The humane touch!
The humane & human touch! Have often wondered about this aspect applying to different situations. Both are such important components to make or break relationships. Be it parent /child, siblings, friends or lovers. Every one needs a generous dose of this magic potion to keep them going!
So when one comes across a few little souls that have been born n abandoned, trapped in obscurity awaiting deliverance, one struggles with such disparities. Why is God partial to a few n less to others?
The ground floor of the nursery of St Teresa Orphanage houses infants. Adorable babies who smile in their sleep as if in conversation with God. Move their mouths in sleep searching for an invisible breast to cling on to. Squirm in their cribs in search of a particular soft warm snuggle….tiny feet lifted up pressing against their little stomachs looking lost without their mommies.
As a baby cries…one wants to comfort it by holding it close to the heart. But the sister-in-charge says “don’t lift the babies please”! A human touch is very infectious. Even an infant learns to demand it & we are heavily short staffed. You shall go back after spending some time here. Do we have that many hands to lift each baby & cuddle it when it cries for attention? Pl maam…I request you to just rock her crib. She’s used to this & shall slowly stop crying & lull back to sleep.
As the kids find their feet & start standing in their cribs, they are transported to the first floor nursery that has steep steps. The kids who can walk are allowed to descend on their own every day around 3.30pm to play in the little garden below.
Looking at the kids descend in unsteady steps precariously getting down the stairs immediately brings out the maternal instinct as your heart is in your mouth. What if one kid topples…there will be a heap of them badly injured. But the nanny restrains…says they learn to be independent this way. Don’t pamper….they have to find their own footing. It feels harsh! Reality is thus!
It’s around 3.45pm. I’m helping a nun who doubles up as a nurse to sick kids. There’s this baby born with no opening at the lower end of the alimentary canal. She has to undergo a few operations for the doctor to design an anus to allow normal evacuation. But for now, she has this opening in the side of her abdomen through which a pipe sticks out. This aperture needs to be cleaned at regular intervals to keep it infection free.
Suddenly there is terrified screaming in the garden outside. A few kids running amuck screaming, displaying extreme anxiety. One little boy is screaming the loudest. There is this huge Doberman (belongs to the orphanage & probably let lose at that hour by mistake) that’s bounding playfully behind the kids who run helter-skelter petrified of the dog.
As I run out to shoo the dog away from the kids, the marathon screamer runs across the courtyard & desperately hugs me shrieking to be lifted. All words of solace fails him as he sobs uncontrollably into my bosom. The dormitory nun comes out by now & chides the kids for making a racket out of nothing. As the kids surround her like lost puppies…she’s overwhelmed for a moment. Says something kind & then back to barking orders to maintain decorum.
The freaky shrieky kid has adopted me by now & follows me around as if he’s found his mama. A feeling of guilt overwhelms as I leave for home with him staring fixatedly with a stoic expression. He looks confused! Why is he being left behind when a while ago he was hugged so warmly? His tiny mind doesn’t understand why the humane touch is hurriedly closing the doors of the orphanage behind her.
Copyright © BuntysBanter 2007
So when one comes across a few little souls that have been born n abandoned, trapped in obscurity awaiting deliverance, one struggles with such disparities. Why is God partial to a few n less to others?
The ground floor of the nursery of St Teresa Orphanage houses infants. Adorable babies who smile in their sleep as if in conversation with God. Move their mouths in sleep searching for an invisible breast to cling on to. Squirm in their cribs in search of a particular soft warm snuggle….tiny feet lifted up pressing against their little stomachs looking lost without their mommies.
As a baby cries…one wants to comfort it by holding it close to the heart. But the sister-in-charge says “don’t lift the babies please”! A human touch is very infectious. Even an infant learns to demand it & we are heavily short staffed. You shall go back after spending some time here. Do we have that many hands to lift each baby & cuddle it when it cries for attention? Pl maam…I request you to just rock her crib. She’s used to this & shall slowly stop crying & lull back to sleep.
As the kids find their feet & start standing in their cribs, they are transported to the first floor nursery that has steep steps. The kids who can walk are allowed to descend on their own every day around 3.30pm to play in the little garden below.
Looking at the kids descend in unsteady steps precariously getting down the stairs immediately brings out the maternal instinct as your heart is in your mouth. What if one kid topples…there will be a heap of them badly injured. But the nanny restrains…says they learn to be independent this way. Don’t pamper….they have to find their own footing. It feels harsh! Reality is thus!
It’s around 3.45pm. I’m helping a nun who doubles up as a nurse to sick kids. There’s this baby born with no opening at the lower end of the alimentary canal. She has to undergo a few operations for the doctor to design an anus to allow normal evacuation. But for now, she has this opening in the side of her abdomen through which a pipe sticks out. This aperture needs to be cleaned at regular intervals to keep it infection free.
Suddenly there is terrified screaming in the garden outside. A few kids running amuck screaming, displaying extreme anxiety. One little boy is screaming the loudest. There is this huge Doberman (belongs to the orphanage & probably let lose at that hour by mistake) that’s bounding playfully behind the kids who run helter-skelter petrified of the dog.
As I run out to shoo the dog away from the kids, the marathon screamer runs across the courtyard & desperately hugs me shrieking to be lifted. All words of solace fails him as he sobs uncontrollably into my bosom. The dormitory nun comes out by now & chides the kids for making a racket out of nothing. As the kids surround her like lost puppies…she’s overwhelmed for a moment. Says something kind & then back to barking orders to maintain decorum.
The freaky shrieky kid has adopted me by now & follows me around as if he’s found his mama. A feeling of guilt overwhelms as I leave for home with him staring fixatedly with a stoic expression. He looks confused! Why is he being left behind when a while ago he was hugged so warmly? His tiny mind doesn’t understand why the humane touch is hurriedly closing the doors of the orphanage behind her.
Copyright © BuntysBanter 2007
Labels: bonding, human touch, love, warmth
posted by Bunty's Banter at 8:58 PM
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