We
left the Marriott a little after 10 AM. It was a warm
clear day when we started and it was a pleasant warm trip
out. The countryside is blooming and bearing already. At
least one grain crop, maybe oats (who can tell?), is golden
and ready to be harvested. There are farmers in all the
hay fields bringing in the first hay crop. Old wooden carts
piled impossibly high with hay, drawn by a single old donkey
with a similarly old man at the reins, maybe both with
similar straw hats. The corn is up and the sunflower fields
are colorful. The vineyards are all leafed out and their
new tendrils are spiraling their way skyward. It is Georgia
at her best.
It
took a little more than two hours to get there, stopping
for the occasional herd or flock of this or that to cross
the road. We pulled in and immediately you could see that
there were many fewer children there. Normally there are
around 175 but right now there only 50 or so. Those with
any family at all, no matter how remote the relation may
be, are usually invited to their villages for the summer.
The ones left, well, they’re the ones with nothing
and no one. They are the bottom of the ladder at the poorhouse.
Sweet, handsome and lovely, and lonely beyond our understanding
of the word.
We
were immediately surrounded by the kids who were there,
though. I got a particularly enthusiastic welcome from
a lovely little 10-year-old girl named Mariam, shaking
off her just washed (Saturday, y’know) wet hair all
over me like a puppy. She gave me the fiercest hugs and
just wouldn’t let go. Of course, I couldn’t
just shrug her off, so we hugged a lot. I don’t know
about the kids, but that’s sure good for me. How
enthusiastic was her welcome? Well, have you ever had anyone
kiss your shirt? Me neither, but it happened today. That
set the tone for another emotional and loving visit to
Telavi.
A
little while later, after I hadn’t seen Mariam for,
oh, five minutes, there she was with her little clear plastic
purse, fishing out … a letter. To me. I have it
here and I want to share it with you. I warn you, though.
Our friend Lela couldn’t translate it without crying.
A
Letter to Chuck from Mariam
"Chuck,
I do love you. I’ll never forget you. I love you
with all my heart. And I do love your wife. She is beautiful.
I’m glad you have a beautiful wife. I’m so
happy you are arriving! All of you are so nice, Marie,
Chuck, Ivana, Sopho.
I’m
kissing you!”
Did
I ever mention how choked up I sometimes get at these visits?
It seems like something different and unexpected gets me
every time. I wish you were here. Those words are for everyone
who loves and supports us and CCRFund, not just for me.
Especially not just for me. Ivana, of course, is really
Ioana and I don’t have the faintest idea of who Marie
might be. Who cares?
We
had a really great visit. Our big item this trip, besides
a lot of rich food (they get no support at all during the
summer, including no food) was shoes. We had gotten the
sizes and we brought about 60 pairs. I think that everyone
got new shoes today. Then we passed out the June birthday
gifts. Not many of the birthday kids were there but they’ll
get their gift when they come back in the fall. The little
abandoned Chechen kids are still there. I sat on the floor
and held them on my lap for a while. They are still absolutely
silent, slow and deliberate. They have serious problems,
but they are still Omar’s kids. And ours. And yours.
I
spoke to all of the children for a while. I told them about
the things that are going to happen this year, especially
Robert’s visit in August. They can’t believe
that someone is coming from America to see them. It is,
literally, beyond their comprehension. I told them that
we would be back on July 24 but then I wouldn’t see
them again until November 17, then again on December 15,
then not again until Feb 11. However, I assured them, as
much as I could, that our colleagues and friends would
still visit them and that I would still love them and think
of them every day. I like the idea of talking directly
to them before we have our private talks with Omar and
his staff, and they seem to like it, too.
The
talks with Omar went extremely well. We are starting to
think of bigger and better plans. We also met with the
vice-mayor and the head of the local schools. We made it
clear that we want to improve the children’s educations,
starting this fall. I think it’s going to happen.
First
of all, they are moving from an 11-form (grade) school
system to a 12-form. As it is now, orphans are only sent
to school up to 9th form. That leaves them educated for
precisely nothing. Starting this fall they will be entering
10th form and then 11th and then 12th, when they will be
fully integrated into the school system. This is going
to cost us a little, but not much. After food and health
and warmth, what better to help with? It is not too much
to hope for that some Telavi kids will enter the university
in the fall of 2007.
Then
some other exciting news. We can retain an English teacher
for the kids for about $50 a month, three days a week,
two classes, one for the younger kids and one for the older.
I am really pleased with that. We are also talking about
a computer lab (that may stretch our funds a little bit)
and Omar also wants an “America Room”, with
maps, pictures, flag and whatever else we can come up with
to show off the USA. I think if we improve food, health
and education we will really have done something. Oh yeah,
I think we can arrange a couple of art classes and a volunteer
coach, too. Oh yeah, things are getting better.
Omar
and I discussed the possibility of some capital improvements
if we can find some money. That’s another exciting
possibility. Some remodeling, painting, wiring, scraping
the mold away a little and so forth would be wonderful.
On that note, our friend Irma donated eight sets of curtains
and we brought them out today. For sure, these were the
first curtains any of these kids ever lived behind. And
remember, between 4-10 kids maay live behind one set of
curtains, so the benefit is spread around.
The
orphanage in Gujanni closed quite abruptly. Some of the
kids were just left standing outside in a daze. A few found
their way to Telavi. Omar, the man that he is, took them
in without a question. One mid-teens boy was pretty scared
of me and of us and he didn’t know what to make of
our visit. He had never heard of CCRFund. I spent a little
extra time with him and made sure he got some new shoes
and by the time we left he was smiling as big a smile as
anyone else.
When
we came out after the meeting we found that Alekko, the
head of the tax department in Telavi, had gone out and
bought ice cream cones for every kid. Alekko is a real
winner and a great prize for CCRFund. He is another guy
with a big heart. We need all of them we can get. He is
going to help us with each step of our education projects.
I think that we can make them happen.
I’m
just about ready to post a new album on Ofoto, see keep
your eye out for it.
I’ll
see you soon. I love you.
Chuck
