Toys for Tots

This year we had the privilege of being involved with Toys for Tots. The Marines of the U.S. Embassy, Yerevan collected enough toys to fill almost 12 seabags. We accompanied the MSG Marines to an Armenian orphanage, where we delivered the toys to approximately 160 children. This particular orphanage is home to children under the age of 6, many of them infants. Most of the children had either a disability of some sort, or a physical defect/deformation.

Visiting the Infant room was heart-breaking. Although it was obvious that the caretakers in the orphanage tried hard to love these children, there were just not enough arms to hold the babies. The infants just laid there in those little cribs, looking out at the world. It was disconcerting to see so many babies and hear no crying or fussing.  Some of the small infants had serious Cleft Palette issues, one was defiantly Down Syndrome, and they were all beautiful. As I left the room I had tears in my eyes, wondering how any mother could give their child away just because they were different. I have never in my life wanted to so badly to reach out and hold a child other than my own, just for the sake of showing them affection.

This little boy was the sweetest little thing I have every seen. From the moment we walked into the room, he had a smile on his face. He walked over to me and reached for a hug. He just held on for almost a minute. Then he wanted to show me his toys. He put it so close to my face that I could not really see it, so I peeked around the bag and started the ageless game of Peek-a-Boo. He thought that was HILARIOUS! He laughed and laughed, over and over and over. I would have stayed there all day if I could. His laughter was magical.

This kids were all very well behaved.

Ava joined in during the singing of "Jingle Bells," dancing with the other children, although she confided in me later that they didn't know the "real" words to the song. (They were singing in Armenian!)