Coto-Coto

The last two weeks I have been joining Salla and Suvi to the orphanage Coto-Coto in the morning. We have mainly been helping with the babies as you can see on the pictures. For the moment they are between 3 and 10 months and I have become expert in changing diapers -de goeie oude doeken- giving bottles and pap, changing there cloths -which is very challenging as they wear like so many layers, never ending. Like the picture of Eric in his yellow out-fit he looks like a puffy chicken. The orphanage is really well equiped, clean and organized. They have different blocks for different ages, have their own agricultural field were children can grow things, bakery to learn this very important art, guinea pig farm, footbal field,...
With the babies they do have some strange policies, we are normally not allowed to hold them -as they could get attached to us and they put the baby bottles in the beds that way that the children could-should drink themselves which I do think ideal for such small creatures, even dangerous. Anyhow I was informed of these rules by my finish friends but pretended not to know on arrival and they more or less let me do my thing.
The direction changed last week and apprently this is a good thing as this lady is more modern and open minded for changes. (direction apparently is linked to political parties,...)
Suvi and Salla told me that they were even allowed to take Jorge and Evita -both 10 months- out of their bed to play on a matress which is a big progress.
The children can be placed her for different reasons, their parents left them, they come from a difficult living situation -abuse ect- or they can be placed temporally during for instance a difficult divorce.
This week I am not in Coto Coto as I wanted Ladriella to be open for full days. (due to lack of volunteers it was closed the morning the last two weeks) So for the moment I go there by myself which is ok as it is always less busy in the morning and a lot of children don't realize it is open yet. I hope by the time they due I will be reinforced by some volunteers. There are lots arriving this weekend -a family with two children, who are more coming for observation I think, they are only staying for two weeks, and two others.
Patty and Juan Jose said they will make a schedule so that everybody will go to Ladriella and Coto Coto.