Eldergays, tell me about orpahanges

My brother was adopted in the early 70's and there was already a waiting list to adopt babies. i had an uncle by marriage who grew up in an orphanage, but he would be in his 100's by now. I don't think you will get many first hand experiences.

I'm 39 and was in an orphanage in Guatemala for two years, from ages 6-8 (late '80s). The place was actually pretty well-maintained. We had bunk beds and three balanced meals, including snacks and dessert. We always had clean clothes, but no one owned anything, so at the end of the day it all went back into a great, big pile for it to be washed and worn again the next day by whoever. Also, we didn't have chores and we didn't have to work for our keep. However, there was a lot of physical and sexual abuse which was kept hushed up because most of the orphans like me were eventually adopted by American families.

We’re you abused, r2?

An old friend of mine was in an orphanage in 1933 at the age of 4 when he was adopted by millionaires from the mid-west.

R2 Yes. In the mid-'90s a bunch of us (including me) came forward with the allegations. My adoptive father was none too pleased and wouldn't believe me because he had become a spokesperson for the place in the intervening years.

[quote]Which type of children stood the best chance of getting adopted?

White ones, preferably blondes with blue eyes.

Marilyn Monroe lived at the Hollygrove Home for Children (which closed in 2005) for a couple of years in the 1930s while her mother was institutionalized and her foster mother was unable to afford her care.

Snitches get stitches, R5.

I once had a class with a Croatian girl who spent her entire childhood in an orphanage. She seemed pretty normal.

Sadly, I didn't get to know her well enough to ask the really in-depth questions.

[quote]An old friend of mine was in an orphanage in 1933 at the age of 4 when he was adopted by millionaires from the mid-west.

Sounds like one of my success stories!

A friend of my family adopted a toddler from China 18 years ago. The authorities had found her as a 2-year-old in squalid conditions desperately trying to care for her newborn sister after having been abandoned by their parents for what are probably obvious reasons (one child policy etc). Incredibly sad story; they were moved to an orphanage and her little sister was immediately adopted but the little girl stayed there 18 months. She had a lot of behavior problems as a result when she was little, but she's a warm, intelligent and very funny college junior these days. She says she remembers her stay in the orphanage almost like a stay at the hospital - safe but lonely, everything very sterile, everyone all business.

[quote]A friend of my family adopted a toddler from China

Sorry, stopped reading after this part.