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At the Orphanage

This morning we visited the orphanage where the children came from, 120 kilometers north of Changsha. The Yueyang County Social Welfare Institution houses 60 children and employs 40 people. According to Chen Yong Jin-- director of the orphanage-- each room in the three-storey building accommodates 16 children, with 12 nannies caring for the children in the room at any one time.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by Mr. Chen, as well as an official from the Civil Affairs office. Caretakers wearing white uniforms carried some of the babies outside to meet the guests. We were provided bottled drinks, and led into the first floor (the only area we were allowed to enter) where some other babies were sleeping. The rooms were clean and, despite the lack of air-conditioning, were well-ventilated.

In a medium-sized room there were about four babies in large wooden cribs. Earlier, Mr. Chen once mentioned that sometimes the cribs are shared by two babies, since they are so big. "The babies from your group lived on the second floor," Mr. Chen said. "But all the rooms are similar to the ones you are seeing now."
-Aurora Santiago