Romanian Orphanages

At church, in addition to my participation in the worship services, I volunteered at our church’s soup kitchen, medical camps and elementary school for underprivileged children. These experiences opened my eyes to the deprivation of love and care in the world and a dire need of God’s grace for people at large so they could receive forgiveness, healing and restoration in their lives.

From an early age, I had the desire to give back to my community. This desire was likely instilled in me by my mother, who as a school teacher, went to great lengths to help her students achieve academically. To better do this, she created at Tupelo Middle School in Mississippi, the Mermaids and Argonauts Program, which allowed students to travel on extended school trips to locations where they were able to have hands-on experiences at zoos, science labs, colleges, museums, and more across the country. As her child, I was able to tag along on many of these trips, which fueled my desire to learn about and interact with my environment. It left me with the great hope that someday I would be able to have such experiences abroad, in order to better learn about the people and cultures with which I interact. For this reason, I hope to study abroad this summer in Pachuca, Mexico.

Whether the child was just about to come home into a loving and caring family, or has just been chosen by a family to come into, the government just decided to slash all of that. Apparently the Russian government likes to hide the facts and just throw out figures when talking about sensitive topics like this: “more than 60,000 U.S. adoptions of Russian children over the past 20 years, and 19 of those children died -- a death rate of roughly 0.03 percent,” and with that being said, they also skipped over the fact that “Russia's overall child death rate from parents is more than two times higher, given that the U.S. population is more than twice as large as Russia's” (Baitel). What makes this claim even more unbelievable is that my parents had to go through that long process full of documentation, background checks, and frequent unannounced visits to our house to make sure the living environment was safe enough. So let me pose this question: Why ban a country that requires these checks from adopting children and giving them a healthy, clean, and safe environment to thrive in? Because seven times out of ten (from my own observations), a child adopted into a Russian family will end up on the streets by the age of sixteen. In the United States that is nearly impossible considering the adoption agencies here require

For many years, foster care has been a difficult subject throughout our society. When the idea of foster care comes to mind, many immediately think of screaming children, distressed parenting and uphill battles. Before foster care existed in the United States, orphaned children were sent to orphanages. While these institutions were often the best option available to children with nowhere else to go, they often lacked the necessary staff, structure and resources to adequately care for all of the children in need. As a result, some orphanages were overcrowded, and children lived in poor conditions. Some children even died due to the lack of sufficient care (Adoptions, 2017). In order to give children better living situations, the United

Attachment is vital to development. John Bowlby (1988) states, “ Study after study attest that healthy, happy, and self reliant adolescents ad young adults are the products of stable homes in which both parents give a great deal of time and attention to children” (p.2). This statement has powerful implication for children and infants without parents who spend most, if not all of their young life in orphanages; more specifically orphanages where attention is minimal. In 1729 the first orphanage was established in the United States. In the 1800’s orphanages grew and in the mid 1800’s charitable groups established 56 institutions for children (Bremner, 1970, p. 5). Downs (1983) theorizes that these institutions were a way for the wealthy class

Imagine one day that all of a sudden when you and your siblings arrive home from school, and your parents are nowhere to be found. Your neighbor informs you that ICE officials raided your house and deported your parents. According to CNN News, that’s exactly what happened to the Soza siblings, Ronaldo, 14 and Cesia, 17. They are a prime example of what the effects of deportation can have on children. According to an ACR report there is an estimated 5,100 children who are currently in the foster care system. The foster care system would put the child in danger of never seeing their parents again. According to ICE there is an average, 17 children who are placed in the foster care system, due to the detainment and deportation of their parents

When looking at adoption there is a large variety of studies that can be done with adoptive children and their development. How does the child attach to his or her adoptive parents? How does the child view themselves in regards to a family unit when siblings are involved? How do the parents view the child’s placement in the family after a certain period of time has passed? All of these variables can be observed in study after study. But for sake of this paper, we are going to take a look at what researchers found in Romanian orphanages and how these children connected and attached with their adoptive mothers and parents. We will also look at a study

Many tragic events have occurred throughout history that lead to the protection and advocacy of children, for example in Greece, during ancient times, infanticide would be legal and even enforced under certain cases like illegitimate or deformed children. Children would be sold into slavery or be put to work if families needed the extra income. Unwanted European newborns were discarded without penalty and children were pushed into adulthood as quickly as possible. “Owing to the high infant mortality rates of the times, estimated at one or two in three, the investment of love in a young child may have been so unrewarding that by some ruse of nature… it was suppressed. Perhaps also the frequent childbearing put less value on the product. A child was a born and died and another took its place” (Tuchman, 19778, p.50).

