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India
Summer 2005
By: John-Paul D. Hezel, Class of 2008
In 2005, we delivered quilts to 75 children at Mercy and Grace
Orphanage in Andhra Pradesh, an area in southern India devastated by
the 2004 tsunami. Mercy and Grace Orphanage aims to give their
children education and trade skills with the goal that their
residents will be able to support themselves as they grow older.
For the first time, Patches of Love also deliever medical supplies
as part of our mission.
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Twelve-year-old Kishor ran barefoot across the
rock-and-dirt courtyard to open the gate. Fifteen-year-old Jentsi
shouted in Telegu to the other 40-plus children present to get in line.
Two little girls ran to grab welcome signs. And after more than 34 hours
of travel, medical students Julie Lee, Kate Rutherford, Pete Townsend,
and I, along with friend Don Perkins, stepped out of the Toyota Qualls
to a flurry of activity.
As part of Patches of Love, we had
made it to Mercy and Grace Orphanage in the state of Anhdra Pradesh,
India. Our mission was to deliver quilts and antibiotics and other
supplies to children who were in dire need of medicine and something to
call there own. What we really delivered was our friendship.
We spent two days at the orphanage playing with the kids, who ranged in
age from 5 to 16. Patiently, they taught us hand-slap games, hand
shakes, a jacks-like contest with rocks, and a capture-the-flag type
competition called "Cubbidy," in which the object is to capture an
opponent, not a flag. Politely, they sang and danced for us and grinned
and giggled as we got the whole group to clap in unison. We taught them
cheers such as "Charge" and "We are the champions," we lifted them
skyward, which, for them, was like their first theme park ride, and we
took their pictures again and again and again. They became our instant
little friends, and we became their instant big friends.
We were supposed to spend 10 days at the orphanage, but unfortunately,
sickness cut short our stay. I spent two days and Pete one day in a
rural hospital getting IVs for dehydration due to severe vomiting and
diarrhea. Julie, Kate, and Don each had smaller bouts of similar
illness. To lessen the threat of the kids getting sick, we traveled
early to Hyderabad, where we spent four days exploring the city.
Traveling to India was the proverbial "experience youÕll never get
again." We met many generous people, toured a mother-and-child hospital
in Hyderabad with groundbreaking methods such as Kangaroo Mother Care,
and witnessed heartbreaking illustrations of poverty. Yet, the images
that will last are those of Kishor and Jensti and Naveen and Subu and
Cecile and the rest of children at Mercy and Grace. Our little friends.
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