Time at the Boys Hostel

I spent more time with the boys than I did with the girls. My family was 20 boys, so those were the ones that I was able to get to know the best, as well as the older ones in Arthur John’s room. They have SO much personality! Veran (his name is longer, but I call him V) was at school one day and decided to impersonate me. I was at a medical clinic, but I saw pictures when I came back to campus. He had found a staple, and made his own lip ring and appeared to be very proud of himself. A few of the other boys attempted, and Ashook even showed me how hard he had pushed his staple together that it left a bloody imprint in his lip, which was followed by the request to get him one with I went to the junction (the village  shopping  shacks) that did not draw blood. I laughed with the boys as they beamed with imagination how else they could produce a lip ring with the materials that they had.

Christraj was a boy in my family that was only 5 years old. He was either EXTREMELY hyper and running around the room the whole time, OR he was beyond tired and would cry and whimper because someone had touched his hand. He was such a sweet boy though and he would draw out the way that he said “Yes” in a manner that I would constantly ask him a question requiring a “yes” reply. One night he brought me a piece of paper, and he was in his almost whiny stage, but still had a little bit of energy. After handing off the paper, I began to punch out holes for eyes and found some string in the boys room to use to hold his ‘super hero’ mask on. Even though it was almost bed time, he found the energy to zoom across the room and make all the other boys jealous of not owning their own super hero masks.

Deeven was so much fun! Always the life of the party, while still wanting to have serious conversations. He turned 13 while I was in India, and he is so caring and wanted to make sure everyone was always taken care of, talked to, as well as entertained by his presence. Leigh Anne had brought nail polish at my request so that I could paint my own toe nails, as well as paint the girls. Little did I know, the boys had as much obsession with nail polish as the girls. So many fun stories to tell about this experience! My sister had brought nail polish remover in a tub that had a sponge in it, so you would place your finger in the tub and rub your nail against the sponge and the nail polish would come off. The kids had never seen this kind of remover before, and they all thought it was a magic trick! To see their eyes light up was so fun! And every time they would have this eager expression of amazement and ask for more nail polish so they could do the magic trick.

So back to Deeven, this fun loving boy kept insisting to have his nails painted, so he could do the magic trick for his friends. We were sitting outside late one night, and it was a night that he had all attention on him and he could not stop laughing. He asked for the remover, which he could not remember the name and started calling it the “Doinke Doink.” Of course, I gave it to him. I told him I wanted to record his “magic trick” so he got very excited (I’ll try and post if I can figure out how to post a video). But the poor kid did not realize that the remover was liquid and he thought it was only a sponge with a little bit of moisture on it. At the end of his magic trick, he thought he would show that the bottle was empty- where he proceeded to pour all of the remover on himself! I did not capture all of it because I had pushed the button on the camera as soon as he started to pour it to stop him- but it was too late! :-D He then proceeded to tell us that he had done it on purpose. He wanted me to bring him more, because according to Deevan, It was the “new Indian Stink, very popular, you bring from America, I sell, and rich man. Everyone will  Love!” We were laughing so hard we were crying!

These two boys, Maudavin and Golkaraj, are really great friends! One day, Golkaraj was rough housing with another boy and somehow in all the pushing and shoving, Goklaraj was pushed down and he managed to land right on top of Maudavin's head with his tooth! Golkaraj chipped his front tooth, and Maudavin was immediately doctored up gauze and medicine for the huge gash on top of his forehead. They took this picture a few days after the accident, but they are still best friends and Maudavin's head has now healed up and there isn't even a scar! Maudavin as pretty excited to sport the band aids on his forehead for a week though! The simplicity of making someones day better by providing a hug and a band-aid!

Sponsorship

So before I came to India, I was still a little hesitant (as many people are) on places and companies that speak of sponsoring a child and how impacting in a child’s life it can be. Jeff and I had gone to church in May in Denton and Compassion was represented one night and had pictures of many children needing sponsors, and they explained what they could do with the money. I talked to the representative, with the idea of wanting to sponsor a child, but still being a little hesitant. If I was to supply money for an organization, I wanted to know if the child truly would know that I was supporting them, or if it was pooled and divided where needed. After talking with the woman for a while, Jeff and I left with the mindset that we would consider the idea of sponsorship and decide when we returned to the states how to approach the idea and as well as finding a means to fund the child.


This is where India unfolded its’ passionate embrace of how sponsoring a child reflects in a child’s life. At Rising Star, each child needs to have 3 sponsors to be considered fully funded. Which means, at $90 (Sponsors pay $30 a month), a child receives medical attention, schooling, meals, housing, school supplies, and many other necessities that play into the lives of these children. The children are so adorable also! I had never imagined the impact that a sponsor would play in the life of a child until my experience at Rising Star. On campus, you ask any child who their sponsors are, and they will quote back their names, how many children they have, describe pictures that they sponsor family has sent them, and any other information that the child has been shared with.

One day, I was walking from the volunteers hostel to the boys/girls hostel when I ran into Gogulraj. He was holding a picture in his hand and parading it around. He held it proudly above his head and said “Auntee Katie! I have a photo of sponsor! LOOK!!” He then began to go through the pictures, and showed me a picture that had been taken of him and Shawn Bradley, a picture with him and his sponsor, pictures of the sponsors family, and a letter that accompanied the photo’s. He beamed so brightly and the boys he was with started to try and feel included by describing their sponsors and/or telling stories that they had with their sponsors.

