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Latest stories from the field

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The Happy End

A Box Filled with Hope

Friday, 23 May 2008

Written by Flavia Aban

In one of our visit to El Cielo, one of the three schools where we are working, I met a child, and the truth is that it is impossible not to fall in love with every one of the children at these schools. His name is Inder, he is five years old and in first grade, even though for his age he should be in Kindergarten. He lives with his grandmother, aunts, and uncles because his mother left him with his grandmother when he was a baby.

His house is on the path to school, so one day I decided to visit him and meet his pigs and roosters that he continuously talked to me about. Upon arriving at his house I was met with kindness from everyone. I saw only firewood and a pair of hammocks used as beds. It is common to see toys in children’s rooms, but here I found none. Suddenly, Inder arrived with a box and a smile that shined like the sun. He told me he was given the box as a present in the pueblo. My curiosity rose when I saw him with such happiness, and I opened the box because I wanted to know what could provoke such a beautiful emotion.

I opened the box and found that it was empty. But, for Inder, this box was full of thousands of things formed by his imagination. This box could convert into as many things as his mind could create. The most important thing for him was that he could share this box with his aunts and uncles. My eyes filled with tears, but they were not tears of sadness; they were tears of joy. They were tears of joy because I realized that we could give Inder the possibility to change his life, the possibility to go to school every day where he can learn and where he can eat. He can continue his education and can change his life. These three months do not only mark my life, but they will also leave marks in the lives of all the children in my school. I say my schools because that is how I feel, and this great change in the life of a child also depends on your support so that this program can continue and so that we can fill Inder’s box with hope...