Our last full day of the course was spent with an amazing organization called Saalam Baalak Trust (SBT). SBT houses children from all walks of life. These Children come to SBT from all over India. Some flee their homes due to alcoholic parents, abusive parents, step-family, and forced young marriages. Other children may also be kicked out, left in the market to live on their own, or lose their family in heard full of people. They not only house them, but educate them, train them, and follow them up until they are 18 and until they get a job. SBT also connects lost children with their families. Some children however, refuse to go home, and SBT respects their decision, and allows the child to stay with them.
The tour of SBT started off with a young boy, who told us his story of how he had run away from home when he was 11 years old. His family life was abusive, disruptive of his sibling welfare (one is now blind), and his father was an alcoholic. Eventually he found the SBT and over the past 7 years he has been raised by the gracious people who work for the trust and now is a salary paid employee of SBT. He provides tours, and is a mentor to the younger children. He is and independent, educated young man, and has aspirations of attending college in the US.
After the tour we were able to play with the children we had met at the trust. These children were thrilled to see us. Their tiny classroom where they sat without chairs or tables was FULL of joy and laughter. They spent an hour singing and dancing for us, and eager to use our cameras.
The stories I have heard and the children that I have met today will forever be engraved in my memory. This visit has inspired me to return to India one day and be able to do my part and give back to my community. I have met many South Asian Americans who return to India to build Asharams and am eager to go back home to see how I can be of service to them in the future. I am also excited for the next chapter of this trip where I will be going to Valsad, Gujarat and working at a tribal adolescent girls school.
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