Episode 2 – MEDICAL TEAM TRIP – THE PORCH & THE GIRLS

Posted on Posted in Esthers House, Rescue & Care

Picking up where we left off.. The January 2017 Medical Team Trip : Danishpet

The mornings in South India are usually the coolest part of the day.. but cool is a relative term. Many mornings might be started at 80 degrees… with rising temps in the 100 plus range, but not this trip.  We enjoyed much cooler than normal temps and a bit of light rain which is very rare.

The crows are almost always out in force in the early mornings and would provide a great alarm clock if it were not for the Indian music blaring out of loud speakers at five am. The “music” can be heard everywhere on the Bethel campus.

The next sound you hear would be the Esther’s House girls in the court yard. These girls live full time at Esther’s House. They are orphaned. The reasons for them being orphaned are wide and varied, but there is a common denominator: They are female. In the Indian culture, the girl child has always been at great risk. In some ways, these girls are lucky just to be alive. Female infanticide claims the lives of many infant girls.

These girls have become each other’s families. They are very close to each other; a sisterhood would be an understatement. They are normal girls with respect to the struggles they experience as do all siblings, but it’s clear that they love each other. There is joy in their midst and it’s contagious.

These mornings, before school, the girls gather on the hostel porch to meet the guests. It’s a rather raucous time with lots of jockeying for position and laughter. The girls make it easy to make friends with them.  A guest team member with a camera phone will be an instant hit! The girls love to show off and then run back to see the picture. Games are played, songs are sung and spontaneous dancing erupts into a frenzy of chaos color and squeals. See the video below.

For little more than a year, The Rhema Project has been supporting these girls after they had lost the support from another foreign organization.  All the girls have had a sponsor, in America, through The Rhema Project. Some will need a new sponsor for the upcoming year.  The support has come in all sizes and shapes. Many give a one-time gift to cover a single girls expenses for the year. Others give enough to support several girls and others give a one-time gift that we pool together for additional support.

 

The support includes food, clothing, housing, health care, education and whatever comes up. There are birthday and Christmas gifts included.

You may express your interest in sponsoring an Esther’s House girl by emailing: esthershouse@www.therhemaproject.org. Include in the email all of your pertinent information and “Esthers House support” and you will be contacted.

For more information about Esther’s House and other Rhema Project rescue initiatives clic here: http://www.therhemaproject.org/rescue-care/

 

 

Episode 2 Video

The Medical Team is here in great part to work with the young women in the Community College Nursing Program but they were overwhelmed by the love and affection poured out on them from The Esther’s House Girls!  It’s impossible to be in their presence and not be changed! It seems nearly unfathomable to our western shaped minds that these girls with so little could be so happy and so loving, but to be fair, you can feel the very real desire that they have for family.

Next time, we introduce the Medical team to the Nursing students. Oh my… It’s very hard to find words that adequately express the instant connection. Nine thousand miles of dramatic cultural differences melted instantly.

 

More about that… next time…

 

 

 

Please share this post with your friends and family who have a heart for women of India.

Peace,

Gene Ort, Volunteer for The Rhema Project

Direct your questions to Dan Blacketor, Director: dan@www.therhemaproject.org

THE RHEMA PROJECT