SALEM ORPHANAGE MANAUS, BRAZIL

We're going back in time a couple of weeks. We never had the time to post this, but the visit to this orphanage was a very special experience.

It was heart wrenching and heart warming. Heart wrenching because these (20 or so) children were there because their parents had died or abandoned them, or because they had been taken away from their parents for abuse/neglect or their parents' inability to care for them. Heart warming because they seemed happy, healthy, clean and well dressed and there seems to be a concerted effort to keep siblings together.

The orphanage is church run, and young Christian North Americans, (18-22 y.o.) come for extended stays to interact with the children, who range in age from 1-14 years old. When our bus load of 25 Semester at Sea students, profs and Life Long Learners arrived we were eagerly greeted by most of the children. The few who hung back at first joined in the fun by the end of our two-hour visit. The pre teen/teenage girls immediately latched onto a female and held hands for our entire visit. All of the children wanted hugs, lots of hugs!! Our students, male and female alike played with children of all ages, throwing them up in the air, playing tic-tac-toe with markers and papers we brought, playing board games and playing soccer with a soccer ball donated to them by One World Fútbol Project. They insisted on sharing with us the candy we brought for them.

My gifts of pens were not the great hit they had been in the Amazon several years ago. I guess they have sufficient pens! However, balloons were a hit for all age groups. I wish I had brought more. When they broke they tied them on their wrists as bracelets. Match box cars were the favorite of a teen age girl, go figure! Another favorite was Wooly Willy, the picture of a bald man with metal shavings that you drag up to make hair, eyebrows and a beard. Remember them??

Parents who have had their children taken away from them are allowed to visit, and one woman with six children there was visiting. She had become homeless, and cannot have her children back until she has a home. There was no mention made of a dad. Very sad.

Part of the money we paid to go on this trip was used to buy a huge duffel bag of stuffed animals for the orphanage. Too soon our visit as over. We won't forget these children, and hopefully they will have fond memories of our visit.