94 SIDELINES JUNE 2014
FORHORSEPEOPLE • ABOUTHORSEPEOPLE
VisitingOrphanages
Oneof the primary reasonsDebbieand Jorgewanted to
head toGreecewas towork in orphanages because inGreece
adoption is rare and children remain inorphanages their entire
childhoods, often isolated from society.
Now, with thehelp of GentleCarousel, these childrenwill
haveaccess to theminiature horses –whowill play amajor role
in their lives. The city of Rafinahas supplied abus that takes
orphans to thegardens so they can enjoy the playground, library,
café and, most importantly, thehorses.
Tobe able to take ahorse to someonewhowould otherwise
never be able to see oneor touch one – it’s prettymiraculous to
see the look ona kid’s face,” Debbie said.
“Being there and seeing the orphans come pouring out and
gatheringat the vans and trying topeek in thewindows [when
we bring the horses to them] is likewatchingamiracle.”
Andaccording toDebbie, children aren’t the only ones
enjoying the horses. “Theorphanage is runbyGreekOrthodox
nuns, who have devoted their entire lives to taking care of
orphans,” she said. “Well, whowere the onesmost enthralled? It
was the nuns! Theywereall elderlywomenexcited like little girls.
Theywerehugging them and so excited to see them.”
GrantingWishes
GentleCarousel has impactedother groups too. The program
has extended its services to children’s hospitals andother
Greek programs suchasPortaAnikti (Door Open), an institute
for adults and childrenwithbrain injuries, andHARA (Joy), an
organization devoted tohelping childrenwith special needs.
“Therewas a littleboywhowas severely autistic andhis
parents drove a long distance to attend.When hewaswith the
horses, it was the first timehis parents hadever seen him be still
– just sitting thereand leaning his head on the horses. It’s like
littlemiracles for people,” Debbie said.
Anothermiracle transpiredwhenGentleCarousel Greece
teamed upwith theMake-A-WishFoundation. The foundation
contacted them to inquire about granting thewishof a little boy
namedPavlo. Pavlohadnevermet a real horseandwanted to
meet one for Christmas. Becausehe spent most of his days in
the hospital, thiswould be a rareopportunity for at least oneof
hiswishes to come true.
“TheMagicGardenwas opened just for Pavloand his family,”
Debbie said. “He thought hewas leaving thehospital with his
parents to haveahot drink. Therewere hugs and tearswhen
therapy horseOdysseaswalked into the cafeasPavlowas
drinking his hot chocolate. Odysseas visitedwithPavlowhile
he finishedhis drink and then the twonew friendswere able
towalk together in theMagicGarden.When it was time to put
Odysseas back in his stall, Pavlowas told that thehorsewas
oneof Santa’s special helpers. That iswhy therewere piles of
Christmas presentswaiting for Pavlo inOdysseas’ stall.”
This is just oneexampleof howminiaturehorses are
changing people’s lives all over theworld– thanks to the hard
work of organizations suchasGentleCarousel.
Sidelines
commends theefforts of Debbie, Jorge and all
of the peoplewhodedicate their time to spreading the joy
that these little horses can bring and inspiring thehope that
encourages people to keepon keepingon. Thank you formaking
adifference.
Everybody lovesminiaturehorses - evennuns!
Two timeNational Champion inshow jumping and
volunteerGeorgeFrangogianniswith therapyhorse Ivi.
OdysseasvistedwithPavlo andmadehis
dreams come true!
