St Emily's Villa Orphanage Zawgyi

The toilets in Zawgi Orphanage

The Children preparing to sing and dance for me

they don't look very enthusiastic

The orphanage was in its own compound which consisted of three brick buildings, a Church, the resident priest house and a half finished Church. I asked Sr Geraldine why the half finished Church? It turns out that a few years ago there had been an earthquake and the old Church was badly damaged with a crack from floor to ceiling that you could put your hand in. Being unsafe the villagers decided to build another one, but halfway through the project they ran out of money and so it stands with no roof on. The parish priest who is from that village was on a year sabbatical in the Philippines doing a course on catechesis. His home had been taken over by some of the villagers who had been flooded in the last monsoon storm. His brother was also his house keeper and kept an eye on things. There were hens, cows and goats in the garden and numerous children and men smoking and talking while the women cooked. There was a wall between the Church and the orphanage so that the children and sisters could have their privacy.

The Children and the sisters came out to meet us and we were led in to have a drink of lemon. I was a bit wary of drinking the lemon water but I was assured that it had been purified, and I am still here. I was introduced to the children who though looked very well their clothes seemed to be a bit dirty. When I put this to sister she said living in a village like that where it is so sandy when the sun shines and so muddy when it rains it is near impossible to keep the children clothes clean. The children were very shy at first. It is not very often that they see a white person, but after a while they relaxed and took me around their home and started playing and became very boisterous and had to be told to calm down. I was shown their dormitory, play area, dinning room, kitchen and study area for the older girls. Their wash place is a well with bowls to fish the water out. Sister told me that there was a Dutch lady who used to come every year and bring money and help build what was needed. She brought them a generator so that they could have electric and helped them build the toilets and well and paid for them. However she became to old to carry on her good works. That is another area where we might help as a parish.

We had a meal there which was nicely presented and afterwards the children came and sang and danced for us though it was very hesitantly. Then was taken to see the goats which helped to pay for their food and other things. The sisters grew things in the garden to eat and did the best they could, but the bulk of the money they need is from charitable donations and the order. Then we had a walk around the village.

During the afternoon the clouds started to turn black and we thought it would be expedient to get on our way because if it started raining we might not get out for weeks. Well we hotfooted out of there and just as we hit the computer road, (Thank God) the heavens opened and it rained and rained. By the time we got back to Mandalay it had stopped but it was obvious that Mandalay had got a lot more as the streets were flooded. Some of the roads were like rivers and others because of the unevenness of them were like pools. One minute you were on dry road and the next the car was deep in a pond of water. Finally got back to the peace and quiet of the convent. Had dinner with the sisters a good chat then off to bed as I had to be up early in the morning as we were going to Pyin-Oo-lwin or May mou as it was formerly known.