Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that a 2 hour stint of volunteering at a local NGO would change my life permanently! It started out quite casually, when my son came home from school telling me about a project work where he would have to do 100 hours of community work and get it certified from an NGO. I googled to find the nearest NGO and stumbled upon a small NGO running an orphanage cum adoption agency.
The next day, after dropping my son at school, I headed to the orphanage. A little apprehensive and not knowing what to expect, I knocked at the door. A smart lady opened the door and welcomed me in. Before I could begin about my son’s project, she spoke about how badly they were in need of volunteers. Before I realized (and Project forgotten), I found myself asking “ would it be OK if come in for 2 hours, say from 10 to 12 in the morning”. Both my children would be at school then”. The lady beamed at me and took me in. The sight that welcomed me would always remain etched in my memory!! The moment we entered, 10 to 12 little angels, surrounded me, chanting “didi,didi”, while two tots hugged my knees”. The love in their eyes was so blatant, that it brought tears to my eyes.
“This is Chaitali”, we have assigned her to you, she is a year and half old, but has problem with her speech”, the lady said and brought a tiny wisp of a child. The child looked so fragile that I thought her bones would break if I carried her! I picked her carefully and pushed back the hair falling into her eyes. Such a sweet angelic face! I couldn’t imagine, which mother in her right mind would abandon such a child?
The lady interrupted my thoughts.”You know, she is a difficult child and has not bonded with anybody yet. Never lasted more than 10 minutes with any of them! You know , she starts crying and has to be taken away. Generally, the children bond very easily with the volunteers coming in, but Chaitali, she even refuses to make eye contact with them”.
“Oh! Don’t worry, I am sure she will be ok’”, I heard myself saying, already thinking of a hundred ways in my mind to bring a smile to the child’s face.
The lady left , saying playfully” Your time starts now”. Slowly I sat down, keeping Chaitali in my lap. For the first few seconds, I just hugged her, letting my body warmth seep into her. I caressed her hair, kissing the top and whispered endearments. Still no response! Slowly I picked up a few toys lying around and made a story of my own and enacted it, all the time holding her close to my heart. The other children, all between 2 to 6 years of age, gathered around me, clearly enjoying the show.
Half an hour later, which seemed like ages to me, Chaitali started picking up the toys and started playing. The lady peeped in and smiled at me.” She seems to like you”! Carry on!”
At the end of my 2 hour session, still chaitali in my lap, I began to gather the toys strewn around and started putting them in the basket. Taking a cue, chaitali too started picking up the toys and started putting them one by one in the basket.The last toy, a piece in the Barbie Ktichen set, had rolled off under her baby chair. She wriggled from my lap, bent under the chair and picked up the toys and for the first time in 2 hours, looked at me, gave me a shy smile and dropped them into the basket.
I couldn’t believe it! I wanted to shout with joy, “Look, she smiled, she looked at me”. I carried her to the lady and took my leave. She gave me a diary to note down my daily progress with Chaitali. “ “Say bye to didi”, Say see you tomorrow to didi”, the lady was prompting Chaitali. She shyly bid me “BYE”.
While walking home with the other volunteers, each narrating their heart wrenching experiences, when their”child” was identified for adoption, I wondered how I would react when Chaitali is eventually identified for adoption. The sight of children craving for tiny crumbs of affection, a warm touch and a gentle hug moved me so much that I knew I was going to be a “regular” here.
At home too, she seemed to be the pivot of my thoughts. I couldn’t stop talking about her to my husband and kids. “You know what chaitali did today”? So much so that my husband and kids would tease me saying they were jealous of “Chaitali”.
Now, it is three weeks, since the first day. The staff at the NGO say “Chaitali is a changed baby”. I see it myself. The moment, she spots me at the door, she comes running and hugs me, the way I hug her. She makes eye contact readily and has even started talking. She has got colour in her cheeks which have filled out now.
I looked back at the last three weeks. All I had given her was love in abundant doses with some hugs and kisses. If love can do so much, why are we so hesitant in sharing our love?? Yes, at the back of my mind, I dread the day, when the lady at the NGO may announce” Chaitali has been identified for adoption”. But I am sure, I will be happy for her, for she will find a new home and more people to love her!!!
Sujatha Natarajan
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