When I woke up this morning, I knew that today would be different in a couple of important respects. For one, I would be moving from the apartment at the office and into the Knouse's house. One of the Interlink staff, Ken, was also living there, but he was away in Almaty. The second task for the day would be far more personal--Sara would be taking me to Ulan orphanage to visit with the second child that I sponsored, a boy named Oleg.
Sara picked me up at the office and we head to Ulan, which was not far away and still within the city limits of Taraz. She suggested that we see if we could take Oleg to lunch and spend some time with him off campus. When we arrived at Ulan, there were a handful of boys hanging around outside along with a couple of caregivers. As it turned out, Oleg and his brother were spending the summer at the home of some relatives on the outskirts of the city. For the second time on a my trip, the orphan that I sponsored was away. Sara said that Interlink would be able to track him down and that perhaps we could visit later in the week. Naturally, I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to see him today, but glad that Sara offered to try again. At that moment, some of the boys said that they knew where he lived and would be happy to take us there. Sara said that if they got permission from the caregivers, then we would be grateful to have them help us. With little persuasion, the caregivers said that it was okay. The trip to Oleg's took us on some very bumpy gravel roads to what appeared to me to be a small, somewhat run-down, village. We turned down a one-lane lane and stopped when the boys said that we had arrived. Would he be home?
We were greeted by an older woman, who at first appeared surprised to see us, but then happily invited us in. She led us to the porch of what must have been the kitchen to a fly-covered table with the remnants of what must have been breakfast. An older man was stretched out on a nearby bed. He sat up as we seated ourselves. A baby girl in a scooter chair eyed us with interest. Oleg introduced himself then helped clear the table. He appeared slightly embarrassed at the state of the table and quickly cleaned it. The older woman insisted that we sit down and have some tea and bread. It turned out that she and the man were invalids. They were also the parents of Oleg's sister's husband. The baby was Oleg's sister's. While we were chatting, Oleg and the boys played with the girl and drew some water from the well just a few feet from the porch. I mixed some fresh raspberry jam into my tea and ate some bread. Sara translated and once again I was asked how old I was. I was now getting used to the question and to the fact that it was always in the form of "What year were you born?" I wondered what kind of life this woman and her husband had led. The lines etched into their faces seemed to indicate that it had been a difficult one. The man, only wearing shorts, joined us for some photos. After several more cups of tea, we asked if we could take Oleg and his brother out for the afternoon. She said that it was fine and invited us to see her house before she left. We walked across the courtyard into the small house. We walked through a small salon, and then what appeared to be two bedrooms, although there were no beds. Did they sleep on the floor? She showed me some old photos of her family. The house, despite it's size, was neat and clean. Oleg changed clothes and we headed for the SUV.
We needed to get the other boys back to the orphanage and were actually running a bit late. Sara explained that the caregivers would understand that we had been invited for tea. We pulled up at Ulan and saw the caregiver that we had spoken to earlier. She thought that maybe Oleg and his brother would like to have a couple of their friends come along with us for the afternoon. The caregiver gave his consent and we headed off. We asked the boys if they wanted to go bowling or go to the park and ride some rides. They couldn't make up their minds and asked me to decide. Although I had been to the park the day before, I thought they would like it (and knew that I preferred being outside) and suggested that. They laughed and joked on the way and were clearly happy to be going out together. The first stop at the park was the very (by American standards) modest roller coaster. They laughed and screamed and even dared to hold up their hands for a moment. The rest of the afternoon was spent riding rides and eating snacks. I enjoyed the Kazakh version of a hotdog, with its cucumber salad topping. The boys were clearly having a good time, and I was happy that we had managed to find Oleg. As the afternoon came to a close, we loaded back into the car and returned to the orphanage.
Oleg gave me a quick tour. Like Savva Orphanage, it was neat and clean. Oleg showed me his bed, complete with the Madrid sticker I had sent him at Christmas. We said our good-byes to the other boys and then headed back to Oleg's house. I gave him a backpack with some clothes and a soccer ball. He seemed pleased and surprised. I told him that I was happy to be his sponsor and that I was pleased that I had finally gotten to meet him. We posed for some photos and then said goodbye. I watched as Oleg and his brother walked down the gravel lane to their house and wondered what the future held for them. Oleg had actually graduated from 9th grade and would now move on to college. He told me that he wanted to be a lawyer. I told Sara that I would be happy to help Oleg and his brother as long as it was possible. I considered what their lives might have been had it not been for the fine people at Interlink Resources. I also considered how my encounter with these children would change my life. It had been a good day.
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