The Awakening

Today, life taught me a lesson on humanity. The real value of a human being's life was exposed to me. The little wonders of our gifts, the ability to move, to synchronize our lips, to navigate our eyes, to move our limbs, to express our affection, to feel loved, to ability to mobilize ourselves.

I place my foot past the gate with mixed feelings inside of me. The urge to do something meaningful for this unfortunate bunch was met with doubt of my ability to keep my soft emotions inside me. Would I be able to take it? I asked myself.

Pictures of such places have always played in my mind and each picture intensified my urge to do something for them. Finally, a chance. A golden opportunity to take my first step into a journey I longed for for quite some time. A journey that I knew not how to begin, the catalyst that was never to be found.

Pictures in my mind were not the true story. Images of the moment I placed my foot inside the house told me that things were not as what I've visualized. A few baby cots lined the edges of the wall. Each one with a small child in them, in some there were two children.

In the gloomy yet homely hallway, there sat a small boy on the floor. Wearing an orange T-shirt, he kept very much to himself. I placed my arm around him, trying to fill the bond that he lacked. It hit my hard in the heart to find out that he was blind and a little mentally unstable. He even broke his arm once. He was robbed of the chance to see the things we see.

I made my way up the wooden staircase. People moving around cleaning up was a common sight. On one of the beds, there sat a boy. I scrutinized him a little closer only to be saddened by the fact that he has been tied to the bed. He was suffering from some mental illness and was too hyperactive. I cannot even stand my dog being tied but then here I was looking at a young boy deprived of this mobility.

It was time for a performance from the kids. While we joined in the fun, I spotted this boy who was also dancing with us. He was about my brother's age. After a while, he went to sit at the back. I dropped out from the fun just to spend some time with him. Tears were filling up my eye lids as I sat with boy comparing his life and my brother's.

While my friends were distributing the snacks, I saw a guy who needed some help. There was someone beside him but I don't think he understood what the guy was saying. So, I approached him slowly. He gave me the packet and told me that he wanted to eat. I opened the packet and fed him one by one. After 3 snacks, he said he had had enough. I had to go because I was feeling too much for him. And so I walked elsewhere.

In the canteen, I saw my classmate playing with one of the small boys. When I went to the table, one of the boys asked me for help to open a packet of snacks. I opened and handed out the snacks one by one for him to eat. While I was doing that, another girl asked me to look at her alphabet book. I looked through and responded with a smile saying that it was nice.

Then, as I was about to go into the house again, the little boy whom I compared to my brother approached me to say goodbye. I went on my knees and held his body close to mine. I told him slowly with a gentle smile that I wasn't going back as yet and I would surely see him before I go back. 

It was time for me to face the hard truth once more. I'm very affectionate towards small children. I went inside the house again to look at the small children who were lying on the cot. I found out that not all of them were small children. Some were as big as 12. It's just that they never grew.

I approached the kids, bed by bed, gently touching them to show that I meant no harm to them. They didn't respond much, just the occasional flick of the eye. They didn't know what to do when someone approached them. They didn't know who they were or what was happening to them. I didn't want to push too much. That is how sad their lives are.

As I was about to go back,  I put some money into the donation box. It was just a small help to make their lives better. As promised, I met the small boy once more. I brushed his hair and said goodbye while taking away the temporary bond he formed with an elder brother.

I begged myself for the answer to this question "how could parents leave their children like this?" I asked the owner of the place about how these kids ended up here. Most of the time, parents or grandparents would leave the kids here and never come back to take the kids. How could human beings act in this way?

Has the social status of  being perfect human beings eaten into their parents who reject their very own children? Has the sin called greed convinced them to neglect their gift? Have human beings in general lost a sense of compassion for the needy and gifted? Or do the cruel consider that life has lost it's value when people are born different?

Tears still try to escape the corners of my eyes when I think about how could I live like this when there are so many lives out there who need support. They were confined to their fate since they were born. But, disability did not stop those wonderful human beings form enjoying life their own way.

The residents at the disabled home reflected the true value of togetherness. The chinese and malays there could  speak tamil and the indians could sing chinese songs. They helped each other whenever they could, despite the fact that they are labelled as 'disabled'. The image one of the residents wiping another young boy's face when it was smeared with cake told me that these people are solely viewed as a downcast of society due to some "perfect" people who live in the stench of their pride.

Maybe their disability is a gift from God indeed. They seem quite happy and satisfied with their lives. These people will never know about the countless selfish people out there who forget their social obligation to human beings but parade in wealth. Some say that they can't help others in need because they themselves are trying to make ends meet. However, sacrificing a little of that money and time used for self pleasure could go a long way in brightening up these innocent lives.

I admit that I was selfish before this. I had the intention to help needy people but never managed to take that small first step. Today was a day of awakening, a day that will mark the beginning of my journey to help those in need. Maybe our world could be a much better place if we give some thought for the countless people out there who need our help........

The blogger would like to thank his friends for organizing this trip to the home. He also wishes to extend his gratitude to those who helped out in cleaning the home. He gives his full respect for the 'good samaritan during the day, doctor at night' who has devoted his life to caring for these kids. A man who truly defines the word "doctor"