Naruc

This past week I had a really neat opportunity to visit a Children's Crisis Centre here in Slovakia. So they don't actually have orphanages here but instead they have these Children Homes which are probably the equivalent of a group home in Canada. Slovakia is in the process of switching to a foster home system like we have in Canada but it is only two years old so there is still a huge lack of foster homes. So what the government, and other various private organizations, have done is built these Children Homes. When a child is apprehended and taken into custody more often than not they get placed in one of these homes for typically no more than six months while an alternative placement is found. Sometimes the kids go back home, sometimes to another children's home, or to a foster or adoptive home. There are also children in the homes who were not apprehended but were close to and so the parents and the organization have an agreement for the kids to stay while the parents figure some things out. As well in this particular home, there was a little flat reserved for a family who needs extra support. That way the kids don't have to be separated from their parents. The home I went to was called Naruc which means hug when translated and it wasn't a state owned one but a private one. Natasha said that it was probably a little bit nicer than the typical state owned one but it depends. It was actually a pretty decent building with some big rooms for studying and eating and fair size yard with a small playground. The rooms for the children were a little sad as there were up to five beds in a room and they were pretty much just mattresses lined up one after the other. But the other rooms were well furnished and the staff were very bright and warm and welcoming which was really nice to see. The kids themselves were really great. They were anywhere from 5 to 17 years old (the centre takes kids from 3-18) and there 18 of them in total. For the most part they seemed like really nice kids, obviously some of them were quite troubled but all in all they seemed to be making do with what they had. The organization gets funding from donations by companies and the community. While I was there a van came and dropped off a whole bunch of food and clothing donations.
My councilor helped me arrange a day where I could go and chit chat with the kids and give a general presentation on Canada. So I worked away to prepare a powerpoint on everything Canada (and a few more tid bits of information) in Slovak I might add. It ended up being pretty good and when I presented to the kids they absolutely loved it. I had lots of things to show them too. I brought Canadian money, some stickers (which were the biggest hit of all I think), my rotary blazer (which is now plastered with pins and other knick knacks), and some rice crispie squares I managed to make. The presentation itself was pretty basic, but I must admit, now I think I know a LOT more about Canada than I ever did before, especially when it comes to really random facts. In case you were wondering Canada has 3 people/km2 and Slovakia has 111. And just to give you an idea of how small Slovakia is...you can fit it inside Canada 204 times! After the presentation the kids had the opportunity to ask questions and I got some pretty interesting ones. Many of them thought I was a god of some kind because I was from 'the great America' and I spoke English. Some of my favorite questions were: Have you ever met a star? Do you have any animals at home? and What is a bimbo? That last one cracked me up pretty good, especially because it came from a cute little girl who was probably no more than 9. I guess she had heard it on a song and wanted to know what it meant...I actually get that alot because everyone here listens to the same pop music as in the US and Canada.
After my presentation I stayed and sat in on the English lesson they had with the kids which was fun. I taught them how to sing the wheels on the bus and we talked about different things. Then it was time for me to say goodbye, but it wasn't that hard because I had plans to come back the following day after school. And I did. It was a lot of fun again. I helped the older kids with their English homework and then went outside for a walk with some of the older teen girls. It breaks my heart to think these kids have done nothing wrong and yet they get stuck here in this place with virtually nothing. When the older girls were talking to me it became very clear that they would love to travel and see the world but they probably won't ever (or at least not in the near future) have that opportunity. I guess it just made me realize what a privileged life I lead and how lucky I am to have so many doors open to me. And it saddens me to think just how hard these kids would have to work to share their gifts and talents with the world simply because they don't have proper role models in their life. It was a really enlightening experience, one I'm glad I had the opportunity to partake in and one I don't think I'll ever forget.

Now I'm packing for my week long ski trip next week! tomorrow I'm leaving with Mariely's host family (and my next fam) to go skiing for the day together before they drop us off at the ski resort. By the looks of it it's a cute little hostel tucked away in the mountains so it should be pretty nice, at least nice for Slovakia....

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