One Less

One less.

Today there is one less orphan in the world.

One less child who will wake up in a place that is his home -- and yet isn’t; one less child who is taunted at school because he doesn’t have a family and is considered bad luck; one less child whose fate as a child and as an adult is predetermined by the circumstances of his birth; one less child whose family had to give him up to get him the medical care he needed.

One less orphan, and one more child who will grow up secure in the love of an extended family and an entire village of friends waiting, eager to make him part of their world.    

Today we visited Alex’s orphanage. Many times I have seen pictures of newly adopted children by what had been their old beds, but it didn’t truly hit home until it was MY child, standing by the stripped-bare bed where until a few days ago, he went to sleep and woke up, a loved and well cared for orphan, but an orphan nonetheless.

Today he danced in to the orphanage, thrilled to see his teachers and show his mama where he used to live. He took my hand and led me all through the place, showing me the baby room, the preschool where he spent two years, his room that he shared with two other boys, and his favorite  teacher’s room, where he would stop by after school every day. Her room featured an iPod, a laptop and a camera – ah, that explains his technology fixation!

We delivered a big bag full of things they had said they needed for the preschool inside the orphanage – fun stickers for the kids’ sticker charts, puzzles, craft projects and flash cards for the English lessons.

I am in awe of the many women who work there, who spend their lives caring for and loving children who pass in and out of their lives. The love they felt for the children showed in every gesture, every loving look, every scolding tone they took with a child going astray. Is it a perfect way to raise children? Of course not. But I have no doubt that these women do their very best every day to give their children the best family possible.

They pulled our facilitator over. Would he and my agency see what they could do to help find families for two of their older boys who, at age 12, were getting dangerously close to “aging out” and no longer eligible for adoption? One boy is deaf, one had had a medical condition corrected by surgery and is completely healthy. Even as they said good-bye to Alex Zhengfeng, they were seizing the opportunity to help more of their children find families. Of course Richard said yes, and spent time talking with both boys and taking photos and video of them. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our visit today is the trigger that changes one or both of these boys’ lives?

Best of all, while I sat in the adoption coordinator’s office at the end of our visit, completing the last paperwork stage of this adoption, my boy stood out in the hallway calling, “Let’s go!” He waved good-bye without a backward glance, and had absolutely no interest in posing for a final picture in front of the building. He was outta there!