What do you think when you see her picture? Can you look past her shaved head? Can you look past the signs of institutionalization? Can you see the joyful child inside her? You have to look for it, but she is in there.
As awful as conditions are in this kind of institution, they are that much worse for the children who are not favorites. Salome isn't cute like some of the younger children, so she gets even less attention. The thing she loves the most, she gets the least of. I think she is beautiful. I wish I could show that beauty to other people.
Once she turns 16 she will never have a chance to leave the world she lives in now. She doesn't know how important her birthday on March 13th will be. Who has celebrated any of her other birthdays?
Once she turns 16, there will be no hope of ending the monotony of time in her crib. It will be broken up by an occasional bottle and diaper change. She will get baths, but not as often as they are needed. If she is very lucky, she will get to spend a short amount of time in the playroom with other children. She is not one of the favorite children though, so she will not get the extra time and attention that helps to keep those children alive just a little bit longer. Look at how long she has survived in a place where more than a dozen children can die in a year, where most of the bedridden children like her are buried behind the institution instead of passing another birthday. She is so strong to survive for so long while being given so little. I want her to do more than survive. I want her to live!
Salome needs a family who can accept her where she is and help her grow as much as possible. She has made an amazing amount of progress with just a little bit of time with a massage therapist recently hired by Maya's Hope. So little has done so much for her. She can sit up. That doesn't sound like much, but it is when you have spent a lifetime in a laying down room. I don't know what her limits and her potential really are. I know that her life would be better with a family. I know that a family would be better off for having her in it. I know that she deserves a family just as much as any other child.
Please see her. Please help other people see her too. Help them see this beautiful girl with such strength, locked away on the other side of the world. There is a family out there for her. Maybe they aren't sure yet if they are the right family. Maybe they haven't even seen her picture yet. Help them find each other.
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Remember, go HERE for all of the details about the Sharing Salome Giveaway. There are tons of prizes, including the Ukraine outline shirt we are no long selling and the Superman Was Adopted shirt we are selling now, plus things from Russia, gift cards, a $50 donation to the waiting child or family of your choice on RR, a personal portrait, and more!
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