Orphans change volunteer’s outlook on life
BY JOHANNA WEIDNER, RECORD STAFF
TheRecord.com 5/21/2010
Norm Golightly needed a break from the hectic, yet privileged life of a movie producer in Los Angeles.
He found that respite, along with a new perspective, at an orphanage outside Nairobi in rural Kenya.
The children were dressed in torn clothing and had no possessions of their own — except huge, ever-present smiles that greeted Golightly at the orphanage doors.
“They’re genuinely happy and healthy,” said Golightly, a Kitchener native who had roles in school plays at Forest Heights Collegiate and attended a summer acting camp at the Centre in the Square. He moved to California after studying business at the Wharton School of Business in Pennsylvania and until recently ran a movie production company in West Hollywood with actor Nicolas Cage.
Golightly stayed at the Cura Orphanage for five weeks earlier this year while trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life after the movie company’s collapse.
He had done some volunteer work in Los Angeles, including taking part in a mentoring program for inner city young people.
But, he said, “I found it a little too cosy.”
At the end of the day, he recalled, he would return to the comforts of his home.
“I wanted to get my hands dirty.”
Golightly recalled a friend of a friend whose father had started an orphanage in Kenya — and soon arrangements were made. The Cura Orphanage is supported by several Rotary Clubs in North America, the United Kingdom and Kenya itself.
Golightly’s offer to orphanage staff members unsure about his visit’s purpose was obliging: “I’ll do whatever. I’ll dig wells. I’ll mend fences. What ever you need.”
Nerves got the best of Golightly on the plane to Kenya.
He imagined himself being the odd one out in a place overcast in sadness.
Those worries vanished as soon as he stepped out of the car at the orphanage and the children rushed to greet him. The fastest of the bunch grabbed his luggage to take to the room where he would be staying.
“They were just so loving and they were so happy,” said Golightly. “It’s a really amazing place.”
Children live there for a decade or so, with no expectation they will be adopted.
Golightly was a welcome guest and a novelty in the young lives ruled by routine. He filled his days playing and talking with the children and found that most speak English quite well.
He had one big plan for his time at the orphanage — to bring donated used digital cameras to hand out so the children could snap photos.
“The cameras ended up being a big hit. It was chaos. They couldn’t get enough of it,” he said.
Basic instructions were given and then the children were let loose with the cameras to capture their world. The images amazed Golightly.
“They were so talented and they just see the world from a different perspective.”
The same happiness that caught Golightly by surprise is evident in the photographs. He plans to enlarge and frame some of them to hang in his home.
A book and a photo exhibit are also in the works now to raise money for the orphanage. And Golightly hopes to assist other orphanages and expand the photography project. He has posted photos on his Facebook group, called Kenya Spare a Camera, through which he also received donations to buy the orphanage a cow and chickens.
The trip revealed other opportunities to Golightly. He’s writing a book about charity and about the nature of giving, inspired by a generous gift he received from a girl at the orphanage. The broken bracelet was a treasure to a child who lives in a place with no toys or anything to call your own.
“She insisted that I take it,” Golightly said. “I realized this girl just gave me 100 per cent of her possessions as a thank you.”
People living in developed nations can learn from that girl’s gesture, Golightly said.
Making movies with a message is what he hopes to tackle now, blending his production expertise with his new-found outlook.
Leaving the orphanage was tough for both Golightly and the children.
“I think they thought I’d moved in and I’d just be one of them,” he said.
Sadness crept into the orphanage when the children learned their new friend would be leaving. Golightly, too, had forged a strong connection with the children and threw a party before his departure to lift everyone’s spirits.
A strong bond had been forged in just a few weeks and Golightly looks forward to returning to visit the children, who gave him far more than he ever expected.
“It was a truly amazing experience.”
therecord.com
