Day Out

Something has just happened that has brought tears to my eyes. As I sit here typing a little boy from Daya Dan orphanage has just walked in. I am sitting in Raj's internet cafe which is (depending on the time of the day) a small little sanctuary tucked behind Sudder Street. I am surrounded by Spanish volunteers, life and laughter. The little boy walks around, investigating. Raj presents him with one of his delicious chocolate muffins and a cup of hot milk, but the little boy just wants to explore. Raj's puppy of a watch dog jumps out making the little boy jump behind the counter. The little boy was badly bit by a street dog when he used to live at the train station. Now the little boy lives in Daya Dan, which is another of the Missionaries of Charities orphanages for physically and mentally challenged children. But to say that the little boy lives in Daya Dan is slightly misleading.

The little boy has a 'special' room with padded walls, and the Sisters enter with a large prodding stick which they use to manoeuvre him around. The little boy is eight years old. He is severely autistic and finds it difficult to control his emotions, so he spends a great deal of his day banging his head on the floor or walls. Then a couple of months ago a Spanish volunteer who also happens to be a special needs teacher, was assigned to work with the boy. For some reason, unlike Sishu Bahavan, the Sister in charge of Daya Dan has the foresight to realise that some children can benefit from having one to one tuition with the same volunteer.

The Spanish volunteer worked hard at helping the little boy control his anger, teaching him to count to five whenever he felt like hitting himself or someone else. Then it was time for the volunteer to return to Spain, but before she did she did something which I wish I had the courage to emulate. She took the little boy out of Daya Dan for the entire day. Volunteers are not allowed to take the children out for the day, or even for an hour. Even if we have been working with them for months, and even if the children never leave the building they grow up in for months at a time. On occasion they might be ferried to the Mother House to attend mass, or perhaps a local NGO might arrange an outing for the children, or if it is the festive season, the children of Daya Dan will tour the Missionaries of Charities other homes performing their nativity play. Often I have day dreamed about taking Deepa to the water park, or to a musical performance, but considering the challenges I sometimes have just taking her to the park inside of the Sishu Bhavan my ideas remain just that - day dreams.

But today, the Spanish volunteer stood up for the little boy, and left the Sister a note and assumed total ignorance, as if she did not know that the child was not a loud to leave his cell or even the prison of the orphanage. Instead she took the little boy to the circus where he saw an elephant, and tight rope walkers and ate pop corn. She allowed the little boy to be free, and to take responsibility for his actions and at the end of the day, she brought him to Raj's for cake and milk, and to show everyone what an incredibly good boy the “very bad and very dangerous boy” could be - when allowed.

The courageous volunteer filmed his behaviour with a video camera and soon when she returns the little boy back to Daya Dan she will show the Sister in charge how 'normal' the little boy can be.