The children

Thea, (the Dutch founder of the orphanage), told me that 11 children came from another orphanage that was shut down. The children that came had lice and big bellies because they were not being fed. They were afraid of adults because they were beaten at the other orphanage, and this also made them very aggressive. Thea said Victoria would shudder and pull away if anyone tried to touch her. One night 7-year-old and 9-year-old boys were found having sex in the bathroom, and apparently this was a normal thing to go on at the other orphanage; and this was often happening between children and the workers/volunteers at the orphanage. Luckily, these children ended up at Egyam, where you would never be able to tell how bad their past was because they are so happy and well taken care of now.

However, I don't think time heals the scars of a horrible past. Sylvia, an 8 year-old was drawing with chalk today. She drew a boy and girl, then drew a line between the two and told me the boy is raping the girl. I said no, and erased the picture. She drew it again, this time she said it's Madam Jen (that's what they call me) raping John (the 6 year-old boy that was drawing on the other end of the chalkboard). I said “No, we don't talk like that” and I erased the picture, but she drew it a couple more times and I kept erasing it. Finally another boy came up and she said it to him, and he smacked her and told her not to say it anymore and that seemed to stop her.

3 Boys: Liky, Denis and Ezekial

I met Liky and Denis the first day I was at the orphanage. They are 2 of the original dozen that did not have families to go visit for the first 2 weeks I was here. Liky speaks very good English, and Denis does well, too. But Denis does not do well in school. He's in Primary 2, and is 8 years-old, but he can't even write the alphabet. He doesn't do his homework, and even though I have tried to help him, he doesn't copy the questions down correctly or legibly.

Liky is literally attached to me 90% of the time. I have even been helping in his Primary 3 class, and he constantly looks over and smiles at me, or gives me a thumbs-up. Liky is the perfect name for him because he is always sticking his tongue out! He can sometimes be too attached and Leo has warned me that if another child tries to sit on my lap or hold my hand, Liky will push them away so he can hold my hand or sit on my lap. I always tell him it's ok if another child wants to hold my hand, and he sulks away. I watched Liky and Denis today, and they both are striving for attention because when I was busy, they grabbed on to 2 of the Holland people just like they do me, and the founder, Thea, hugs and kisses and picks the children up and they love it. And it's fair enough, I don't think I have ever seen any of the people that work here give a single child a hug or really just spend time with the children. Even at night I’m usually the last adult up and make sure the kids finish their homework and go to bed.

Now I come to Ezekial. Ezekial and his twin brother Thomas were two of the last children to come back to the orphanage from vacations. He is in primary 4, so he's about 11 years-old. This kid never told me his name or even said a word to me, and the first night he came back,  we were all watching a movie. He pulled his chair right up against mine, sat down, put his head in my lap and pulled my arm around him like I was hugging him. He sits the same way next to me every night since, and still barely says a word. He is similar to Liky though, because if another child tries to sit on my lap he'll push them off.