It truly does impact these children’s lives. It truly is something that they are aware of and desire a relationship with those that are funding their lives and education. It is such a sweet sight to see when a sponsor tells their child that they are contributing to that one child’s education.

In talking with Jeff sporadically throughout the summer, I expressed my ideas more about sponsoring a child. Between him and I, I was the one more hesitant in the beginning to go through with the idea of sponsoring a child. So Jeff was extremely supportive and said to just keep him informed of my decision on which child.

Being with so many kids at once, you quickly learn that the children have learned how to interact with the volunteers, and that those that are outgoing are more inclined to connect with the volunteers. It is a hard place to be, because of the language barrier, those that are more outgoing are often that way because they understand more English. Michael X. is a boy in my family, and from the first day that I was at Rising Star, I was intrigued with him. He is not normally involved with volunteers, he is fine keeping to himself and playing games with only his peers. I would often call him out on the playground when I first got to Rising Star, and his reply would always be a smile and then quickly running off to a different area of the playground. He is in 1st standard, and he would draw me pictures of peacocks, and mountains, and towards the end of my stay in India, he and I had a better understanding of one another. He spoke a lot more English that he would let on, and I loved watching his brain work as he would try and find words in English to describe what he was thinking in Tamil.

Carly, Derek, and I would sing the boys songs at night, and it worked really well to get them to stop running around and ready for bed. But towards the end of my stay in India, Michael would pace the floor, waiting for me to sit down and give him the opportunity to lay his head in my lap. He would be the director for which songs he wanted me to sing, and how many times he wanted me to sing them. One night he was telling me to sing “Mountain song 3 times,” as he held his hands up in the dark with 3 fingers reflecting in the moonlight, “and then Mango song, then sleep...ok Auntee...3 times?” The mountain song is “Over the mountain and the Seas,” which the boys had never heard before and always requested it after the first night that I sang it.

When I told Michael that I was going to be his sponsor, all he could do was protrude a huge smile, and then continue to find trinkets and items he wanted to give me as gifts. I kept trying to give them back, but he made me dice out of mud, drew about 3 more pictures, found a marble, and gave me 2 pictures of himself! These children rarely have photos, and this is something that they are not given very often, so what they hold as prized possessions are their pictures, earned toys, and trinkets that they find on the playground.

Talk with me if you are interested in sponsorship, or go to the rising star website. If you find someone you want to sponsor, and you want to know more about them than what the website shows- then just ask. www.risingstaroutreach.com

Mahendi is an erasable art that penetrates deep without words

Henna is something very common in India. It is such a fun experience to sit with someone, draw designs on their hands or feet and talk about life and the adventures that India has bestowed upon us. Henna is called Mahendi in India and it acts as such an adornment to woman that it brings beauty to them and expresses a type of fashion that is admired by all ages.


I have had the opportunity to either receive or provide the henna experience 3 times in India. Once with Carly who did an AMAZING job at drawing designs on my hand and arm. We spent about 3 hours one evening searching for designs, doctoring the mahendi that had already been placed and talking about life, our direction, and reflecting on our shared family nights in Ghandi Mati’s room.

A different time, Leigh Anne and I spent an entire afternoon in separate house mothers rooms, having our feet, hands, and forearms adorned with this magical paste. One of the house mothers is very direct and bold with her speech. My house mother had started a design while another one was consulted and quickly smacked her lips with a disapproving look (this is how Indian’s show that they do not support what is happening and now feel the obligation to see it changed). Kala quickly grabbed some water and instructed me to wash my hands off. She grabbed another house mother and together they looked through a design book and began to construct the most beautiful reflections of Indian designs. The kids, as well as Jason, kept me informed of how Leigh Anne was doing with her henna on the opposite side of the hostel and when we met back up, we both had to do some fun/awkward poses to show off the Indian’s art work.

The last was at a colony called Moote, where I had the privilege to draw impromptu designs on the 3 different woman that lived at Moote. Moote is a very unique colony. It was organized because those who had leprosy in certain parts of Chennai were exiled to nearly an hour into the rural areas of India. The colony was established in 1972 and there have not been any new additions to the colony but now the colony is made up of only 7 members. They are the most lively and healthy members though. Every time we visit Moote, the people make our days memorable. I will write more about the magic at Moote in a different entry. I had so much fun being there though and seeing the excitement of the ladies show off their hands. Saranraj does not have fingers, and she uses her palms to get around the colony, so I drew designs on her forearm instead. One of the women that had persistently kept asking for Henna to be done on her hands kept hitting her hand against her saree, other people, or merely forgetting to let the paste dry. Therefore many "Mahendi emergencies" occurred at Moote, but we managed to have it all work out and the women were so very excited to see the designs on their hands. When I had first pulled out the Mahendi tube and started a design on Saranraj’s forearm, another woman walked over to me and pointed with a huge smile and held her hands, offering a blank canvas for Indian designs of Mahendi. All I could do was smile and see the joy and excitement of the anticipation reflect on this woman’s face. 

Directions for Henna:
- apply paste to area in small areas so that it makes full  contact

- after allowing the design to dry for about 5-10 minutes, apply heavily sugared water
-let sit for 1-2 hours

-take off with coconut oil (NOT water)