Today Marshall and I traveled with Lucie and Martine to visit two orphanages today. The first was a orphanage for children 1-3 years old. It was about 30 minutes outside of Brno. It was a very well run orphanage. The walls were painted in bright colors, the caregiver ratio was 1 to 3, and the staff really seemed to be looking out for the best interest of the child. The orphanage director welcomed us and spoke to us about how the orphanage is run and how they assist families in taking care of the children.
We then drove back to Brno and had a quick lunch. After we went to an orphanage for children over 3 years old. Again we were very pleased with the way the orphanage was run. There were 21 children that live there and they live in 3 "family" units. Each family unit lives on one floor and each floor has a kitchen, living room, and then bedrooms for the children. It was a very neat concept to see.
Marshall and I have learned over the last two days that the Czech goverment is really invested in keeping families together. The government has many programs in place that enable parents to work through the issues they are faced with. Also, we learned that about 500 domestic placements are done each year!
After our visits, Marshall and I picked up our bags from the hotel and headed to the train station. We rode the train back to Prague and will stay here for the night. We fly out early tomorrow morning to Sophia, Bulgaria!
A big thanks goes out to Justin L. He has really helped us get around the last two days and has shown us a new side to Brno!
Can't wait to hear more, Whitney!
ReplyDeleteNancy