It was probably one of the best starts to the day; a few hours spent with some great kids residing in the outskirts of the city. The first thought when I reached there was 'Not bad!' Not at all bad for what is supposed to be an NGO for 68 AIDS affected kids. To be frank, I never expected it to be such a well maintained place and with so many nice people to take care of these children. The kids dressed in bright yellow School uniforms and with a smile on their face were all so disciplined, it would put even the students from the bestest of the private schools to shame! (not exaggerating)
At this point when I go back and think about them, surprisingly I don't feel sorry for them. In fact, when I think of my visit to them, my mind takes me to a world where there are thousands or maybe lakhs of Sushmitas and Karans starving and maybe just waiting for death to come to them, or maybe something even worse, something I cannot even think of! In fact these 68 are the very few lucky ones who have the privilege and opportunity to live a normal life, study in normal schools, watch movies, have proper nutrition throughout the day and maybe, a chance to stand on their own feet someday!
Not that that they were living a luxurious life and the caretakers were having no troubles meeting the expenses but then they were definitely not deprived of the essentials. They loved to dance and sing, celebrated their birthdays by cutting cakes, had computers to work on, watch movies, had a small playground for themselves, soft toys and moreover they had plenty of empathetic visitors who really wanted to help these kids and make their lives better.
Surprisingly, some of these kids didn't even know the deadly disease they have received in legacy, and those who knew, probably didn't know how fatal it was, or maybe they had just learnt to deal with it.
Usually such visits are bound to take you to a state of despair and sadness, but for me it was more pleasing and reassuring and more about restoration of faith in humanity.
P.S.: For those who want to help these kids, please visit this. Desire Society.
Signing Off,
Nirvaan
