Brian and a new friend. Kevin and one of the children. Kevin regularly helps out at the Orphanage Amanda giving swimming lessons. Sonic in her wheelchair, watching the fun.

"The Orphanage" 03/09/2003 This past weekend, all of the Peace Corps volunteers on St. Vincent went to visit the kids at St. Benedicts Orphanage in Georgetown. Peace Corps Eastern Caribbean puts out a quarterly magazine of articles written by volunteers. Since I had my camera along, I decided to put together a submission. Here it is: Sonic’s smile said it all. Trapped in a broken body and unable to speak she was still able to share her happiness with us. This was going to be a great day for a river splash. St. Benedict’s Infants Hospital in Georgetown, St. Vincent is home to about 20 children who find themselves unwanted or abused by their family. Several of the children have severe physical and mental handicaps that confine them to wheelchairs. All have been to those dark places no child should ever have to see. Only smiles could be seen, however, as these children and St. Vincent’s Peace Corps volunteers enjoyed an afternoon together by the river. Charles and Brian cooked up some chicken. Amanda gave impromptu swimming lessons. Water fights were won and lost. Tadpoles were caught. Life at the orphanage was forgotten. As Peace Corps volunteers, sometimes it takes someone outside our projects to see just how much of a difference we make. It is so easy to get frustrated with the things that go wrong or the plans that never happen. Seeing how Shauna and Kevin’s work makes a brighter future for these children breathed new life into the spirits of more than one volunteer. Walking away from the Orphanage I could still hear Sonic’s giggles echoing in my head. She was right. It was a great day for a river splash, one that I will never forget. I also included some of the pictures to the left. I was so glad to see the great things that Kevin and Shauna are doing. The experience has caused me to re-evaluate my entire situation here. I have grown more and more frustrated at the futility of trying to teach relatively illiterate people how to use the computer. Maybe it's the glimmer of hope that comes from learning something new that matters. Still, I am beginning to wonder what exactly I am doing here. Maybe I'll try starting computer classes for the kids in the area instead of focusing on adults. We'll see how it goes...

Some children from the neighborhood who came to see what was going on.