Bye,bye,bye Auntie from our Hee a aaa rrrtttssss!!

St. Bethany's School (she stays at Mother Teresa too)

Mother Teresa Home

Every person we met in Shillong seemed to be involved in some humanitarian project. The postmaster of 7 states in India’s northeast region ran campaigns through her office since the post service reached rural areas NGO could only dream of reaching and sold organic products made by groups of women. The schools we visited all had an equally charitable edge. We made trips to the St. Bethany’s School, KC Secondary School, Army School, and Mother Theresa Home and Orphanage. All very different schools with amazing and unique programs! Bethany’s School integrates both able and disabled students in their curriculum. Not only are they able to effectively teach the students in a supportive environment equipped with Braille printers and expensive programs, they teach the older disabled students vocational skills. As we toured the vocational classrooms, each room was different from the next. One room had a group sewing, another room, baking, another weaving, and then finally furniture weaving. The students could not only learn a trade to sustain themselves, but they could also enjoy and be proud of their wonderful work.

Mother Teresa Home-my personal favorite. The children and the sister here are lovely. We stood there listening as the kids sang to Winnie since she had purchased them all watches. They have beautiful voices. Apparently, children born in the northeast are born singing….

(sang to some Scottish tune)

“We thank you, thank you auntie. We thank you, thank you auntie. We thank you, thank you auntie from our heeeeeeeeaaaaaaaarrrrts. We thank you, thank you auntie. We thank you, thank you auntie. We thank you, thank you auntie from our hearts.”

Followed by…

“We love you, love you, auntie. We love you, love you auntie. We love you, love you auntie from our heeeeeeeeaaaaaaaarrrrts. “We love you, love you, auntie. We love you, love you auntie. We love you, love you auntie from our hearts.”
And, then….

“We bye, bye, bye, bye auntie. We bye, bye, bye, bye auntie. We bye, bye, bye, bye auntie from our heeeeeeeeaaaaaaaarrrrts. “We bye, bye, bye, bye auntie. We bye, bye, bye, bye auntie. We bye, bye, bye, bye auntie from our hearts.”

The orphanage was well kept by the sisters. Many of the babies were abandoned at hospitals or found at the side of the streets. They lay peacefully in the cribs sucking away at bottles that at by their sides. Winnie is fantastically at ease with the children...

NOTE: If any of the destitute children of India or the world are going to have a chance at a happy life, it would be these children. They are in such a supportive environment which value them as individuals. How wonderful it was for me, as I am sure it is for any person living in a privileged society, to come to these programs and leave feeling a sense of hope for the world, children, humanity, whatever, after a short visit. For me, the visit illustrated an important point; there are many, many, many unseen children that did not make it safely to the care of St. Bethany’s or the sisters, but could have similar hopeful opportunities. The programs paint a real, inspiring picture of what could happen for these invisible children. For the pessimist, the cynic, the embittered it gets the wheels turning…