Puhja & The Monkey Children

Me & Dibikah, This girl was one wild child!

Yesterday we visited an organization called International SOS. This organization takes children who are living in orphanages and gives them a home. They take in destitute women from the community to serve as a mother to about 10 children and they all live together in one house as a family. These families operate like any other family but do not have a father figure. Boys are allowed to be within the family. but must leave when they are 18. The woman can stay until they are 23 but than must be married off. (More on that topic later) This organization had no religious affiliation, but most families had offerings to Ganesha in their homes and all seemed to have strong Hindu roots. After learning about the organization and getting a tour, we had a chance to play with the kids. Let me tell you, these kids were a riot! They all wanted to race us, play games, and asked every question imaginable. As soon as they saw anyone with a camera they would go wild with delight asking us if they go take our pictures.

Puhjah (right) & one of her sisters posing for a picture with me

 I spent a lot of time with the girl pictured on the right named Puhja. Puhja is a remarkably intelligent 12 year old girl. Puhja spent the majority of the time teaching me things to say in Tamil and translated for me. On top of that, she gave me insight on what life is like for the children living here. She explained that she had been with SOS since 2008 and that life here is much better for her. She expressed how much she loved her sisters and you could truly see it in her face when she talked about them. Puhja demanded that I practiced my Tamil by going up to almost every child there and saying the following thing: "Vannakam, unkal peyar enna? Eppati palaiya ni?" That means, Hello, what is your name? How old are you? She also taught me "Nandri" or "Thank-you" along with "Cakatori" which means sister. I had a blast playing with her as well. When playing on the monkey bars, Puhja made a comment that really caught me off guard. She pointed to my arm and told me that she likes my skin very much. I looked at her in disbelief. After a couple of seconds of thinking about how I should respond, I told her that her skin is more beautiful than she will know and then jokingly asked her if we could trade. She cocked her head to the side and seemed confused at what I was saying. Finally, she cracked a smile. It was a blissful moment.

After playing for a bit the children invited us for a prayer. All the children, mothers, and volunteers gathered into a big meeting hall for the occasion. Everyone divided into their family groups and Puhja led me to sit right in the middle of 6 of her sisters. Suddenly, without any warning the crowd simultaneous fell silent. Then, almost effortlessly, the crowd let out a booming "oommm" followed by several others. The energy was so powerful in this place, it was electrifying and incredibly moving.

Soon after the prayer we had to say goodbye which I found myself protesting. I did not think that I wanted to do my field placement with kids.... but who knows? Isn't that what India is all about? Discovering a new side of yourself and being open to all possibilities. Who knows what the future holds!


Sending all my love always 
xoxo
- Becca