The Hogar (Orphanage)

As I mentioned before, while in Guatemala we got to visit the Hogar that our facilitator owns and runs. There are two types of orphanages in Guatemala. Those that are run by adoption facilitators and those run by missionaries. There is one big government orphanage, but there is no way it could support all the children that need homes. The facilitators run it as a business. They accept only kids they know they can place. Healthy newborns and toddler girls. Some will actually recruit pregnant women to give up their babies. I am not condemning them or condoning them. It is just the way it is for such an impoverished country where birth control is not available.

This Hogar is one of the nicer ones. The children were all clean and well fed. The walls were painted with bright murals. They had a small outdoor area with a swingset to play on. The older children attend school every day. The children receive medical care and dental care. There were enough caretakers for the number of children. Still, it was an eye opener for us. The floors are all cement, the walls are cement, the play yard is cement. The baby rooms were wall to wall bassinets, cribs, baskets, all full of babies. The women would take turns holding 2 babies and walking around, feeding, changing, bathing, but there were not enough arms to hold them for very long. We saw babies left in swings just hanging there, left in walkers to entertain themselves, left in the beds. They don't cry. That is the saddest thing. When a tiny baby cries and no one comes to help, they soon learn that crying doesn't work. So they don't cry.

The little girls, ages 2-5, all were so thrilled to see our group. They were so excited. They bounced around us all asking if we were their Mommy's. I will post pix of them tomorrow. They were so sweet and they all have families they will be going to. I hugged and hugged them the whole time!