Working with children is one of the most rewarding eye opening jobs in the world. It is through them that you get a glimpse of the future and it’s potential.  Their innocence, positive spirit and passion for life is contagious.

The orphans at the Red Cross’ el Hogar de Ninos in San Miguelito, Panama showed me a side of life that most people don’t witness. These nearly 30 children are together every minute of every day in a very enclosed and sheltered environment. They have no real sense of privacy or personal ownership as they share everything from their clothes, toys and food to the attention, discipline and hugs of their guardians, whom they call Tia, instead of Mama. Every child is treated equally, no exceptions are made.

The children live in a bubble of the few rooms that make up the Hogar. Their only experiences with the outside world are through windows and people like me. They climb up to stand on chairs, gripping the gutters protecting the windows to stare hungrily at the buses, taxis and strangers outside. Yet even in this environment, which for most children is very foreign, they find happiness and love. They learn to appreciate the little pleasures which most of us take for granted. I realized that this is made possible by the wonderful ladies who have dedicated their lives to caring fo these children.

Most of these women have spent more than 8 years at the Hogar and have watched the children grow up. They care for their every need with love and patience. I greatly admire these women and am proud to have worked with them and to have been able to help them.

The most amazing experience for me happened in my last of the 6 weeks I spent there, when I witnessed an adoption. The little girls name was Estephanie.  She was so exited when I dressed her up and did her hair right before her new potential parents came to visit.  She told me that her new mama and papa were coming to visit.  I didn’t know how to respond as the adoption was not yet set in stone, and I was nervous to give her high hopes that would later disappoint her.

Estephanie was 4 years old, and though she understood that she was an orphan, she had apparently not given up hope in finding her own set of parents and a home. There seemed no doubt in her mind that this couple would take her home. Luckily her story had a happy ending, as the couple did ultimately decide to adopt her.  It was incredible to learn about the adoption process, to see what really goes behind all the paper work, to witness the other perspective.

These children and women have touched my life forever and I just hope that, in some way, my time spent with them has touched theirs.

Jenna - GHA volunteer

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