I have a story, one I haven’t told very often. It was a story that I didn’t know was one until some time later.
She was quiet and not as hyper as the other children. While the other kids dog piled me pulling my shirt down to touch the many freckles on my shoulders, she just watched. I was right away drawn to her. Her name was Soonja.
It was November 2008 and I was in an orphanage on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal; the Gongabu district. This is one of those trips that is every parents nightmare (including my own). Girl finds non-profit online, girl signs up to volunteer with them across the world, girl gets on plane alone, knowing no one, going to a foreign place. Yeah, not the wisest thing to do; but somehow everything fell into place and it seemed right. Don’t get me wrong… on the plane I did say a prayer that it wasn’t a kidnapping scheme.
As soon as I stepped off the plane, I was hit with third world chaos. As I went to put my bags on the security scanner, the bored looking officers stopped me and motioned me forward. Once I stepped outside, the chaos continued and all I saw were faces yelling at me to take their cab. Eventually I saw a man holding a sign with my name on it. He ushered me into a cab with another man, who was to take me to the guest house (and who also tried to swindle more money out of me). The death defying ride, amidst crazy traffic and tiny roads, was an experience in itself. Walking down the street another… people pulling me right and left to come buy things in their shop. This is all another story for another time.
The point is, I was to volunteer in an orphanage for three weeks. After training I was taken to the orphanage. Nobody really spoke much English there (the kids were learning). There was a distinct smell of urine in the facility and Hindu idols stared at me with every turn. There were about 20 kids living there at the time. They were able to go to school because of the money from the non-profit; though many still had families elsewhere.
While at the orphanage I ate Dal Bhaat (lentils and rice) for every meal, helped with the disabled children, tutored the children with their homework, cleaned, played, danced, and took it all in. Every school day, the kids proudly put their uniforms on and headed off to school…. all, except Soonja. She stayed back to clean and take care of the babies. She was also the only one who didn’t talk and had the most captivating eyes I had ever seen. When I asked Laxshmi (the daughter of Didi, the mother of the orphanage) about her, she brushed it off like Soonja was a nobody. She was treated like a servant, like an Untouchable (the lower caste of society). I made a connection with her and secretly decided she was my favorite. Then one day one of the ladies took her away and I never her saw her again. I would ask and ask about her….. to no avail. No explanation, no concern….. she was gone.
It didn’t take long for me to notice more and more of the corruption/evil occurring around me:
* The Father of the house had a violent temper and the children were afraid of him. So was I.
* One of the disabled children died and not too long after that one of the babies got sick. They refused to take him to a doctor, as they believed he was possessed with the dead child’s spirit. Eventually they did, but almost too late.
* The son of Didi would steal visitors things and money.
* Eventually it was realized that the kids school was not getting paid for…. and that wasn’t acceptable. Where was it going…..what was Didi doing with it? Her and her husband both didn’t work. I never the true nature of what was going on.
Needless to say, it was a great experience and I fell in love with these children. Corruption aside, I was just there to love and care for children of circumstances beyond their control. Now with more knowledge, I know of the trafficking that happens in Nepal, one of the poorest nations of the world. Children are easily sold, women easily convinced of a better life elsewhere. “Professionals” will go into the poor mountain villages and convince parents to release their children to them. All the kids in the orphanage had dreams of going to America. What about Soonja? Where is she? Was she sold? Where is the girl that would sit with me in silence and hold my hand? The girl that held on to me tighter when the other kids got home? Why do I still constantly think of her? I really want to know. Sometimes I will be at work talking to a customer about vitamins and her image will flash in my head. It may be night time and I am laying in my bed….. as I close my eyes, there is her face……
