the little ears and what I learned

I have a memory of a child I met at  the Vesnova Asylum in a Chernobyl affected region of rural Belarus.  His photo is to the left.  He was in terrible discomfort. At the base of each earlobe, he had a bloody tear, as if the earlobes themselves were ripping from the sides of his head.  (The pink color you see in the photo is mecurichrome. If you're over 45, you will remember being painted with this wound disinfectant.)

I had never seen anything like it this, and couldn't imagine the cause. I pointed it out to Marie Cox, our medical program director.  Marie was a  Chernobyl Children's Project International volunteer for years before joining the staff.  She had seen cases like this before.  It was indeed a tear -- a tear caused by a (hurried and overworked) orphanage caregiver repeatedly and roughly pulling a too-tight shirt over the boy's head. 

I was so stunned by this it took me a while to really take it in. I thought about the playful and giggle-y times I've had with my kids getting them undressed for the bath.  Then I tried to imagine someone pulling their jersey up so hard that their earlobes tore . . . and then having it happen to them over and over again.

We deal with a lot of big, complex issues every day in this work . . . child abandonment, serious illness, disability, poverty.  Complex problems don't have quick-fix solutions.

The huge establishment aid organizations like UN and unicef are good about reminding smaller organizations (like us) that we need to focus on the Big Picture -- on helping whole communities over the long term.  And of course they are right!  But I hope we never get so big that we can't care about one child's little ears. 

Last week, we brought in 7 new caregivers to assist nurses at Vesnova, and to do better by these kids.  It's not a quick fix. We will still need to work on training, more training, and procedures and process.  We won't ignore the important "big picture" -- giving families alternatives to putting their children in orphanages. But we believe you also also want us to think small. 

Comments

[Kathy Ryan]

I received this email from our supporter radio DJ Jaime Osborn, who wrote out of Las Vegas:

Hello Kathy..

After reading your email and chewing on it for a couple days (I just got back from the Country Music Awards) While I think it's important to always have an eye on the big picture, far too often the small things tend to slip through the cracks if someone isn't careful. As you mentioned, your organization is smaller, this affords you the opportunity to work on a smaller level - a level that many times the big guys can't. I agree that wholesale changes need to be made in a society that simply throws away people and/or children simply because of a handicap or deformity. But while those changes are being made on a big level (ie; Unicef) if folks like you are not there for those actual children, then who will be??