I was amazed at the amount of love these unfortunate little ones could give. One boy who particularly impressed me was nine year-old Don. I asked his story, while we were working together to flatten a large mound. He became sad and I had to put my arm around to console him. He sobbed and later began his story.
He remembers his parents only vaguely. He has a younger sister also in the same home and pointed her out to me. His father was a hopeless drunk and never took care of the family. His mother worked and supported them. He remembers his father beating his mother everyday. His mother use to cry late into the night. Once the neighbours were so upset they called the police. His father was arrested but was released the next day because his mother did not want to press charges against him. This made his father braver. He continued with the beatings until one day, his mother ran away from home.
When his father saw that his wife was not around, he drank even more and started to beat the children. Don showed me his scars on the legs where his father had burnt him with cigarettes, when he was just five years old. Then one day, Don’s aunt visited them and noticed the burnt marks. She flared up and took Don to the doctor and later reported the matter to the police. Don’s father was arrested and sentenced to jail for six years. Now he was in jail.
As for Don’s mother, no one had seen her since she left home. Tears sprang into my eyes as I looked down at the pitiful little boy I front of me. I looked around at the other children as they ran about. I wondered what sad story each one had to tell. I thought of my own life. How fortunate I was! Here I was grumbling at my mother over little things like what television programmes to watch and there was Don who was separated from both his parents.
I hugged him closely to me. Then I wiped his tears and told him not to worry. I told him that his mother would surely come to look for him and that his father would change for the better when he is released from the prison.
Don looked into my eyes. “ Will they?” he seemed to ask. Then I told him that from that day on, I would be his god-sister. We exchanged telephone numbers and we promised to stay in contact in future. He gave me a smile- a smile that I could never describe or forget forever.
