Fall ’09 Visit to Sariwon

Everywhere we went, the orphanage smelled of burnt mugwort — the halls, the rooms where the infants lay, the gathering place where the preschool-aged children stood in a circle and repeatedly bowed to us saying, “Anyoung-hasaeyo!” (“Hello!” or “Welcome!” in English). These 3-4 year olds were the boisterous ones. The rest of the orphans were eerily quiet for a facility that houses up to 350 children. Officials had apparently ordered that mugwort (also known as common wormwood) be burnt as a natural disinfectant.

This trip, four WMM members visited Sariwon for the quarterly inspection.  During the one-hour stay, Sandrah Suh met with the director of the orphanage while Humanitarian Committee Chair, Aekyung Lee, inspected the newly completed kitchen renovations.  Tiles had been laid and new equipment purchased: two large cooking pots custom ordered from South Korea, a new refrigerator, shelving, and utensils.  The remodel took less than six months to finish, and the oprhanage employees are now hoping for a larger washing machine to replace the compact Japanese model they have been relying on to date.

As for the orphans, one WMM member pointed out that, “The children’s skin conditions were poor, all scabby and red.”  However, they seemed comparatively better than the previous year thanks to the ointment that WMM has been supplying the orphanage with.

It was also noted that there was a marked difference in the workers’ attitudes towards the visitors: “Overall, I felt they were more receptive of our presence in the orphanage and undertsood more that we cared about the children — not just about giving them aid.”