A rendezvous with hope

One fine Sunday evening Vikram and I headed for Abraham's Orphanage to give away some of our clothes. We met the owner's wife, a Manipuri lady called Mercy. Well, a very kind lady indeed with a befitting name!
She told us that her husband Abraham, who had gone out for some work, and herself have been supporting the kids (15 in total) for the past two years. The kids belong to different age categories and are studying in different classes ranging from 4th standard to 10th standard!
When we went inside we were greeted with 'good evening brother and good evening sister' wishes and smiles from the wonderful bunch of angels. On Mercy's request, all the kids introduced themselves one by one and sang a beautiful song with one of the kids strumming the guitar.
Later on, after interacting with the kids we got to know their hobbies, their familiarity with Bangalore and their ambition in life. We couldn't stop smiling in amusement when two of the 4th standard kids said they wanted to be Ms. World!! There were also aspiring software engineers, football players, air hostesses, astronauts et all.
We had a lovely time sipping cold drinks and eating chocolates with the kids after praying and thanking God for the goodies made available to us . And I must confess that it was the first time I ever expressed my gratitude to the almighty in a song before eating.
Abraham and Mercy are both from Manipur and not surprisingly all the kids are also from the North Eastern part of India. I have always found something very different and special about the people from the North Eastern part of India. One will find them every where in India and there is this distinct something in each one of them that makes them stand out in a crowd. That distinct somethin is not just external but somewhere deep down in them that gives them the strength to fight all odds with an attitude that most of us would want to adopt and a smile that most of us lose when faced with circumstances. The visit to this orphanage was a true manifestation of their inner strength and positive energy.
I found the same zest for life and the positive energy in this bunch of 15 kids who have stars in their eyes and are limited only by resources but definitely not by their imagination. Their current lifestyle is modest but guided by a very high level of discipline. Simple living and high living in the real sense of the word.
Abraham and mercy have managed to give hope and courage to these kids to dream for a better life. They are giving them education and making them capable of fending for themselves . And how do they manage funds? Well they are open to contributions from the Church and volunteers. Contributions could be in any form. Volunteers have come forward with clothes, food, money etc to help these kids. the kids have had volunteers coming on weekends to take them out around like Lalbagh, Bannergata National Park etc.
Abraham and Mercy's orphanage is very close to Adugodi signal near Vijaya Bank. They are open to receiving contributions from volunteers for the children. For those of you interested in offering help - there is a Face Book page dedicated to this place of hope called 'Abraham's Orphanage'. Click on the link below to access their website!
Website : http://www.abrahamsorphanage.com/