His eyes and his sweet smile stole my heart almost instantly. It has been a week since I've seen him and I miss him so much.
How can you not fall in love with this boy? He's one of the only calm kids I met at Rising Star. He would come up to me every single day at play time, take my hand and just sit with me. Sometimes we would play "Concentration 64" or "Dora, Dora, Dora" or he would take my hand and lead me to the slide and ask me to take pictures of him jumping off of it.
He was so considerate of other people too. He never got mad at the other boys that would sometimes push him out of the way. And I loved watching him interact with his sister Amirtham. They were so loving with each other. If she had food she would always come over and share with him. Here he is sharing his glasses with her and helping her put them on.
Are they not the most adorable kids ever? I wanted to take them home with me!!! :)
At Rising Star, in the volunteer house, they have books set aside for each child that volunteers can write it. The books usually have some pictures of the children and sometimes of their family. I told Aravind and Amirtham that I saw a picture of their family and they just kept asking me for it. They wanted to see it so badly. So I decided to take a picture of the picture on my camera and bring it to their hostel to show them. They were so happy to see the picture. I also found out that night from one of the house mothers that Aravind and Amirtham don't have a mother - she passed away. So they are raised by their father.
It is so easy to forget the lives that these children came from when you only see them at rising star where they are so loved and taken care of. Their parents and families have leprosy. They live in these small colonies with just the bare essentials (sometimes not even the essentials). Their families are viewed as cursed for their disease. Those colonies that we would visit - with the most humblest of homes. That is where these children are from.
Rising Star is giving these children a huge opportunity, by educating them and giving them a chance to build a better life for themselves. Just by learning English, their chances at finding a better job increase 500 times! That's incredible. Rather than be destined to a life of begging and just getting by in a colony - they are getting the education they need for more opportunities and much better chances of getting a good job in India.
It is so easy to fall in love with these children. I hold a special place in my heart for so many of the children I met at Rising Star. It was so difficult for me to say goodbye. If you know me, you know that I like to do my best to keep in touch with people I meet and connect with. I think that is what was so difficult about saying goodbye to Aravind and so many of the children. I knew that my chances of staying in touch were slim to none. And that just broke my heart.
There are many reasons that I want to go back...and being able to see this sweet boy again is definitely on that list!
He was my buddy for 2 weeks and I just love him and his sister. If only I could have stolen them away with me! Almost every volunteer ends up having a favorite child or 2 at Rising Star. Aravind was mine.
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