Monday Nights

On Monday nights I have been trying to spend time at The Harbor's Vocational Training Center. At the center we have a total of around 100 orphans visiting weekly to study and gain skills in the areas of cooking, ceramics, woodworking, hairdressing, photography and computers. I usually hang out with the kids in the computer class and help out as needed. The children who come on Mondays are from a type of "transition house". The state has decided that these children are not able to live with their birth families currently, but they may still have a chance to return home at a later point. On the flip side, some of these kids will be shifted to more permanent orphanages where they will be wards of the state until they are 23 years of age. Sometimes I don't know if my presence at the center does much at all to help these kids who have to deal with such serious issues and the inner turmoil that results from abandonment. I listen to their conversations and wish to God that these children did not have to wonder whether they will ever see their home again. One child will say to the other "Look, I think I have found a picture of the street where my house is online!". Another will reply, "Wow, you think you will live with your parents again!? I know I will end up in the orphanage." This is heavy stuff! I assist the kids with learning Microsoft Word or the basics of e-mail. I sit with the kids during dinner time, crack some jokes and make sure the young men aren't hitting each other at the table. But I wonder, "Is this helpful to them? Do they grow from their time at our center?". It is about that time that the kids have to pack up and go home (often an hour long journey on a bus through the snow!). We stand and say our goodbyes in the hallway and that is when I notice that little Igor, the kid who had needed a lot of help during computer class, is giving me a big hug on his way out the door. As they leave I, and my fellow workers at the center, realize that these kids need loving attention and presence first and foremost. I don't know the last time Igor got personalized attention or a hug from a male authority figure, but I know that these kids receive this and more during their time at The Harbor's Vocational Training Center. I am blessed to be able to participate and help.