I will be working with orphans in Romania, the majority being disabled and having severe developmental delays. The purpose of my work there is to assist the children in their physical, emotional, and social development through structured play, as well as tests performed to track their progression over a four month period. Test results and thorough notes about each child's behavior, symptoms, and progress will be kept and filed for the facility's future reference. I will be working one on one with about five children for the entire duration, to provide for them a secure attachment, but will also dedicate time and attention to numerous others. I will also be conducting my own developmental research, which I can integrate into the time spent with these children. I'll be volunteering out of the orphanage six hours a day, and a few additional hours each day with the orphans at a local hospital. The children in both places range in ages from a few months to about ten, but infants and toddlers make up the majority.
The internship is located in Iasi (pronounced "yawsh"), Romania, which is the second largest city, located on the northeastern border of Europe. Romanian is the spoken language. The people there are of many different nationalities, but the majority are Romanian and Gypsy. They are among the poorest of all people in Europe. The country is still struggling to recover from a corrupt government control under Nicolae Ceausescu and the damages of communism. Revival is slow, but Romania was finally able to join the European Union in January of 2007, and some positive changes are sure to come as a result.
(read more in "A Brief History: The Downfall Of Romania")
