Give Me Light
Mom acts different at night.
She loses her softness and becomes harsh.
She doesn't stand up for very long.
She leaves me all alone.
Dad is someone I don't know.
He has never been there.
He has never given me the safety I want.
He left long ago.
Sister leaves during the day and comes back with money at night.
She gives all of it to mom.
She has to.
She has to beg on the streets of Delhi for us to survive.
At night I get scared.
My tummy hurts, asking for food with growls.
My body itches and aches.
My dirty hands cradle my head.
When morning comes the trains rumble by.
I've seen many children lose their legs.
I've seen dads jump on never to be seen again.
I've tasted the dust in my mouth several times.
Today there are little sores covering my small body.
They itch and than give me pain.
They get worse as dust and dirt rubs in.
They give me no relief.
Tomorrow will only bring worse pain.
Maybe my tummy will be fuller tomorrow.
Maybe mom will love me tomorrow.
Maybe I'll feel safe and be healthy again.
All tomorrow brings is darkness.
Darkness in the day.
Darkness in the night.
Darkness.
Two is my age.
Two I will remain.
Two year old boy, no name, no face.
One day I went to a slum with Victoria (second photo) to take photos of her work in Delhi for her blog. She stopped and prayed for one of the little boys in the pictures who was sick. According to her only 50% of children make it past the age of 5. With sickness and alcoholism running rampant in the slums many parents are too drunk to look past the few coins in the hands of their children. Sending them away in the morning and buying alcohol with the money at night. When the sun goes down the darkness in the lives of these children becomes tangible, and the safety they so desperately long for flees. Babies are trampled to death in the late hours of the night, or are eaten by rodents. These children were meant for so much more!
The day after we prayed for the little boy, he passed away from his disease. The suffering in India is enough to make a person run away for good, leave the suffering behind and become comfortable again. Victoria showed me a different way. A way full of hope, a way full of Jesus. She started a school called Treasure House where she baths, feeds and teaches children of the slum everyday. They sing children's worship songs and the joy so evidently now apart of these children's lives is so awe - inspiring.
I will never forget those beautiful faces and the hope amidst the suffering.
