Today was a big day; we visited the orphanage.
We started with a walk downtown to shopping so we could buy some baby clothes to donate. After that, we got a taxi to take us to Shaphagat, the orphanage we know as Malutka. We met with the Director, Rosa, and she showed us around. We showed her some pictures from the old site, and she found Dr. Lubov, who is still working there. One of Marlena’s caregivers, Musabek, was also still working there. She remembered Marlena and us, and we spent some time looking at pictures. We exchanged hugs, words of praise. They were very interested in knowing how Kostek and Marlena are doing in school.
Visiting the orphanage was emotionally draining. We left by taxi again, and found lunch. Everywhere we go, Ania gets a conversation going. She talked with the woman running the restaurant, who told us we were shopping at the expensive mall, and told us to take the yellow bus to the Tair Mall. We stuffed ourselves on the bus and Ania talked to the bus conductor. She told us in English “I have no idea where we’re going”, and the bus driver, from behind a curtain, began speaking in English. “Tair Mall next stop”, he said. He was using Google Translate while driving the bus. Before we got to the mall, names had been exchanged, and we learned he was practicing English for an upcoming visit to the U.S. After we got off the bus, we could actually see him through the windshield. He waved goodbye and tooted the horn. People here don’t smile a lot until you talk to them. Everyone we’ve interacted with has been friendly and helpful. On the street we met a woman who asked us for directions to the medical building. Ania answered, “I’m sorry, we don’t speak Russian.” The old woman looked directly at Kostek and said “Not even you?”
I love reading your posts !
That day must been so hard for kids. Do they remember anything from those times?
They were babies, 10 months old and 18 months old. I don’t think they remember the orphanage. They remember the stories we’ve told them. They know what they’ve read and seen at https://www.pegtype.com/adoption.
That day was basically the whole reason we came here. They’ve known since they were little that they’re adopted, but they grew up like most kids in a house with two parents, so adoption was just a story we kept telling them. That day, hopefully, made it more real.
The people who do remember are the parents and the orphanage caregivers. And we were all crying. I think it’s rare that American parents come back to Malutka with grown-up children. So this was very special for them as well as for us. They’ve handed off hundreds of babies to adoptive parents, and it must be difficult to take care of a baby for a year and then give him or her up. I think our visit reassured them that they’re doing the right thing, that adoption is good.
Kazakhstan no longer allows international adoption. People here were poorer in 2004, but Kazakhstan has made great progress in its recovery from Soviet rule, and there are fewer babies given up for adoption and more Kazakh parents trying to adopt.