Vellarusu

A few nights after I'd arrived, we had word at the guest house that a new child had arrived. He had come through Child Line, an organization that acts as a staging place, holding children until they can be placed in homes or orphanages as needed. Anyone from the community can call Child Line and report a child in need. Many of our children come to us through this group.

The young boy that arrived was dirty, a bit banged up, and appeared rather shell shocked. He said his name was Vellarasu which means Powerful Government in Tamil. He is about 3 years old and quite small for his size - about 10 kg. He is beautiful - huge eyes and very solomn looking. They asked him if he was hungry and he said no and then Levor asked him if he would like a toy and he replied "yes". Levor gave him a stuffed chicken which caused the lad to shriek and burst into tears..... the chicken WAS a little scary looking.

The next day I went to the toddler room to check up on him and there he was singing and dancing with the rest of the kids in the preschool - he is adorable. In the afternoon, we received a call saying that his parents were coming for him. This was a bit disconcerning of course as he had obviously been living rough. Vellarasu told us that his mother was dead so we weren't sure just who was going to show up.

His father arrived, along with his aunt and his grandmother and wanted to take the boy and confirmed that the mother had passed away some months previous. Vellarasu told his dad that he wanted to stay and go to school. There was much discussion that followed amongst the family. They sat outside in discussions for several hours. We fed them and Vellarasu visited with them. In the end they decided to enroll the boy with us and left. We were all relieved as the marks on the boys face and back told a story of their own.

The day after that I went and took half of the toddlers outside to play. Vellarasu was the only one who understood the concept of "catch" with a large ball. When I offered to pick him up for a cuddle, he didn't hesitate and he laughed and laughed when I tickled his ribs. He is eating and sleeping well and has confirmed that he is very happy to be with us. Children adapt amazingly well... of course there is a lot to be said for having 3 meals a day, biscuits and milk in the afternoon, children to play with, and lessons to learn.