A report on 'Little India'

A luminated celebration

An early Deepavali celebration for the kids at the Juara Home came on the 2nd of November when the members of the Leo Club of Assunta Secondary School made a visit to their home. The 20 girls were certain that it would be great way to spend a day with the children.

As soon as the girls had entered the home, they were greeted by the caretakers of the home. After a couple of minutes, the caretakers brought the children out to meet the girls who were eagerly waiting for them. There were around 15 children in the home, most of them were ranging from the ages of about 4 to 12 years old. Some were really timid and some were just so full of life that they made the girls smile from ear to ear.

To get the day started, the girls first had to know the names of the children and to break the ice as some of the children were really quiet and refused to even open their mouths to let their names out. The girls had been to other orphanages before and knew exactly what to do when it came down to getting the children to blurt out their names. It was a simple game which involved all the children and the girls to stand around in a circle and introduce themselves. It was mad chaos when the game started as the kids were laughing and running about with the girls. The main objective of the game was not to get caught in the middle of the circle and to play you simple had to know everyone’s name. It was certainly a joyous way to kick things off.

Later on , the girls got the children into two groups , each group had around 7 orphans and about 4 members of the Leo Club of Assunta. Since Deepavali was fast approaching and this whole visit was mainly to indulge in the Indian culture, the girls made up their mind that it was a must to design a ‘rangoli’ with the children as it has also been said to be the bearer of good luck. Since time was a constraint in the situation, the girls had come ready with the designs and coloured rice. The children sat down in their groups as enthusiastic and pumped up as they could be ready to get things started.

By the end of activity , the day was already in full swing, with the kids speaking at the top of their voices requesting for more games. Next up the girls thought the children might get a little hungry during the games, so they brought along some food and since it was nearing Deepavali, the girls had brought along with them some Indian traditional cakes. They children were elated to see the numerous containers filled with the cakes. While the children were savouring the cakes, the girls got some time to teach them a little about what the art of henna. Some of the children even wanted the girls to draw out simple designs onto their hands.

As all good times have to come to an end, the girls soon had to leave the children as it was getting late. The visit ended on a high note with the children hugging the girls as they said their good byes’ and some even asking the girls to come back as soon as possible for another round of games.