Last projects

One of my last projects for the red cross orphanage, building security gates.

Kids playing in the gated room

To put this into context I need to explain a bit about the orphanage system. So the red cross has 24 kids. 4 of these kids have cerebral palsy and are unable to sit up, or participate in self care activities like feeding themselves.
4 of the other kids also have disabilities, but are mobile and able to get around the orphanage. This means that they can get into all sorts of mischief!
3 of the other kids are around 3 or 4, so they are also quite mischievous and really want to have lots of attention, plus all the older mobile kids can easily steal toys or treats from the younger kids.
The rest of the kids are under 1. Only two of the kids are toilet trained, so the rest need to wear nappies. To look after all these kids are 3 to 4 carers. They work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with 3 or 4 days off a month.

Slightly more controlled madness 

Because they are so overworked, and a lot of the kids are able to climb out of the cots, they tie the kids into the cots with a rope made of handkerchiefs tied together. When we arrive in the morning at around 8am we untie the kids and because we have the extra supervision can let them run around and play. I believe they get re tied up at lunch time when we leave.

When asked why they have to be tied in I am told it is to stop kids getting into the bathroom and burning themselves with the hot water, or getting into the kitchen and hurting themselves. I am sure a big part is also around them making messes in the storage areas that the carers really don't have time to clean up. Some of their reasoning about safety doesn't really make much sense though, frequently the carers don't shut the door to the bathroom which would work just as well to prevent burns, or shut the gate out onto the road!

I negotiated with the carers around trying to stop the tying up of kids. As well as stopping them from being allowed or able to play with each other, or socialize, it also is often tied very tightly and looks painful, and can cause rashes and skin infections. So I decided to pay to get gates put on the main room and so as long as the carers shut the gate, and shut the bathroom doors than the kids should be safe and able to be free!
The gates are a lot higher than normal baby safety gates, but these kids are really good climbers!!


So the first day that we arrived once the gates were completed the kids had all been taken out of cots when they woke up (which I'm guessing is pretty early) and were playing and running around freely!

Talking to the carers they said they really like the gates, and it is a lot easier as they can now move freely between the kitchen and store rooms without having to watch the kids as much.
Definitely a success!!