Desiree's Diary

March 6th, 2008

This is one of an occasional series of columns from Desiree,
who is serving an orphanage in the Republic of Uzbekistan, (formerly part of the USSR).
 

2-28-07

After the beautiful Christmas snow blanketed our vast city, the temperatures dropped and froze the snow in place. So, the beautifully fluffy stuff that fell from the sky and whitened the ground now appears to be frozen in time. The crunching noise as people walk on it or cars drive through it makes a bone grinding sound that shatters the beautiful visual scene and renders a rather grotesque auditory effect. The freezing has also affected plumbing and heating systems. Our hot water pipe froze, but with the help of boiling water and towels (from a San Diego Padre’s give-away), we were able to get the system working before any major damage occurred. Others have not been so fortunate.

Though our bedrooms are cold, in the forties, we are thankful that our living room is comfortable to sit in with a sweater and blankets. Umida has taken to reading the thermometers several times a day and hot soup is the meal of choice.

Because of the holiday, the elections and the New Year, my work has been on a mandatory hold until the second week of January. Though thankful for the break to gain perspective and focus, my frustration is building with what I would call - impotence. It’s exasperating to visit the same building and continually see children suffering and more children being brought in. The cycle needs a new course and implementing programs doesn’t seem to be the answer.

Are these children meant to suffer so? Are their lives less valuable than our own? Is there not a home for them? To witness a child painfully crying from hunger, but no tears due to dehydration. To see and to know that there is food available but it is not to be given. The question remains - why? Are my expectations askew?

A while back a local woman, an orphanage director, commended me for adopting Umida, not because she was a child without a home, but because of her disabilities. She looked at me like I held some special power, like I was more equipped than others. She kept talking and kept staring. I leaned close to her and said, “Everyone has some kind of disability. It’s just that some people have more obvious ones than others.”

That response I offered holds me pensive. If our own disabilities, defects, inabilities were so apparent, would we all be left to suffer in such a cruel way? Waiting for the day when that stranger offers us an extra piece of bread, a warm meal, a gentle touch, a kind word, a lollipop. Would it be enough? Would the glimpse of something greater sustain a life and isn’t such a life worth revivifying?

Desiree'

sponsored by Uzbekistan and Humanity, Inc
(in partnership with People International - www.GoPeople.org)

All contributions can be sent to:

Uzbekistan & Humanity Inc
Box 4224
Mission Viejo, CA 92690-4224