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A World ApartJudy Snobelen — Ripley, ON We arrived at Talwada and found the children sitting very patiently in the shade. I helped a group of little girls get dressed in their new skirts and shirts. They were so excited, and one little girl smiled shyly. Vasi Barot is nine years old. Her big dark eyes sparkled as I pinned her skirt. This was a special day and she wore a pearl necklace, two ear rings in each ear, a nose ring, a bracelet, and a touch of lipstick on her lips. Her black hair had been done perfectly by her mother in two thick braids with red bows. This was a day of new experiences:
Vasi, so happy and full of life, was excited to go home and show her parents her new treasure. She waved out the back of the jeep as a tear rolled down my face and I wondered what the future will bring for her. At Dombivli, it was difficult for us to reach the site, and we had to jump over an open ditch being dug by human hands. While setting the kids up for their photo, we notice another group of children lining up. Most are eager but some are afraid and shy. After we have three children ready for their photo we notice the label: it is my granddaughter Annie’s Christmas bedkit and sitting behind it is a little Down’s Syndrome girl. I am full of emotion — joy and sorrow. After we take the picture I give her a hug. It was a special moment. Six-year-old Annie: blond hair, fair skin, blue eyes; this six-year-old little girl: black hair, dark skin, brown eyes. Physically they are a world apart but SCAW has connected them. |
Vasi has a younger brother and sister at home. She is the daughter of a farm labourer who earns approximately $1 a day. She loves going to school and walks half an hour each way. She and her friend held hands and giggled as she answered my questions with the help of her teacher. I watched her have her photo taken and patiently wait for her bedkit. She dragged it across the yard towards the jeep that was to take her home. Bedkits were loaded on top of the jeep and sixteen kids piled in.