September has been an incredibly exciting month for me, finally seeing the project coming alive! The month started with a week's training for the six new Portage workers, given by Mollie White who flew in from the UK. Very many thanks to her for making the trip and passing on all her wisdom. Many other people who were interested in Portage also attended the workshop and were fascinated and excited by the project.

We have a lovely team of Portage workers and I am so impressed by their commitment to the Portage system. They are all very friendly and loving towards the children and take their role as both Portage Worker and substitute parent very seriously. I have noticed many small gifts appearing for the children and old toys no longer needed at home finding their way into our toy cupboards. Preparation time is silent with heads down, spectacles on and the atmosphere is electrified with concentration.

We started our actual work with children on September 13th as the 12th was a pure planning day; believe me trying to sort out which Portage Worker sees which of 24 children in which room at what time was a bit of a nightmare and I think the timetable was changed about 5 times in the first two weeks but its now up and running relatively smoothly. We have a nice office/classroom where we work from and some sessions are held there too, so one corner is a play area for the children. We also have the use of two large halls; the music and sports rooms, another office but which has a comfy sofa in it too and an open-plan garden room which has lots of plants, 3 birds and an indoor pond and fish tank - all terribly interesting for the children.

Each Portage worker sees 4 children per worker and everyone sees at least one child with Downs' syndrome, something the girls themselves requested. Unfortunately since some of our children are developmentally delayed due to medical problems, it means time in hospital, so we have a couple of children in hospital already; but they are due out soon.

The first couple of weeks of the project were mainly spent going through the Portage developmental checklists to see what skills the children has already developed, whether there were any gaps in their skills and where deficits lie. It is interesting to note that none of our children are talking yet although one or two can say the odd word; I think this is true of all the children in the baby home, not just those in the Portage project.

Even whilst the girls were busy observing the children and finding their individual developmental levels we noticed a difference in some of the children. To receive personal one to one attention is new for them and just having this time with one other person focusing solely on them has made a difference. In some cases almost a miraculous alteration. Here are three examples from very different children:

Peter is a very sensitive emotional little boy with developmental delay who cried continuously for the first two weeks of his Portage time. His Portage Worker was not able to talk or hug him or do anything without him sobbing loudly. Now he is quiet, plays well with his Portage Worker and is happy to receive lots of cuddles and affection from her.

Nastya is a little girl with Downs' syndrome who is very popular with all the Portage Workers as she is bright and curious about her surroundings and never stops smiling. She has a true zest for life, but rarely got individual attention. In the second week of her Portage sessions she suddenly crawled up to a bookcase and pulled herself up to stand; a real first. We thought that was wonderful but the next week she shocked us by taking her first few steps. Needless to say we couldn't be more overjoyed. My biggest hope is that she will find a loving family who will give this fantastic little girl the opportunities she would grab with such enthusiasm.

Angelina is a little girl who suffers from autism. In her group she is very withdrawn and keeps away from the other children. I remember this little girl so well from my visit to Sushki where she kept well away from the other children if she could manage it, showed no interest in any of the toys and hated being touched. However in her Portage sessions she relates really well to Tanya her Portage Worker and shows what a bright and capable little girl she is. She has great powers of concentration and has already started to thread beads on a pipe cleaner. She makes eye contact with Tanya and loves throwing or kicking a ball to Tanya and actually giggles and laughs as she does this. To hear Angelina's laugh is astonishing; she sounds like a dirty old man a bit like Sid James characters in Carry On films!

I hope this gives you a quick taste of some of the pleasure we are getting from the children and some of the progress they are making. In the months to come I will share more of our exciting progress with you.