Friday, September 5, 2014

2nd week at Wifdflower Home.





Hello again!



My first full week in Wildflower Home is over and I want to tell you
something about my work there.
First, Wildflower is an organization for pregnant women and single
mothers, which offers them not only a safe place to stay, but also the
opportunity to educate themselves.
My current job is basically running the day-care for the older children (1
to 2 ½ years). Of course I haven´t done it on my own. Anyone who has ever
dealt with children of that age knows, you need at least six pairs of eyes
and ten hands to look after them. Right now, there are five toddlers in
the daycare, that´s 2 to 3 children per adult. Sounds like an easy job?
Actually it is challenging, running after them, playing, smiling if
they´re crying, being creative when they´re bored, making sure that no one
climbs over the fence or gets lost. I have never worked with children that
age before and to be honest, it´s still hard to figure out what they need,
when they start crying. – Hungry? Hurt? New pampers? Miss mum? Need
attention? My respect for nursery nurse rises with every minute, they must
be somewhere in between Superman and Mother Teresa.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to work there! The kids are adorable and it´s
amazing to see how fast they learn. The feeling is indescribable, when
they get used to you, start to trust you. And a bright smile in a child´s
faces excuses for everything.
If I need a break from playing with the kids, there is plenty other work
to do. Today I washed all dishes for the monks in the temple nearby, I
moved a mountain of mud into a hole and pulled a pick- up out of the mud –
well, I helped a little bit. In fact, my hands told me after ten minutes
of mud shipping, that their tool is a pen and not a shovel. But it´s good
to see the result of your work and it´s a lot of fun, too. Joking with the
mothers and the other volunteers about how useless and weak the foreigners
are. To be honest, it will take at least two more months to catch up with
the mothers, they´re so much stronger and faster in everything they do.
Not that I´ve expected anything else, but I can´t wait for the day, I´m
not only the nice German girl playing with the shovel, but a real help.

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