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Story telling!
Today i got a chance to do something that I really love and that is story telling. I asked a little girl, Sneha, if she wanted to listen to a story and she agreed. So we found a spot and I asked her to choose a book. I was a little nervous because I wasn’t sure how i would communicate the story to her in my limited knowledge of Tamil. Athat was not a problem at all! I started of with my very broken tamil and she completed my sentences for me!Wherever she knew i was getting stuck it was like she was reading my mind. At that point it changed from story telling to story sharing! I just had to point out to the picture and she would give her version of what that picture indicates. We finished almost 5 books like that…
–Sonia Elizabeth P
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Barefoot and smiling
Today we got the privilege to go and have a look at where do these children come from. As I entered their locality I was welcomed by the sight of about 50 colourful plastic pots to carry water. As I was led into their tiny lanes and I was passing through their houses, what struck me the most was how proud these children were that they were going to show their house to us! ‘Akka come to my house, Akka please!’ I was surprised because I expected them to be unwilling to share this very personal part of their life.
While walking in one of the lanes I heard someone call out ‘Hi Sonia akka’, I turned to look and there was the very girl I was singing and a laughing with a while back. It took me some time to recognize her because she had changed and she seemed to be washing the portion outside her house.She did not seem like the same child from the singing stall. I was finally able to actually see what their life was like every other day apart from those two hours at the caravan. I saw one of the other little girls carrying a pot full of water with great difficulty. I didn’t see any of these girls complaining to me about all the work they are made to do. They have just accepted it and continue to live life with a smile. Here we are grumbling about tiny things such as I have to wake up so early for college every day, and here these kids are, taking the responsibility of an adult and bearing it all with a smile on their face.
While I was walking through that mucky place, navigating in such a way as to not get my sandal and churidar dirty, while right in front of me is that little girl, walking away without any footwear on. How much we can learn from these children, if only we are willing to.
— Sonia Elizabeth P
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About a boy
Today was different. Yes, I played with the children as usual. Yes, I danced with them as usual. But it was still different. It was different because today a boy of 14 years old trusted me enough to give me a glimpse of his life story. The boy was Prashant, studying in the 5th std.
He told me that he has no parents and was on the street when one woman approached him and asked him if he wants to study. At first he said no,but then later on when she asked him everyday, he agreed. Then that woman told him to meet her at the railway station. But she never turned up. Then he went on to tell me that a woman called Anita took him into her house. He tells me that Anita aunty is not like the others who used to make him work. She makes sure he goes to school and studies. He said that there are two small children living along with them. The other boys his age go to the cinema but Anita aunty tells him to be nearby and not go with these boys, because he should be a good boy. He says he likes it there. He reads the Bible as well. Then he went on to tell me how he hit one boy in school the other day and that boy’s lips were bleeding. When asked why he hit him, he replied saying that the boy made some comments on his mother, because of the rosary he was wearing. His words weren’t very clear and it was difficult for me to understand. I told Prashant that I know that boy hurt you by commenting on your mother, but you shouldn’t hit him. He then replies saying I know akka but I was really hurt. Before I could say anything he runs off…
After a while, though, I got a few minutes with him again and this time this was how our conversation went :
P: Akka where are you from?
S: I’m from Mumbai
P: When I first saw you I thought you were from China
S:China?!Why China?!
P:Because you are black no akka (referring to my skin color)
S: But dark people are mostly seen in Africa Prashant!
P: No akka China!!
Who can argue with this child?!
— Sonia Elizabeth Prasadam
As I entered the caravan today, I could only see about 20-30 children outside playing some game. I thought that was the total number of children, because I heard in the caravan that happened last Saturday was about 150. However when I entered the school building, there were a whole lot of girls and boys, all with such eager, smiling faces! Since it was my first day and I am new to Bangalore, Amy and me we went all around Bangalore and it took us two hours to reach, though we left at 12:20, we were able to reach the caravan only at 2:30(hoping it is the first and last time).
Since I was the only one who had come at that time from the music team, I joined the dance team. We first got to interact with the girls, who were such sweethearts!!! They sang and did the actions to hokey pokey first and completely enjoyed it. When asked if they wanted to do it one more time they all in unison shouted ‘YES’. So we did the hokey pokey one more time, and by then I was actually out of breath! Soon after this song one of the girls came up to me and said ‘ akka super song’. That was enough to get my heart warm, to us it might seem like such a silly song, but to that little girl, Indira it brought a big smile to her face. After that we did their all time favorite the ‘Chicken dance’. Some of the bigger girls at the back weren’t really dancing, so I went at the back and did it with them, it was then that I you could see them giggling. Then the part with the music where you have to dance with a partner, I danced with the girls and then they all wanted a chance to do that. So it was nice to see that though at first they did weren’t as free to dance, once they knew that it was actually fun, there was no stopping them!! After the chicken dance we then sang if you’re happy and you know it. That song was also done twice. After that the dance team had a game for them where they had to dance while the music was on and then once the music stops, they all had to freeze. The first one to move had to either come up in front and sing or dance. A few then willingly did that.
Once we had a few rounds of the ‘statue game’ , I showed them how the song ‘baby shark’ was sung along with the actions. They got the songs and actions so quickly and it was so nice hearing them sing it back with all their energy. Before the song I showed them the picture of a shark, and asked them what is it called and they said ‘Dolphin’! Finally one girl said ‘shark’, so then I could start with the song. By then the boys were peeping in and wanted to come join the singing and dancing. The girls were then sent to some other stall, while they boys came barging in! Managing them was a little difficult, but they were just being boys! Full of energy they were somehow made to sit in a circle and the 7 up game was played with them. These boys were smart and it was only the younger ones that were getting out. After that they wanted to do the hokey pokey song as well so we ended the session with that. Though I was completely drained out by the end of it, it was also so exciting that I was so eager to come and write al this down and relive those memories. Once I was there among the children I completely forgot about the traffic I was stuck in or the rain that delayed me. At that moment all I wanted to do was be a part of these children’s life, be a part of their story.
At the end when it was time for them to leave, most of them wanted to come and say bye to me and I noticed that not only me, but all the volunteers they interacted with. They would go out of their way just wave bye or shake a volunteer’s hand and not just say bye, but say steal your heart away, with those smiles filled with gratitude and gratefulness. It just makes me think, when was the last time I have ever had so much gratitude that I would go out of my way to express it. Teaches me how I need to be more grateful in life for all the privileges that I have around me and stop complaining. Looking forward to these next 6 months!
— Sonia Elizabeth P
