I am an immigrant but not in the way most people expect. I originally came from Orphanage Number One in Bucharest Romania and, unlike thousands of other children in the same circumstances, I was adopted by an American couple. Shortly after my arrival in America, I became a naturalized citizen.

I am an immigrant, and I have come full circle.

This past summer I returned to Romania to work for a non-profit called Romanian Children’s Relief–Fundatia Inocenti.  My relationship with this organization began at birth during my time in Orphanage Number One in Bucharest. I directly benefitted from the early intervention and therapeutic services offered by Romanian Children’s Relief. They made a huge difference in my life and did their very best to ensure my mental and physical well-being. They currently have multiple programs throughout the country, offering support and programs to abandoned or at-risk children.

I worked in a variety of settings, including a hospital, two schools and a placement center. In my daily work, my  responsibilities ranged from assisting in therapy sessions, to helping with early intervention programs and grant writing. I also painted a series of murals for the after-school program in Secondary School n. 31 in Bucharest.

The hardest part of my summer was working in the placement center in the Transylvanian town of Bistrita. This institution was reserved for children who are incredibly disabled, Thus making unlikely candidates for foster families. Romanian Children’s Relief  occupies offices on the second floor of the building, where they offer many services designed to improve the health and quality of life for the children in the placement center. The domain of the state resides on the first floor; these offices provide a bleak contrast to the joy and colors upstairs. When I would take children up the flight of stairs to our offices, they would eagerly take our hands and their faces would light up.

It was challenging to see suffering bodies, especially those of young children. I could see expressed in their faces the need to communicate and to simply be held. However, for many of them this was not always an option. Some children would be restrained tied up due to their violent tendencies to harm themselves or others. Some would merely lay in bed, day after day, staring at the ceiling. When I would walk past their cribs, hands would reach between the bars and try to grasp my clothes. More often they grasped air. Crying, yelling, or moaning would accompany these bids for freedom. To complete this dire picture was the smell of sickness—stagnant and overwhelming in the summer heat.

Many of the children, regardless of their age, could not speak. Therefore, an entirely different language was spoken within the center. Biting, grasping and crying were some of the common modes of communication. Within the walls of the center, communication and culture collapsed, replaced instead by  a regimented and clinical life. Day after day, the same routine. Some children wouldn’t leave the center to go into town for weeks on end. Others will never get that chance, given their fragile conditions.

For me, originally coming from this context, it is important to recognize the reality of life in modern day Romanian institutions. I will use both the positive and negative memories I formed there as motivation to dedicate my life to fighting against a system that does not benefit nor serve Romanian children in state care. Despite the sad reality of Romanian state institutions, the staff and volunteers at Romanian Children’s Relief-Fundatia Inocenti work relentlessly and with passion to make this reality better for thousands of children. They sacrifice all of their time and energy to make each child smile. Having once been one of these orphaned children, and now, having the privilege to speak from the perspective of a staff member, I am grateful for the opportunities this non-profit granted me to help move forward—crossing both physical and mental barriers—in my own life’s journey.

 

Madeleine Greaves is a senior graduating with a double major in Art History and Italian Studies as well as doing an honors thesis. She just returned from her Junior Year Abroad in Florence and completed her summer Praxis work in Romania. She has a range of interests and seeks to look beyond the traditional bounds of her studies.

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