiling...couldn't stop patting them and showing them to us... I just had to smile the whole time right back at him, but inside my heart was breaking a little bit seeing this sweet little boy being so pleased with a couple of stickers while living with 50 other children in a "home" without his own parents to hug him and love him. I hope the other children are nice to him, and that he has friends and that he feels loved somehow. Of course, I hope he finds his family one day, but realistically, the odds aren't too high.

Most of the children in orphanages are Roma (Gypsies). The thing is, most of them have parents. The parents receive welfare based on how many children they have, so they just keep having babies but can't/won't take care of them so off they go to the orphanage. BUT they won't sign away their parental rights because then they'd lose their money. Sad and really lame that it works like that. Not that there are many Bulgarians clambering to adopt Roma children, sadly. Right when we got here, a Bulgarian who works with Zac, named Rado, was adopting a 6 year-old girl. They'd been trying to get her for 2+ years, because parents and grandparents kept changing their minds, etc., while this beautiful little girl sat in the orphanage. Sigh. She's with them now, and of course is working through all the issues living in one of these orphanages bestows upon a child. Also, the orphanages themselves can turn on the children. Lopyan not so much, which is why the embassy works with them, because we know the children will benefit from what is donated. Usually, though, much/most of the stuff given to orphanages ends up back on the streets, being sold in second-hand shops or whatever. The senior missionaries at church are humanitarian missionaries and they work with orphanages. I remember the couple who was here when we moved in helped get a new washer and dryer for one orphanage. The next time they went back, only a couple of weeks later, they were gone. Sold. Kind of frustrating...

The embassy donated this playset last year. Nuala's swinging with a little guy named Nicolai, who was pushing her for a long time. He's not an orphan. His dad was the fellow who cooked the burgers for the bbq.

Maeve poking Bran's eyes on the way home.

We will definitely be going back. It was a very good experience. Those children were so excited to see us, and play, and be hugged. It was sad to collect our three precious little ones at the end, and buckle them safely into their carseats and know that the children we were leaving were on their own. I remember asking one little boy who was so cute holding Maeve if he had brothers or sisters, and he looked so sad when he told me no. He just seemed like a natural holding her. There are siblings in these places, so it wasn't too weird to ask, though as soon as the words were out of my mouth I kinda wished I hadn't said anything about family. Poor little things :( BUT, they did seem to look out well for each other overall. I'm glad we took the kids with us. It makes it real, when we say things like: Let's pick some toys to give to the children at the orphanage, etc. They need to know what life is like for other people. It was really hard to leave... to know that we spent 3 hours there with them, but then it was back to our own safe and pleasant little family unit. They deserve that, too!