About Leyla

For three years in a row I have volunteered over the summer (two months at a time) at an orphanage in Peru. There are 22 children at the orphanage, ages ranging from four months to 12 years old. There are 7 children under the age of four and 15 over the age of four. It was my responsibility to clothe them, feed them, play with them, bathe them, put them to bed, cook for the older children, prepare the milk for the babies, tutor the older children, read to them age appropriate books depending on how old they were, change diapers, and take the older children to school and pick them up afterwards. I stayed at the orphanage, devoting every minute of the day to caring for the children and making sure they were safe and felt loved. I also volunteered at a children's hospital in Orange County watching over the children in the playrooms to give them the opportunity to be kids even for a little amount of time while in a safe environment. I organized activities and provided the children with games, toys, movies, paint, all the while supervising them. There would be up to 15 children in the playroom at one time. I currently volunteer at an orphanage.