In the morning Diraj sent Ashok (one of the older children at LHCH) to pick us up. According to the plan, we would attend the church service by Pastor John at LHCH church in the morning before going to the home in the afternoon. We traveled in a tuktuk and the experience was awesome. The road and traffic is totally different from Singapore – there was practically chaos everywhere. There are no traffic lights, no lane markings, a lot of honking, road humps and potholes. It felt dangerous yet safe at the same time.
We stopped and walked to the church. Along the way we walked over a train track, piles of rubbish and some slums. This was exactly what I’ve seen in “Slumdog Millionaire”. It felt unreal. Looking at the situation, I was unaware of the living conditions of those people living there. However, Diraj said that these was not the worst and during the December trip, we will be paying a visit to the “real” slums.
When we entered the church we were greeted by the children. They looked really young, small and were very shy. Diraj explained that it was because of the lack of nutrition during the growing up years was the reason for their petite frame.
After the service, Diraj brought us to tour the site. Currently the land which the church occupied is being disputed by the landlord and the government. They have plans to expand the church to contain both the home and the church once the verdict is out and favorable (possibly by the end of the year). He showed us the room that we are going to stay in December (currently occupied by the older children). My first thought was the beds – they looked dirty and thin. Are there bed bugs? Will the participants mind? How fortunate am I to be sleeping in the nice hotel bed again tonight? Diraj said that they will clean up the room before we moved in and I told him to not make it too clean because it will be a good experience for the volunteers to take ownership of their own room.
Next we traveled to the home for lunch (this time in Pastor John’s car). Coincidentally, the land owner of the home, Joseph Freddy, was celebrating the baptism of his niece by holding a banquet at the field of the home. According to Pastor John, Joseph was an amazing guy and for the banquet, he gave food to the children as well. We had our lunch and Pastor John taught me to eat with my hand. All along I’ve seen Indians eating with their hand and thought that it seemed weird. Now that I’m trying it, I found it to be very difficult yet enjoyable. The trick was to mixed the rice with a lot of gravy, use the 4 fingers like a spoon and then the thumb to push the food into the mouth.
Compared to the private school next door, the home looked really poor. The home is one storey and consists of an indoor holding area, 1 female room, 2 male rooms and a kitchen. This year there are 155 children with 10 staff. Jacqueline and I had the opportunity to interact with the older children and we asked questions regarding their stay, feelings and future aspirations. I recalled one child telling me that they will only tell friends whom they trust that they are staying in the home. Another told us that the younger children would cry initially because they missed their parents but they would be fine after a while.
I was very impressed by the work of Pastor John and Diraj. I began to see the dreams and hopes they have for the children and the home. There is a system where the older children will take up leadership roles or double act as teachers in the home. Also, the older children are offered the chance to work as a full time staff in the future – ensuring the sustainability of the home. The children’s daily activities are very structured. They are given time to do their homework, wash their laundry and to pray. Most of the children are between 6-12 years old and I wondered what was I doing during that age.
We had a lighter dinner (using my hand of course) and went back to the hotel. The fully packed schedule left me totally exhausted. There was too much information to take in. I really appreciate the work that Pastor John and Diraj are doing. It’s no simple feat, trust me.
First time sitting in a tuktuk The railway track
The slum behind the LHCH Church LHCH Church
The children The children
Room where we are going to stay in December Eating with hand
LHCH compared to the private school behind The female’s room
Queuing up for dinner
