On this trip, we never know what the family has in store for us. We just move when we’re told to move and eat when we’re told to eat.
After we visited the cemetery I assumed we would head home but we started heading out of the city. I asked Sampath what’s going on and he said we’re going to his house. I said I didn’t recognise the road and he said his ‘other home’ – the new home that he was building.
So we drove on for thirty minutes or so until we reached a small village and drove to the end of the road where the home that he and Kumari were building stood. The house was a duplex with Kumari’s sister, Uma, occupying the other side. We finished the tour and Sampath motioned for Xander and Joe to climb some stairs up to the rooftop. They did as they were told and then quickly ran down somewhat startled and came back with reports of screams. Cowards, I thought and I led the way up. I wasn’t at all prepared for what I would see.
As the top of my head started to appear above the stairway, I heard what sounded like a thousand unified screams. Children’s screams. As I emerged on the rooftop, I saw an assembly of children all sitting in neat rows and cheering my arrival. Surely they were mistaken as I’m not a rock star but at that moment I felt like one. I reached out to one of the boys in the front to shake his hand and then suddenly dozens of tiny little hands were extended toward me wanting to shake my hand. The screams continued as Mercy, Padma, Joe and Xander reached the top and reached a peak when Sampath appeared.
The story then began to develop. Sarah Jane, the mother of Kumari and Uma, had purchased land in this village of Chebrol and had willed it to her children. The two sisters decided to build their homes on that property. Uma’s husband, Davinandum, is an ordained pastor and the family is building a church on top of the house. The children are orphans and other disadvantaged children of the village who come to the home for meals and some instruction. On Sunday, Sampath comes to conduct Sunday School. The program also has another family connection as this is one of several projects run by cousin and pastor Ravi and his son Joshua. Like everything so far, I can only manage to get bits and pieces of the full story but I think I’ve got the gist of it.
The five of us were presented with garlands (our fourth garland presentation!) and given seats in front of the children.
This handsome boy somehow managed to sit still for a moment in a sea of squirming children.
Sampath led the group of children into a rousing song of ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’.
The family had organised a cake for the children and there was a bit of a ceremony to honour the two teachers involved with the project. After the ceremony the children were allowed to roam and collect their cake. Instead however, they grabbed their notepads and pens and approached us asking for an autograph.
Although our tour of India hasn’t even completed its first week, I am quite confident that the 20 minutes we spent with these beautiful children will be by far the highlight of our journey.