A Year Ago:
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| Living on the Sidewalk |
She was dying and she knew it. The woman had lived on the streets of Pune, India for a very long time. About a year before, she was diagnosed with AIDS, and her husband had left her for another street dweller, taking his two sons with him . He made another decision that day. He would leave his small daughter on the sidewalk with his dying wife.
When she reached the final stage of Aids, the woman called for the Street Kids Orphanage director. She had met him many times, and knew that he truly cared for the children in his home. He had visited their sidewalk often, and had rescued many children. Now she had a request…”Please take my daughter and raise her in your orphanage. If she is here when I die, she will be sold into slavery”. The director knew that it had to be done legally, but the woman was too weak to go to a judge. He went to the court and pled the cause of this little girl. The judge was so moved that he gathered all of his legal documents and official seal, and went to the street himself. The woman put her mark on the paper, the paperwork was official, and the little girl went into this wonderful home.
The next day, the woman died, and the director found her body on the sidewalk with another street person fanning her body to keep off the flies. But “Hope” had been rescued.
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| Many Live On The Sidewalk |
Today:
We went to the streets of Pune today, and saw those living on that same sidewalk. Some of them only had a mat to sleep on. Some, only a dirty blanket. Others were better off and had a plastic tarp to cover their bed. All of them, mostly women and children, live in the most glaring poverty in the world, right on a sidewalk. On this busy street, no one seems to notice.
After visiting the street, we went to the Street Kids orphanage in Pune. What a wonderful home. The kids are happy, bright and funny. We saw many children we have known for years, and the kids were so happy to see their “Wick-Uncle”. Today would be a fun day for them, because we would have McDonalds meals for them. The last time they went to McDonalds was when I was here a year ago. That’s what grandpa’s do.
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| Some of the Boys from the Street Kids Orphanage |
David came up and gave me a big hug, then Raju, then others. I was home again with children I have known for years. Most of them have been rescued from a life of poverty and abuse. Many of them came from the very sidewalk we had just visited. Most of their mothers are prostitutes, if they have not already died of Aids. Then, I meet the little girl named “Hope”. She is no longer starving. She lives in this wonderful home, and now has a future. She’s a beautiful girl, and she has been rescued!
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| HOPE was rescued from the streets |
The children did a wonderful program for us with music, dances and testimonies. The kids also shared their dreams. Several want to be doctors, and one wants to be an airline pilot. A few of the boys want to be professional Cricket players, and one young girl wants to be a flight attendant. All of then have dreams … dreams that are now totally possible because of this wonderful home. Thanks so much for being a part of this ministry through Streams of Mercy!
*Written By Wick Nease
