A moment of triumph

Today some of the volunteers were talking and laughing about Joy and how he was pretty much hopeless and impossible to reach and that all you can do with him is try to get him to stop from eating his pencil. And that while some boys could be rehabilitated, he is pretty much beyond hope. It’s true that while I often try to say hi to Joy and get him to look me in the eye, he is so completely in his own world and rambunctiously busy getting into things he shouldn’t I have felt like he is out of the realm of human communication.

But later as I was drinking out of my mango juice bottle, Slice (most popular Indian drink here, I think) I found Joy at my side reaching for the bottle. I had already noticed that he loved bottled water. I decided to take advantage of this opportunity.

I knelt down to his height. I said, “Joy, can you say “mango”?

“Mango” he said.

“Do you want some of my mango drink?”

“Yes.” he said. He was SO focused. He was looking me in the eye. He WANTED THAT DRINK!

I had never been able to interact with him before. I was thrilled. I told him to open his mouth wide and poured some of the drink into his mouth. Satisfied, he ran off. A minute later, he ran to me, threw his arms around my legs, looked up at me and smiled.

I knew then that Joy had potential to communicate if you went about it the right way. His way.

Definitely a highlight of my day.

In more news, Bernard is going to start school, when I don’t know. I’m happy for him. School seems more dependable than relying on a tutor. I think he’ll enjoy it. He told the nun today, though, that he wanted me to come with him to his school. He’s so sweet. I hope he doesn’t forget me. But at the same time I hope he will have someone else in his life that gives him attention and he can love.

A sister told me that Bernard was found lying in the street several years ago like many of the boys they bring here. I’m really happy that he is here where he can get love, attention, and physical and mental training because he deserves it.