There is this orphanage where my friend worked, which ive visited a couple of times. Its called Ebenezer Home for Social Outreach and its one of those orphanages which actually took care of its wards really well. The shelter, clothing, food, sanitary, medical facilities were pretty good and when one went in, you felt you were at home. Through this friend of mine, i took my dept students in PG for a visit and later on made a friend of mine celebrate her birthday there. No, i'm no saint, but i've done some good things in life.
During my first visit there, we were shown around the various dorms where the kids stayed. Needless to say some kids especially the boys were excited we were there and were hell bent on showing off their talents. The girls were shy, yet once we started interacting there was no stopping them. They even danced to our tunes :).
In one such dorm, which housed the younger children, while the slightly older ones were busy tugging at us to get our attention, i noticed a tiny kid sitting in the corner playing by herself. She was far too small to walk and was in a world of her own. I asked one of the kids about her, he immediately ran to pick her up and brought her to me. Saying she was cute was an understatement.
Her looks made it obvious that she was from the north eastern part of the country. I held her and she was comfortable with not an inkling of fear. She must have been less than 2 years old. Curious eyes, gurgling sounds, fair skin, straight hair and pierced nose - this was Vandana for you. She was named at the orphanage. Her parents had left her when she was a baby and she was taken care of at the orphanage. Thru the day, she sort of clung onto me, not sure why. Honestly, i did not want to put her down. When i left, tears welled up in my eyes, cant quite explain why.
We came back again to celebrate D's bday. I had told her, instead of spending a bomb on treating friends, why not sponsor one meal for these kids. We did just that. Vandana was still there, though we went almost a year later. She was walking now and did not have to be picked up. The instant recognition on her face, made my day. She clung on to me again all day and when i left, she tugged at me, as though telling me to stay. I had to leave, and i left. It was harder than the previous time.
Meeting Vandana was an awakening. We woke up to the fact that we had so much, yet we crib and crib about not having enough. We yell at our parents for simple things, here was a kid with no parents at all. We waste food, we complain on what we eat, what is there never suffices, here was a child, who had to eat what was given. We were fed as children, Vandana ate by herself. When she was smaller, the other kids fed her. I adored her.
Im not sure how much of a difference I've made in anyone's life. However, i can surely say that the 2 days i spent with this kid, sure did make a huge difference in mine.
We realise the abundance in our lives - but what are we doing about it? I'll leave you to think on that.
