The orphanage visit

The orphanage visit

Suixi orphanage is about 40 minutes from the city of Zhanjiang. About 100 children are at the orphanage. Our adoption group had the privilege of being able to visit the orphanage where our little girls came from. Not all orphanages allow such visits, as some years ago there was some bad press (on 60 Minutes) about Chinese orphanages.

Prior to the visit we all felt some apprehension about taking our little girls back. Would they be confused and distressed by familiar surroundings and meeting the carers who had fed, dressed and played with them for so many months? Others had taken their children back and felt that it was a positive experience and they babies were more settled after the experience. So we decided it was an opportunity we didn’t want to miss out on.

We were met by the directors and the carers in front of the orphanage, and upstairs to a small conference room. The table had a beautiful display of flowers and at each place were bananas and mandarins, the main produce of the area. The director invited us to enjoy these and he thanked us for visiting. We were also presented with a mobile with intricate flowers and birds made from paper. The skill and detail in it was extraordinary. The older children in the orphanage (those with disabilities) had made them for all of us. (This was enough to tip me over the edge, as I thought of all those children who would not have the opportunities that Camille will. Australia does not allow adoptions of disabled children. America does, and it has been very moving to see all the children with cleft palates, deafness and other disabilities at the White Swan. I really despair about the hard heart that the Australian government has developed towards those less fortunate.)

We were taken to the nurseries where the children slept. I must confess that I was taken aback by just how basic the facilities were. About 30 little metal cots all lined up against each other and about 30 little babies standing, sitting or sleeping. We now realised the realities of orphanage life. The children were cared for and loved as much as an orphanage could allow. However they obviously spent a lot of time in those little cribs. I doubt whether they had even left the orphanage.

So how did Camille react to the visit? It certainly didn’t upset her and she continued to cling to me. She had a few smiles for her carers and seemed happy and interested in all that was taking place.

The director of the orphanage took us to a local restaurant for lunch where we enjoyed a Chinese banquet. One of the carers managed to get Camille to eat rice congee, a major achievement because at that point she had only drunk milk (practising to be a supermodel according to Ruth, one of the other adoptive parents!).

To finish off this big day we travelled to the babies finding places. But that is another story in itself.