Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 10, 1993 TAG: 9301070171
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Kathy Williams/Landmark News Service
DATELINE: FALCIU LENGTH: Medium
ORPHANAGE WHERE SON ONCE LIVED SHOWS PROMISE
I could not leave Romania, Daniel, without returning to the orphanage that was once your home.A mix of sweet memories and horror filled me as I walked up the steps of the decaying building. Surely, you didn't really live here once.
After leaving some medical supplies and lollipops with the doctor, I headed back to the room where you once ticked away the hours of your young life.
Another group of children had taken your place, but I recognized the nurse immediately. Tapping her on the shoulder, I handed her a snapshot - a transformation of a lost little boy into a bright, smiling youngster.
At first the nurse looked confused, but then a broad smile of recognition crept across the old woman's face as she remembered you - the child who left two years ago with an American.
She whirled around, kissed me on both cheeks and gave me a warm hug. Running from room to room, she summoned the other nurses who gathered to admire your smiling face. She insisted that I spend the afternoon at the orphanage and then come home with her that evening to visit.
I was anxious to see if life at the orphanage had changed so I settled in for an afternoon of hugging and playing with the 45 children there now. All of your friends have been moved to a place for older kids.
How I prayed that none of them were sent to the handicapped facility at Husi. But the nurse told me several of them did go there. I feel so guilty that I did not take those children to America, too.
There was nothing wrong with them. Like you, Daniel, their only problem was they had not learned to talk.
I wish they could hear you now!
No more children will leave this orphanage or any other for a home abroad. Adoptions are no longer allowed. The government has decided to implement a foster care program, giving Romanians the opportunity to take care of their own. But the nurse doubts it will work. Romanians cannot yet afford to take care of their own children, much less abandoned ones.
Yet, there is hope at this tiny orphanage on the Soviet border. Two Swedish women and two British women are working at the orphanage now, trying to teach the kids to talk and think and hope. An Irish speech therapist comes occasionally to work with the children.
And the nurses at the orphanage are learning how to care for the children.
It is lunch time, and the nurses are struggling to get everyone fed. In the mad rush to the table, one boy is pushed to the floor. He hits his head.
I wait for the silence.
But the little boy has an advantage you never did, Daniel. He screws up his face and lets out a plaintive wail.
A nurse rushes to the boy's side, picks him up, pats him on the back and takes him to the table.
Hope has come to Romania.