HOPE ORPHANAGE, the signboard with that name, greeted Diamond the moment she drove through the gates of the orphanage.
She hadn’t been at the orphanage for weeks if she wasn’t mistaken, and the changes to the place were very vivid and striking.
Although it wasn’t big, the dorms, playgrounds and gardens were all fully renovated. From a distance, she could see the striving gardens, which was good news for someone like her who loved being self-sufficient.
Goods and services prices were inflating with each passing day. Perhaps the reality of the drought was sinking in. It was simply ridiculous to buy food from the shops. Luckily for her, she barely purchases a lot of food ingredients since she has the Golden Space farm which provides her with everything that she needs.
"Welcome, Diamond!"
As soon as she got there, Diamond was warmly welcomed by Nancy, who had a smile on her face alongside the orphanage director and someone from the foundation who was in charge of dealing with the orphanage matters.
"Hello everyone!" Diamond cheerfully returned the warm greetings before urging everyone to carry the things that were in the car.
Since she promised to bring food, she had taken out a lot of ingredients from the space and put them in the car.
From the adults to the many children, everyone happily carried the fresh ingredients into the orphanage’s kitchen, where the cooks began to prepare the meal while Diamond was busy seeing the kids.
There were seventy-two children in total. All of them were below sixteen years of age, with the youngest being a toddler.
They were half-half. The number split into two directly. That way, sharing rooms would be easier than having different numbers.
Among the seventy-two children at the orphanage, twenty of them were in high school, ranging from thirteen years of age to fifteen, with a few about to turn sixteen years.
The rest were either in primary school or kindergarten and still hadn’t reached the age to go to school.
While the cooks were busy with the cooking, Diamond was busy talking with the children and understanding whether they were living well and being treated well by the caretakers.
"Do you like it here?"
"Yes, it’s very good here. We have food to eat, clothes to wear and the caretakers treat us well!"
"Oh! That’s good to hear. What about at school? How are you doing there? Any problems?" she was mostly worried about this.
Most orphans, or destitute children, tend to be bullied at school. Diamond didn’t want the children she cared for to be bullied for whatever reason.
When the children heard that. They heard different expressions on their faces, but Diamond could tell that it wasn’t all roses over there.
"Come on and tell me!" nonetheless, she still urged them and added. "If you learn to remain quiet and silent in some situations, no one will know that you need help. As long as I am here, I will never allow my children to be bullied by anyone. So, tell me what you are facing. That way, I will find a way to help you solve it."
When the children heard that, especially the teenagers, they no longer hesitated and started pouring their hearts out. After all, the matron had told them earlier that Diamond was the owner of the orphanage and that they could be free with her.
"When we have parents’ and teachers’ meetings, it will be great if someone goes there on our behalf. Other kids laugh at us because we have no one."
"Um, can we get more uniforms?"
"The orphanage will not close down, right?"
"We won’t be abandoned again, right?"
"I want to learn how to fight. Not to cause trouble, but to defend myself! Is it possible?"
Diamond listened to the children’s suggestions and complaints while taking mental notes of them. When they were done speaking their minds, Diamond finally responded to them.
The matron, upon hearing that, cleared her throat nervously as she raised her hand to volunteer to respond to that. freew\e bnovel.com
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