A Spiritual Journey in a Place that Should Not Exist
I feel that I just came back from a spiritual journey. In the past 2 nights and almost three days, we escaped from the choking pollution of Delhi to an isolated town in the outskirts of Jaipur. The peaceful environment was only seldom interrupted by few impetuous drivers with loud speakers. Yet we were finally surrounded by trees, and a burning sun that made me feel like back in Latin America.
The place we went to is called Bal Ashram. Bal Ashram is the house of students from 8 to 16 years old that come from very diverse and unprivileged backgrounds. As soon as we entered through the door, we met the kids. They came to us, jumped to our necks to put the flower collar that they had prepared for us, wrapped a string bracelet on our wrists, and tapped our foreheads with red paint in their indexes as it is used in India. The lack of verbal communication was automatically replaced by big smiles. I felt very well welcomed to their home.
Soon after installing ourselves in the houses we were assigned, we joined the students in their quotidian activities.
The place we went to is called Bal Ashram. Bal Ashram is the house of students from 8 to 16 years old that come from very diverse and unprivileged backgrounds. As soon as we entered through the door, we met the kids. They came to us, jumped to our necks to put the flower collar that they had prepared for us, wrapped a string bracelet on our wrists, and tapped our foreheads with red paint in their indexes as it is used in India. The lack of verbal communication was automatically replaced by big smiles. I felt very well welcomed to their home.
Soon after installing ourselves in the houses we were assigned, we joined the students in their quotidian activities.
Definitely being part of these activities is what made me feel like in a spiritual retreat. For example, beginning the day with a yoga session was fundamental for me. Both Babson and Bal Ashram students would practice yoga together as the sun was rising. Then we would wrap up the day with a meditation session staring at 7:00pm. Also the vegetarian diet was key! It is very interesting to see how light I felt after just a couple of days of not eating meat.
For lunch we would all gather together in the dining hall. After serving food in our metallic plates, we would sit in the floor, cross-legged, and begin eating with our hands (as accustomed in India). I was impressed to see how no single student would leave even a grain of rice in his plate before standing up to wash his own dish. Although the language barrier was an obstacle as I said before, we managed to interact and learn a little bit from each other during these meals.
The kids’ energy was extremely inspiring. They were always running from one place to another, smiling, and laughing. They would do whatever they could to call our attention so we would play, draw, or just interact with them. They wanted to show how talented they were. Even though we stayed for very few days, I managed to connect a lot with many of these kids. Arun, Sahil, Saud, Viki, and many more of them made of this experience a truly inspiring one for me.
A present from the Students
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A flower that Arun and I made with chalk during our free time
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But actually, this was not intended to be a spiritual retreat or anything like that. We went to Bal Ashram as volunteers. Bal Ashram was founded in 1998 by Kailash Satyarthi as a rehabilitation and training center for victims of child labor (he then received a Nobel Peace Prize for this initiative).
This means that all the kids we met, connected with, and learned from, had a very dark past. With only 8 to 16 years old. They were forced to work in factories, circuses, farms, and many other places, sometimes even before they knew how to talk.
Child labor is a big industry today. It is not something of the past.
And to be honest, these guys are champs. They have kept their innocence throughout. Bal Ashram was full of life, full of hope for the future. These kids taught me more of life than any professor has ever done.
In Bal Ashram kids have their own government. Minister of Education, Minister of Health, Minister of Food, Minister of Sports, and more. There are also Vice Ministers. And of course there is a President. They are all empowered. This opportunity helps them own their own present and future, it gives them the confidence and skills they mostly need.
But this leadership does not stay within the walls of Bal Ashram. As part of the NGO’s philosophy, the kids are the ones who should advocate for their own future. The best students travel internationally to talk on behalf of Bal Ashram and the entire child labor issue. These kids have met Obama, Clinton and more, they have spoken in the UN. These same kids, 8 to 16 years old are owning their future.
I left this place very confused I need to confess. I went there as a “volunteer” to help them in some ways during my short stay. Yet I still do not know in which ways I contributed to their lives. Indeed, after leaving Bal Ashram my friends and I have engaged in very deep conversations in which we questioned what were the most effective ways of actually creating impact. Is voluntourism a real change maker? Who is voluntourism actually helping to? How long should you stay as a volunteer to create impact? Don’t you create more change at the back office of the organization than playing with the kids? Do we really know what is best for them or is it pure savior complex? Why is it that we want to help others in the first place?
All in all, during this opportunity, they gave me much more than I could have ever thought.
They taught me about values and brotherhood. They taught me that the future is bright, that there is much more benefit in looking ahead with a smile than look back with anger. They taught me to appreciate what I have, to be grateful for who I am. They taught me to clean my plate and wash my own dishes. They taught me to take care of my mind and my body. But most of all, they taught me what is important and what is not.
They are true change makers.
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*If you want to know more about Bal Ashram check out these links:
Bal Ashram Home Page: http://www.balashram.in/home.html
Kailash Styarthi’s TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/kailash_satyarthi_how_to_make_peace_get_angry?nolanguage=en.
