Teach to Fish Volunteer Testimonials: Dan
- Athena Wyse
- Dec 27, 2022
- 2 min read
“ I was surprised and saddened by the lack of necessities at these orphanages. They need:
Adequate nutrition: Chicken, fish, and nutritional staples seem to be provided inconsistently. This is detrimental to the health and development of the orphans.
Education: We encouraged the orphans we could communicate effectively with to keep up with their education, which will give them the best chance to become self-sufficient and break out of poverty in the mid to long term. However, it’s sad to see kids like Michael needing to make tough decisions at a young age, like working to help support his family vs continuing with his education.
Access to Medical Care: It was tough to see the mentally and physically challenged orphans without regular professional medical care. It appears that the staff in the orphanage are caring people and doing the best they can, but I was shocked to hear the last doctor visit was 5 months ago. I don’t know how these orphans in need can improve without trained medical professionals. Without our orphanage donors helping these students/young adults cannot get the needed care/medicines.
Facilities: All the orphanage facilities we visited had many deficiencies that needed attention including; -maintenance of bathroom and showering facilities. -inadequate kitchen cooking and eating facilities. -too many orphans in bedrooms together and with lack of enough blankets in some cases. - lack of needed building infrastructure, like a working elevator for disabled orphans. -substandard, unsafe, or lack of any outdoor play areas and equipment
Bottom Line: While these orphanages are staffed with good-hearted people, there is a huge need for more targeted funds and resources from the local communities and/or donors to provide a safe and healthy environment for these orphans. There should be enough support to help as many of the orphans as possible become self-sufficient and have a chance of breaking out of poverty." - Dan U. (on-site volunteer visit Oct 2022)
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