My Visit to St Irene Orphanage – Chris Range
Three months ago I decided to visit St Irene Orthodox Mission Center and Orphanage. The orphanage houses children of various ages who either have no family or have lost their families in natural calamities.
I was very enthusiastic about it even though I hadn’t considered the impact of the visit. I left for the orphanage and arrived in Kenya safely. The orphanage is well managed by Father Constantinos who monitors the children of the orphanage and a few helpers who take care of the kids.
When I got to the orphanage, I was greeted by a lot of cute little children who welcomed me with a warm heart filled with ecstasy. I distributed sweets and burgers that I took for them so they could have something different than their daily meal.
After lunch, we gathered in the play-field and played games like catch, the tug of war, and telephone with them. During this, one child asked me if she could call me her brother and my dad, dad. This moment was very heartfelt and was a turning point in my life.
I wondered what their life was like without parents, without love and without someone to guide them. I could get a load of how much the time I spent with them meant to them. This thought made my experience with them deeply emotional and for the first time in my life, I felt blissful for doing something for other people.
During the visit it was glad to have offered health check up to the kids. All kids living in the orphanage benefited from the healthcare activities such as immunization and nutrition programs. I was also lucky to have visited during a period when there was baptism and I witnessed Fr. Constantinos baptising a number of kids and adults. May the Lord God bless him always…
Seeing those children, with sporadic resources, made me appreciate the copious amounts of things I had and sometimes, took for granted. It showed me that I had a lot of privileges many people don’t and I should use them to the fullest. I also learned something very important about myself – the feeling of sharing and giving joy gives me a feeling of elation.
This experience also made me appreciate the love and support I get from my family and how lucky I was to have them with me. This trip to the orphanage was of great meaning to me. It showed me the other side of my life and the value of the things I had. Since then I have been trying to give back to the society and help people live their lives to the fullest.
May God Bless you all
Proverbs 22:9-19
Generous hands are blessed hands because they give bread
