Here is the final part of Judit Szerbin’s diary.
The last two days were quite stirring. We were visiting the orphanage and sick children lying in the hospital beds. We came here to help. That is why we covered this long distance. The gloomiest thing about the hospital was that inspite of having new equipment, they are not much use for them. This is because the staff was never trained to use them. However, the hospital is well-equipped, the building is very nice; it would easily be up to almost any hospital in Hungary. I met a Dutch physician who had been working here for years trying to help. His success, though, is changing, depending on outside factors. Those people who live close, can walk into the hospital and can be treated. Those who live farther but have cash for taxi to reach the hospital – can also be treated. But what happens to those who live far and have no money? I guess you know the answer …
After the thought-provoking hospital visit, we went to the orphanage. The children were a bit shy at the beginning but step by step they warmed up to us. Then we met the Prime Minister and local professionals again. They gave us a warm welcome and thanked us for the cars and donations on behalf of the whole country. The Prime Minister herself ensured us that everything would reach their proper destination. A single pen could cause delight since they are in short supply of those here. The last day we were concentrating on delivering everything to their proper place. The medications landed in the hospital, the toys and childrens’ clothes in the orphanage. Now I could write only banalities, like ’the children were extremely grateful and accepted the gifts with sparkling eyes…’. I’d rather write nothing but keep it as a present for myself from the kids.
These people have a gift: they can be happy and thankful for almost anything and perhaps it is something that would be quite useful for us to learn. There are so many things we could be happy for but we seem to have forgotten about most of them. The last day, in the hotel, one of the locals offered some money in exchange for my shoes. I would have given it to her with pleasure but the previous day I had shared out all my extra clothes and shoes among the staff. They had been exremely nice with me anyway but after this we became friends. Now I could again come up with the commonplaces about ’the locals who were so thankful for me giving them my clothes that I did not need any more’ … but I refuse to do it again and will keep this experience as another gift for myself. Still, I was happy to share the rest of my story with you, the readers of AfriPORT.