Posted by Orphaned by the world, a child’s eye searching for love in a harsh reality of Loneliness.
That is the story of Arbaas.
Help to Heal Foundation is one of the few of its kind has worked towards helping other foundations. The Foundation opened its doors with the main motive to focus on support groups and to think of a plan. Helping towards raising funds and also to enjoy and bringing smiles to the people in different foundations.
Orphan by World Ignored by Society
First an introduction about the foundation who made it all happen. Girija Welfare Association was started in 2004 by Mr Vasant Kunjar. This establishment was created with the sole purpose of ending the suffering of mankind. Girija has a lot of homes towards achieving their aim. All different Homes of Girija Foundation have not only given shelter but a family to call their own.
One of the homes called Girija Balgruha doesn’t only give shelter to orphan kids, but also to kids whose parents can’t afford their education and some basic vocational skills. They may also be from a broken family or a single parent family. Girija Balmandir is also one such home which focuses on having children for a transit period and then to be taken back to their own homes.
Along with it, they also have Girija Old Aged which is a non-profit organization and they welcome everyone with open arms. The Girija HIV/AIDS Foundation works towards spreading awareness and taking care of people especially kids suffering from these diseases. Girija Cancer Care Foundation conducts cancer awareness and cancer detection camps in collaboration with cancer hospitals and organizations.
Child Who Stole Our Hearts
Now let’s talk about the child who stole our hearts.
A 15-year-old innocent boy at a nearby ashram who was left forgotten. Not only by his own loved ones but also by the ashram just because he was a victim of some mental condition. Being abandoned or never having a family has a drastic effect on a human. His disturbed mental health may have been due to his forgotten past or present.
Then one of the members of Girija Foundation found him with emptiness in his eyes, longing for care. They found him on February 2018 loitering about, as he couldn’t communicate with another in the same manner as a thousand others did. The only way he reverted back to our volunteer and many others before us, was by a simple head’s nod of yes or no. His communication skills are so shattered that he is unable to communicate a simple request for using the washroom. Due to which he has to wear a diaper to make sure he doesn’t infect himself with hygiene and cleanliness issues. He was taken to the DY Patil Hospital, Nerul only to be disappointed as the society has shunned him thinking that he is mentally unstable. Deep down he knew he was different, different than the rest of the crowd of homeless and family-less children.
It was Abhishek who introduced us to Arbaas and shared his story with us. While Abhishek was telling about Arbaas, he was continuously looking at him. He diverted all his attention to Abhishek and even stopped eating to try to understand in his own way, why is Abhishek talking to a complete stranger. And explaining to her about him, she assures him it’s nothing to worry about.
Dusty tears of sadness and tears of joy can be seen in his eyes. His disability to connect might be due to indifference he got from the people in his life. The way he communicates is through his eyes and the touch of love.
The minute we entered in the room, we were drawn towards his innocence. She felt his pain through his eyes, loss of his people, loss of understanding at such a young age. She understood the emptiness in his eyes and a faraway look to make people think that he doesn’t need anyone.
We know now that a family’s love is more important than anything. But from the love shown by the Girija foundation, he might have started considering them his family. The care and understanding he got from the foundation are nothing short of a miracle and as he has understood the safety, home and family he got at Girija Foundation.
AUTHOR: Ishmeet Kaur