SIGNING IN: BEING SHOWERED BY HEAVENLY BLESSINGS FOR FIVE YEARS-Chapter 791 - 789: HOPE ORPHANAGE

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.

"I have listened to all your queries. I will sit down with the matron, directors, and caretakers. We will solve all your problems. I also hope that you will not be relaxed as well, but do your part. We can’t do everything for you, after all."

She didn’t plan to give the children everything that they wished for, but to teach them. The reality was harsher than it seems. She might protect them right now, but when they leave and join society, how would they fare?

So, she hoped that they would also put more effort into developing themselves and not relax simply because she was there.

Diamond and the kids got along pretty well and she also chatted with the matron to understand what the kids currently have and what was missing.

While they waited for the meal to be cooked, she and the others sat in the office as they discussed the matter.

"What the foundation and I don’t lack is money. Of course, it would be very disappointing if any one of you dared embezzle that money. Whoever is caught doing such tricks will not only be fired, but I will have you arrested," Diamond smilingly said to the staff, narrowing her eyes dangerously while scanning them.

Everyone in the room couldn’t help but break into cold sweat and didn’t dare utter a single word.

"Okay. I hope that you bear that in mind and don’t test me. Anyway, I have listened to the children’s worries and I am here to check with you about what you have done and what can be done. Can you summarize for me the whole thing?"

The matron, upon hearing that, cleared her throat nervously as she raised her hand to volunteer to respond to that.

"Yes .... Yes. Um, so for now, we have settled the kids down, paid for the school fees and made sure that their health is well taken care of. We are still in the process of arranging for their other basic needs," she truthfully relayed what was going on.

Diamond nodded her head when she heard that. Those three were already important, and she didn’t find any fault with that.

"Okay, that’s good. I need you to take care of the kids’ uniforms, bags, books and whatever might be needed at their current schools. Top up their cafeteria cards, and hire a kombi for now to send to and from school. I will organize and buy a bus later, but for now, we hire," she said as she looked at the directors in charge of the project.

"Yes, miss, we will work on that."

"Good. When here, which is their home, I expect them to live happily without feeling as if they are at some cold institution. As children, they should do their homework, and find time to play if they want. Watch TV, though not for long and give them some extracurricular activities. Let them play with dirt, water, the gardens and so forth. Keep them active and record their daily lives.

If the kids are being naughty, sit down together and discuss what the problems are. I don’t want cases where the adults would have sleazy thoughts about the kids. I want you to treat them the way you treat your children or relatives.

Just because they don’t have their own families doesn’t mean that they deserve to be abused or bullied. If a kid is truly naughty and can’t be taught, you can find me. If I fail to disciple the child, then he or she is better elsewhere than here," Diamond shared their thoughts as she looked at the matron and caretakers.

"So far, they are all good. We haven’t seen any problems yet. While we are on that matter, can we buy them phones or tablets?"

"Oh! That’s a tricky question but I think for now, let us buy them tablets that they can use when they are back from school. A lot of homework nowadays needs a bit of research and we don’t have a computer room. So, buy them those and according to their age. There are a lot of children’s tablets out there. Make use of that knowledge and get them what they need.

Their internet usage will be restricted and make sure that they don’t access what they shouldn’t. We don’t want to raise villains and naughty kids simply because of tech."

Diamond and the others discussed other things until the meal was ready. Everyone gathered together, ate and had a great time.

Before Diamond left the orphanage, she didn’t forget to warn or advise the kids.

"Be good and listen to your caretakers. They mean well. If you have any problems, don’t forget to tell them. They will help you solve it."

She didn’t want any kid growing up bottling grievances and then one day, boom, her orphanage will become very popular simply because a child seemed to have been abused in all sorts of ways, she knew nothing of.

After all, she had heard so many similar cases in the past. And there are some people who are so good at hiding. By the time you find what they really are, it would be too late to do or change anything.

If one day these people learn that the orphanage was hers, who knows how many people would be eager to dig thousands of feet underground to find any material that could make her black?

She didn’t want to give anyone a chance to trample on her when all she wanted to was provide a haven for the kids.

She just hoped that both the staff and the children would understand her intentions and wouldn’t cause unnecessary drama now or in the future.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m