Missionaries of Charity Placement

by Eileen Loh-Harrist (Volunteer from April 19 to August 26, 2006)

Missionaries of Charity is one of three orphanage placements offered by VFV and of the three, it is the poorest and least developed. It's run by the nuns in the Missionaries of Charity, the order started by Mother Teresa to help “the poorest of the poor.” The nuns run not only the orphanage, but a home for the elderly (across the street) and a mobile clinic in which they visit impoverished families in remote parts of Leyte. Children in the MOC orphanage are usually from these families. Most of the kids arriving at the orphanage are in poor health due to malnutrition and associated conditions including worms, tuberculosis, anemia and skin diseases. Several of the children are living at the orphanage so they can receive health-care treatment they cannot get at home. As soon as the children are pronounced healthy enough to leave, their families are asked to pick them up. Some do, some do not. There are usually around 50 kids living there at any given time, most between the ages of 3 months and 10 years, plus a few teenage girls.

Most of the kids living at the orphanage are not available for adoption because they do have families who plan to reclaim them one day. If family members are still involved in the child's life they can visit on Sunday. Though the nuns operate the orphanage, the bulk of child-care duties fall to the house workers, or “nanays,” and volunteers.

Working at Missionaries can be very overwhelming for Western volunteers expecting more of a hospital or day-care environment. You may be shocked that children are allowed to live in these conditions, which are far below Western standards in all aspects: organization, health, safety and child development. The house is small and there are very few caretakers, so the children do not get the individual attention they need. The nanays' priorities tend to revolve around basic maintenance such as feeding and dispensing medications. Everything else – teaching, nurturing, providing stimulation through interaction and play -- is not a priority and the nanays do not pay much attention to these aspects of child care. These duties are generally picked up by Western volunteers who recognize their importance to healthy child development.

Much of your time at Missionaries will be involved in feeding children, changing diapers and bathing the kids. The food is generally poor by Western standards – mostly rice, with a small amount of protein and vegetables mixed in. For this reason, many of the kids who arrive at the orphanage sick or malnourished don't improve as quickly as they would if they had a better diet. You may want to supplement the babies' food with baby cereal or milk powder (available by the sink in the baby room) for extra nutrition.

The children have toys (supplied by Western donors) but the nanays and nuns often do not make them available so the kids can play. Many of them find it only adds to their workload to bring out the toys and put them away again. Volunteers are strongly encouraged to take the initiative to bring several toys out after meals, distribute toys in the cribs, and help put the toys away at naptime. (Otherwise the kids are bored and will cling to caretakers, misbehave, or cry). Maintaining toys, keeping them organized, changing batteries, etc. are tasks that fall 100 percent onto the volunteers. As mentioned, most of the house caretakers do not recognize the importance of play and they consider toys to be an indulgence (and a nuisance) rather than a necessary component of a child's healthy development. As of this writing the toys were stored in the “isolation room,” the small bedroom near the large double doors in front. Many toys are stuffed into rice sacks and stashed away, so feel free to dig around in search of them. If you can't find them, ask!

Most of the “babies” in the baby room are not technically babies. Some are as old as 3 or 4, but look and act much younger – with poorly developed speech and motor skills -- due to their health problems and the lack of stimulation they receive. Some things to know about caring for these babies:

- Skin-to-skin contact is critical. Touch, touch, touch! The babies love to have lotion or baby oil applied to their skin after a bath – go ahead and bring lotion if it's not available there. Gentle massage strokes along the arms and legs are effective, especially for the kids lacking in motor skills.

- Make eye contact and say the child's name.

- Encourage the babies to sit up, pull themselves up in their cribs, or hold their hands and help them walk. Most of the babies are simply not challenged to use their motor skills, so they don't.

- Give the kids water to drink frequently. The orphanage is very hot and staff are not encouraged to turn on the fans (to save electricity). Go ahead and turn the fans on -- it's for your own comfort as well as that of the children – and give them plenty of drinking water (bring lots of bottled water for yourself, as well).

- All the kids, especially the babies, are starved for affection and just want to be held or carried, or to sit close to you. Somewhere in the orphanage is a “Baby Bjorn” baby carrier that straps to the chest – this has come in very handy when there is a crying or bored baby wanting attention, so ask the nuns and nanays where it is, if you're interested in using it. (Tell them it was “Ate Eileen's baby carrier” and they may know what you are talking about.) The carrier was left there in the hopes that the staff would use it, but again, many of them do not understand how important it is for babies to be held. Again, it's up to the Western volunteers to provide this type of care taking.

The older kids are usually pretty bored as well; again, providing them with toys and books is a good way to keep them occupied. (Due to the cost of uniforms, school supplies, etc., only a few of the older kids attend school.) Volunteers are also encouraged to provide organized activities such as drawing, painting or games. They love to sing songs (with hand motions, especially) and this is a great way for them to learn English. They know “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” “I'm a Little Teapot,” “The Wheels on the Bus” and other Western kiddie songs – go ahead and teach them your own favorites.

Basic information:

- Volunteer shifts are from 8 a.m. to noon, and 2 to 5 p.m. You can do one or two shifts per day, depending on your preference and the needs at the orphanage.

- The “head nun” is Sister Corine who is the decision maker for both the orphanage and the home for the elderly. Sister Mystica is specifically in charge of the orphanage. Sister Claire is a “junior” nun and the one who does the most hands-on work in the orphanage.

- Not much English is spoken at the orphanage. You should be trying to help the kids learn English, but do have a few Waray-Waray words and phrases on hand to communicate with the kids. (One that is used all the time is “Dire!” meaning “Don't do that!”)