I heard the giggles of the three ten-year-old little girls before I even got to their room in the girls’ dorm at the new Rising Star Outreach campus in Bihar.
Some of you may remember the story of Lakshmi, the little girl who was diagnosed with leprosy, then subsequently abandoned by her mother on the streets of Bihar, in an effort to keep the rest of the family from being labeled as “Untouchables”.
A social worker had found Lakshmi on the streets, terrified and starving. She brought her into the hospital where she could be treated for leprosy. Finally, after some time Lakshmi was declared by the doctors to be leprosy-free. We contacted her mother with the good news, but her mother refused to let Lakshmi return to her family. Little Lakshmi was heart-broken.
After my article about her, several of our Meridian readers offered to sponsor Lakshmi, so we were able to bring her into our school. At first, she was withdrawn and afraid of the other children. She was so traumatized by her time on the streets. Believe it or not, the other children were also afraid of her. Why? Because little Lakshmi had some deformities on one of her feet, from the leprosy. The other children were afraid to catch leprosy from her. They all have an irrational fear the disease because of its impact on their families.
But this week I got to meet Lakshmi and see her in her new surroundings. She has blossomed! She was talkative and enthusiastic. She has two new friends and is excited to be learning. Here is with her new housemother.
We wanted to immediately start filling the empty spots on the campus, but needed sponsors so that we could sustain their education. (It costs us about $1,200 a year for each new child). Once again, Meridian graciously stepped up to the challenge. They ran another campaign for us and once again, you responded! We got nearly 200 new sponsors—enough to bring in 67 new children. Wow! Now our grades K-3 are all filled to capacity.
It’s always such a treat to be able to tell a family who has a child on our waiting list that they will be admitted to our school. There are squeals of delight and tears of joy. It’s a very moving moment for all involved.
Lakshmi is not the only child who has had leprosy who we were able to admit. Last week we visited the leprosy hospital at Little Flower because they called to tell us they had another child who had leprosy. Santhosh is 12-years-old. He and his two brothers all contracted leprosy, one by one. Santhosh also has some deformities on his feet from the disease. But he had been treated at the hospital and he was now leprosy free.
The three brothers’ father is severely mentally challenged. I guess the mother was overwhelmed by all these challenges and she threw the three leprosy-affected children into the streets, telling them they no longer had a family. She kept their three sisters, but the boys were told never to try to come back.
One of Santhosh’s older brothers is now working as a helper at the leprosy hospital. He is not deaf, but he cannot speak. The other brother is at Mother Teresa’s institute in Calcutta. His leg has been amputated because of the leprosy.
Santhosh is still in the hospital. He has been begging the doctors to send him to our school. So, we went to meet him. He told us he will do anything to be admitted to our school. He said, “I want to be part of the world instead of sitting in the hospital. I will have some hope in my life!” It melted my heart! He told us he has only been to pre-school, but they shooed him away because of his leprosy. He announced with authority that he will definitely catch up. With his determination, I believe him!
Once again, because of the Meridian campaign, we were able to tell Santhosh that we had a space for him. He began to jump up and down ecstatically. When Prakash asked him how happy he was, he flashed the biggest smile in the world, spread his arms over his head as wide as they could go and shouted, “Uncle, I am this happy!” His joy was contagious, and my heart swelled with gratitude that we could offer him this chance.
One day while I was at the new school, the children put on a beautiful hour-long dance program. They were darling! Afterwards, Suku (our leader in Bihar) announced that there would be a 5-day government holiday, and the children would be able to return home to be with their families for the five days. They were so excited. They all miss their families.
But Suku noticed that three sisters were off to the side. They did not appear to be happy. He went over to them and was surprised to see that they were all crying. As he talked to them, he realized that they were orphans. Their parents had both had leprosy and had died. They have an older brother who is severely mentally challenged, This brother lives in their old home in the Sitamarhi Colony. The leader in that colony is very kind and has arranged for the brother to be provided food every day. He also personally takes care of him. The colony leader asked us to give the three sisters education and provide housing for them. The first sister came in 2017. Today she is 16 years old. The second one came in 2018. The third one came 2019.
The sisters told Suku they dreaded going home because when they go home, they have to go ragpicking in order to get enough money to eat. They need to make 200 rupees/day ($2.35) off the trash piles in order to have enough money to eat and to buy soap. Some days they are able to make that much money. Other days, they cannot. On those days they do not eat and cannot even wash their hands after returning from the filthy trash piles. They cannot get the stench of the trash off themselves.
The biggest problem is that they are three young, pretty, girls. When they go to the trash piles to ragpick, without parents to protect then, they are an easy target for predators, and they have been molested by the men who are there. Their vulnerability is terrifying, So they didn’t want to leave our campus.
Honestly, sometimes when I hear the children’s stories, I wonder how God is able to stand to have His beautiful children so maltreated. It must break His heart. It certainly breaks my heart!
Suku told them they could stay on the campus, and he would assign a housemother to help them while everyone was gone to holiday. But they tearfully said that they needed to go home anyway. They have been very worried because their mentally challenged brother has become very sick. They need to ragpick to get money for his medicine.
The other students at Rising Star don’t know about their predicament because the three sisters are very ashamed and embarrassed about their situation. So, they never speak about it. They don’t have any warm clothes other than their uniforms, so the other children lend them clothes.
Suku gave them some money for their brother’s medication, as well as money to provide for their daily food and soap. He strictly instructed them they were not to go ragpicking during this school break. He has arranged for them to stay on the campus during future holidays.
They are all three good students. Suku will take them shopping and help them to have some clothes. He will have them help with lunch clean-up to “earn” their clothes, so they can wear them with pride.
What a joy it has been to be here and meet the new students, hear their stories, and rejoice that there is now a place for them. My heart is also filled with gratitude to our donors and to the readers of Meridian Magazine. Together, we have created a place where children without hope can now dream!
If Valentine’s Day is truly all about love, then Meridian readers have given us enough love to provide a future for some of God’s most disadvantaged children. Happy Valentine’s Day!
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