BRO. KIMPTON'S FOSTER CHILDREN
Foster children are very special and dear to Bro. JK and RTU’s staff. They came from very difficult backgrounds and I often wondered how these children could still be so cheerful and determined after going through so much so early in their lives. Most of them were girls, some of them having been rescued from being killed by their own parents as they did not want daughters. Some were dumped because they were illegitimate. Some were orphaned because one or both their parents were dead, some in violent situations that they were unfortunately witness to. Some were severely disabled. But one thing that each one of them found in great abundance was love and care. They all were welcome. No child in need was turned away. The children too had an amazing way of welcoming a new child in their midst and making them comfortable in their new environs. I got to know some of these children very well and was always struck by how they managed to overcome their adversities. I wish to write about some of them. (Names of these children have been changed).
One of the first children I got to know and made friends with was Belinda, who was then less than 10. Ajit used to support her education and was particularly attached to her. A bright smile, a warm greeting and the spirit to overcome her physical disability was what one remembers of her very vividly. She was one of the 120 foster children being cared for by RTU. Then there were the two sisters – Priya and Preeti, both very bright, pretty and naughty, very unlike the other girls on the campus. One could hardly imagine that their father would have ever even thought of abandoning his wife and two vivacious daughters to get married to another woman. The more unfortunate case was that of Jaya. Her father had her mother soon after she was born, in spite of promising her repeatedly to marry her. Being an illegitimate child meant overcoming several adversities. Her mother, meanwhile, had fallen in love with a decently employed youth, who agreed to marry her if she got ‘rid’ of her child. Wanting her daughter to grow in a safe environment, Jaya was brought to Kallupatti. She rarely saw her mother. You could see it in her eyes – the longing for her ‘own’ mother, though of course, she was well taken care of in her adopted home. She bloomed there, good in studies and excelling in dancing. Her handwork was exquisite, her cooking fantastic.
Nandini did not know where she came from. She was cared for Valliammal for many years, till her foster mother grew too old to care for her. She then moved with a family who adopted her. She excelled academically. She was an excellent, expressive dancer. Her lisp was endearing and so was her smile. It’s difficult to imagine now, but she is a doctor now, having recently completed her MBBS. She is very clear that she would like to give back to society something of what she got from it – caring. She plans to work with a local NGO and provide health care to the poor.
The boys, as I said, were fewer, but were quite a visible, voluble lot. There was Peter and Thomas, two brothers, aged 10 and 7 when I first met them. Both were dark skinned, had bright eyes shining with mischief, and always wore a dazzling smile, blinding enough to hide the pain they had undergone of seeing their mother being killed by their father in a fit of rage. Their father was serving a prison sentence. And there was Vishwa, quiet and mature, unlike most boys of his age. He had been abandoned by his parents for unknown reasons. Short and round faced, he was extremely bright, fared well academically, was his teachers’ favourite and wanted to grow up to be a doctor. His academic achievements set benchmarks for the other children and he was generally popular, except with his foster-brothers whose rather poor academic performance was often compared with Vishwa’s.
Foster children are very special and dear to Bro. JK and RTU’s staff. They came from very difficult backgrounds and I often wondered how these children could still be so cheerful and determined after going through so much so early in their lives. Most of them were girls, some of them having been rescued from being killed by their own parents as they did not want daughters. Some were dumped because they were illegitimate. Some were orphaned because one or both their parents were dead, some in violent situations that they were unfortunately witness to. Some were severely disabled. But one thing that each one of them found in great abundance was love and care. They all were welcome. No child in need was turned away. The children too had an amazing way of welcoming a new child in their midst and making them comfortable in their new environs. I got to know some of these children very well and was always struck by how they managed to overcome their adversities. I wish to write about some of them. (Names of these children have been changed).
One of the first children I got to know and made friends with was Belinda, who was then less than 10. Ajit used to support her education and was particularly attached to her. A bright smile, a warm greeting and the spirit to overcome her physical disability was what one remembers of her very vividly. She was one of the 120 foster children being cared for by RTU. Then there were the two sisters – Priya and Preeti, both very bright, pretty and naughty, very unlike the other girls on the campus. One could hardly imagine that their father would have ever even thought of abandoning his wife and two vivacious daughters to get married to another woman. The more unfortunate case was that of Jaya. Her father had her mother soon after she was born, in spite of promising her repeatedly to marry her. Being an illegitimate child meant overcoming several adversities. Her mother, meanwhile, had fallen in love with a decently employed youth, who agreed to marry her if she got ‘rid’ of her child. Wanting her daughter to grow in a safe environment, Jaya was brought to Kallupatti. She rarely saw her mother. You could see it in her eyes – the longing for her ‘own’ mother, though of course, she was well taken care of in her adopted home. She bloomed there, good in studies and excelling in dancing. Her handwork was exquisite, her cooking fantastic.
Nandini did not know where she came from. She was cared for Valliammal for many years, till her foster mother grew too old to care for her. She then moved with a family who adopted her. She excelled academically. She was an excellent, expressive dancer. Her lisp was endearing and so was her smile. It’s difficult to imagine now, but she is a doctor now, having recently completed her MBBS. She is very clear that she would like to give back to society something of what she got from it – caring. She plans to work with a local NGO and provide health care to the poor.
The boys, as I said, were fewer, but were quite a visible, voluble lot. There was Peter and Thomas, two brothers, aged 10 and 7 when I first met them. Both were dark skinned, had bright eyes shining with mischief, and always wore a dazzling smile, blinding enough to hide the pain they had undergone of seeing their mother being killed by their father in a fit of rage. Their father was serving a prison sentence. And there was Vishwa, quiet and mature, unlike most boys of his age. He had been abandoned by his parents for unknown reasons. Short and round faced, he was extremely bright, fared well academically, was his teachers’ favourite and wanted to grow up to be a doctor. His academic achievements set benchmarks for the other children and he was generally popular, except with his foster-brothers whose rather poor academic performance was often compared with Vishwa’s.
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