The sweet faces

There is an image of a little boy that I’ve carried with me since the day I saw it. ?The day we left the boy’s orphanage to return to the US to wait for him I saw this little boy. ?Oleg was going to be in the second group for meal time that day and as we dropped him off in his groupa a we stood there with Dr. Tatiana and a caregiver dragged a little boy by his arms from his seat at the meal table to a little seat by the windows. ?The little boy clearly could not walk. ?It appeared as if he had Cerebral Palsy. ?However, despite any handicap this small child may have had he had a smile that lit up the room. ?I watched him for a moment and he beamed at me. ?My attention was drawn elsewhere when another child came up and threw her arms around Dr. Tatiana’s legs. ?Dr. Tatiana kneeled down and gave the girl a giant hug before sending her off for her meal. ?I didn’t look back at the little boy in the chair because it was time to say goodbye to my own little boy, but the image of his smiling face is what stays with me.

6 months later I was standing in my kitchen looking through the photos I’d just had developed from the camera we left in the orphanage between trips. ?There were a few images of children that were not mine. ?Then I came upon this photo.

There was that smile. ?The smile that said, I may be in this place, but I’m not going to let that get me down. ?It was the little boy from the chair.

I don’t know the little boy’s name. ?I don’t know what ever happened to him. ?If I had the resources to parent such a special needs child I would be on the next flight to Khabarovsk to pick him up.

People ask why I spend so much time and energy doing Sweet Hope. ?I tell them it is because I want to help the children I couldn’t take home. ?To be honest… it is because of this one little boy. ?Odds are he is still in an institution somewhere. ?Odds are he’s not getting the care he truly needs. ?Not because there aren’t people who care, but because there simply aren’t the resources.

There are other faces. ?Ones like this

and this

These are the children that Sweet Hope helps. ?The unadoptable. ?The money we raise from Sweet Hope gives children a few of the resources they need. ?Last year the orphanage was able to purchase 2 nebulizers, developmental toys, walkers and a few fun things. ?It is because of you these children have a chance.

If you haven’t placed your order yet please do so. ?The money you spend on a little treat for yourself becomes a huge treat for children like these.