Although I loved all of my at home volunteer work, I especially loved doing good in countries that needed more help. I sponsor a six year old girl in Bolivia named Reina through Compassion International, she is one of the most spectacular kids I have ever met. She lives in a barely livable cinder block house and yet she is beyond proud of every tiny detail of it. Reina lives with her 4 brothers, her mother, father, and her aunt in this two bedroom structure and yet they don’t complain one

In 2014, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System reported that there were 415,129 children in foster care. They were taken away when their families were in crisis or they couldn’t be cared for. Children are happy and carefree but the young child pictured above is disheveled. Her hair looks unkempt, as if not brushed for days. Redness under her eyes and the cuts on her lips disrupt the once perfect porcelain skin. Her eyes appear glossy and the single tear seems as if she’s trying to not show her pain. The picture as a whole resembles a mug shot. Unfortunately many children also resemble her physical condition. Social workers are usually working twice the amount of cases recommended and therefore overlook

An issue like this affects the whole world, whether people realize it or not. If orphans have no one to look after them, sometimes they can become scared or upset- or even violent and reckless.

After much thought about what I would want to for my volunteer project, I finally settled on the “Feed the Homeless” campaign organized by the Southwest Rotary Club of Las Vegas. This experience allowed me to work with the fantastic organization, Rotary International, and has given me the opportunity to better myself, both personally and professionally, through working with great people and overcoming the challenges presented to me.

Under the rule of President Nicolae Ceausescu, the marginalization of women within socialist Romania was strengthened by the government’s denial of sexual liberation to women. In Ceausescu’s refusal to allow women governance over their bodies, restrictive reproductive policies that emphasized the femininity of women were created. By placing such an importance on femininity and a woman’s ability to reproduce, instead of a woman’s right of choosing whether to reproduce, Ceausescu’s regime solidified the patriarchal and traditionalist ideology of socialist Romania. It is from these patriarchal and traditionalist ideas of Ceausescu that gender constructs concerning the roles and expectations of Romanian men and women were adopted, accepted by governing figures, and forced upon societal members. The Romanian government’s focus on the femininity of women and denial of bodily authority and integrity to women, fortified Ceausescu’s regime’s belief of a woman’s femininity being subordinate to a man’s masculinity. It is from Ceausescu’s regime claiming authority over the bodies of Romanian women and his imposing pronatalist beliefs within the lives of both men and women within socialist Romania, that the idea of femininity being subordinate to masculinity was supported and solidified.

Think about the poverty and problems that all countries around the world are facing today and every day. As Americans we have an urge to go into these countries to help as much as possible because of that we have begun a revolution. Americans began going on mission trips around the 1960s but did not really pick up until the 1990s. The trend grew after multiple natural disasters, Americans saw and need and went, since then short term mission trips show no sign stopping anytime soon. As the popularity of leaving our comfort zones, many people have found issues with the way the trips are led to the extent of questioning whether or not these trips are really worth the amount of money and time that they consume. Through periodicals, interviews, narratives, and articles, I will show the issues and improvements that could be made to the living situations, attitude of the Americans, and relationships that are acquired during the short term mission trips.

One year ago I joined “Good neighbors” (NGO) a major goal of which was rendering assistance and encouraging to the children from low-income families in our country, as well as in many other countries. I have been helping to implement the very first project by filling out questionnaires of children and other tasks of the employees of the organization that had to be done. I was fortunate to be involved in a noble cause in it. While I was working in this organization, I obtained unforgettable experience. “Good Neighbors” made me feel amenable and responsible for little children which needed our help. The volunteer experience revealed my feelings to the children, which have become like siblings to me. A selfless and free aid to people, especially to the children, is a great matter. I understood that everything we did was for the benefit of children. Even if I do not have enough forces and opportunities to make the world better for everyone, I am realistic about my forces and capabilities and I strive to make this world better for specific