Helping Hands

Hello. My name is Meghann Delaplaine. I just wanted to share about my week in Zambia and what it has been like working with the children at the Haven. The very first time I set foot inside the orphanage it was like a door to a whole new world had just opened itself to me. The children at the orphanage welcomed me with big smiles and hearts. Many of the children were left abandoned by their parent’s, some had serious medical ailments such as AID’s, Syphilis, and FAS while others were just developmentally behind due to unknown causes. Either way I felt like I was at this place and time for a reason. That reason is to help and provide support to the children at the orphanage. I was able to assist these children by helping feed them during meal time, rock the babies to sleep, and play with the kids using a lot of parallel and self talk. I was also able to get some of the kids to request during meal time by saying “more,” “no more,” and “yes please.” A lot of the kids were very talkative while others were just warming up to me. For the most part the majority of kids were a little standoffish, but quickly warmed up to me after the second day of being there. I am to the point where I am starting to remember a lot of their names. They are just so sweet and full of life! I hope to continue to help enrich their lives by providing opportunities for them to lead successful lives by helping them communicate to the best of their abilities. I cannot think of a more rewarding field than Speech-Language Pathology! It is truly a blessing to be here working with a bunch of great people and children.