Khusi Hona: Three Woodstock students reach out to help in the third world

“My understanding,” he answered, “is that for the first couple of days we’ll probably just be getting oriented with meeting the kids in the orphanages and trying to figure out how we might help. One idea — it was actually Matthew’s idea — was to get a few cheap flip camera devices and hand them out to the kids to take pictures…and so get like the perspective of each kid, sort of “A Day In The Life.” That’d be pretty cool. And then also possibly we’d give some music workshops…handing out instruments…maybe teaching kids a few things. Yeah, I’m actually at the Rock Academy and I’m pretty into guitar.”

“For me,” Jerry Tart, 16, explained, “it’s going to be a huge eye-opening experience because I’ve never been out of the country. So seeing all this going to be…right off the bat, I can already tell…it’s going to be really hectic and intense…it’s really exciting for me to get involved in something like this. To connect with these people and get a real feel for their environment and how they live their daily lives.”

“This is a pilot, which really intrigues me” David Fletcher, 17, said, calling it “an experience that could ultimately facilitate a really positive exchange between our culture and kids who don’t come from such fortunate backgrounds. I’m really excited about the potential…”

“And instead of us just going in and teaching the kids,” Matthew van Rooyen interjects, recalling an earlier meeting, “the group came up with the idea that it would be it cool if the orphans could teach our Woodstock group something…for instance, how to play cricket. Something like that would really empower these kids who’ve probably never had the opportunity to feel empowered in their lives. What a great idea!”

“You should understand,” van Rooyen continued, “a lot of these kids come from really awful backgrounds. A lot of them have been saved from sex trafficking, one or more of their parents have died, many have emerged from circumstances we can’t even imagine. Naturally, they don’t have access to school counselors or therapists that we do in this culture. So a creative outlet is immensely important in helping them work through some of these issues.”

Asking Matthew for more information on the orphanages Woodstock’s group would visit, this is what I received.

Mamaghar Home / Hetauda, Nepal — Mamaghar (Uncle’s House) Nepal cares for 29 boys that have been rescued from a life on the streets. The founder of the organization, Arpan, spent time living on the streets with these kids to gain their trust and to learn of their special way of living. Arpan has convinced the children to come live at the home he created for them. In our time spent at the home, we saw that the boys have become a family unit and help to take care of each other. They are loved, encouraged and have some really amazing role models that are caring for them.

Educanepal / Hetauda, Nepal — Located just outside Hetauda, Nepal, this beautiful facility is home to 13 girls and 4 staff. The home has a large focus on education and environmental sustainability. The facility is run in a collaborative style with each girl having different responsibilities at the home. Not only is this home spotless and well organized, all the staff and girls living there exuded happiness.

Guria / Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh – Guria seeks to end the cycle of forced human trafficking and prostitution. Guria provides a sanctuary for the children of sex workers in the red light areas of Mau and Varanasi districts of Uttar Pradesh in India. [The orphange workers] serve to motivate the children toward a better future and provide them with a safe place where they can focus on education and learn about an alternative life from that which they were born into.

Here are 3 additional that we are looking at as alternatives if time and scheduling allows (We will only pick Tara Trust in Goa or the two others as they are close to each other) :

Aasraa Trust / Dehradun, Uttarakhand – Aasraa Trust is located in the northern part of India. Its mission is to empower the slum and street kids of the region who are largely forgotten and deprived of basic necessities. [Workers here] serve to motivate the children towards a better future, providing them with a safe haven wherein they receive hot meals, the focus is on education as orphans learn of an alternative life, from that which they were born into.

Tara Trust / Goa India – Tara Trust is a registered non-profit organization in Goa, India, its mission is to empower, educate and enable the underprivileged, especially children and women, to improve their lives. The objective is to motivate children within the marginalized communities coming from conflict-driven households, economically low backgrounds, or either orphaned or abandoned, to not only stay in school but to gain an understanding and appreciation of its importance. The trust seeks to develop a confidence within each child, so that with such a a sense of self-determination, he or she might pursue a higher education, enabling them to aspire to a better life.

Ramana’s Garden / Rishikesh, Uttarakhand – Located in the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India, Ramana’s Garden houses 62 Boys and girls in the hill town of Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. Ramana’s provides a healthy and loving environment in which the children can heal and grow and also offers the security of an extended loving family. Ramana’s has a strong focus on education and training that the kids need to become independent and functioning adults.

A cell phone interview is never easy. Before the highly creative pandemonium ended with the touch of a finger, Matthew asked me to thank Woodstock for him. “This community has just welcomed me with open arms,” he effused, “and opened my eyes to things I’ve never seen before. Everybody has been nothing but helpful. It’s been a real blessing.”

Indeed…Sounds like a reciprocal blessing in the making.

I asked that Woodstock’s first Khusi Hona recruits keep diaries as well photographic records, to have a great time, stay safe, and make us proud. Of course, they already have.