We’ve been here for not even half a week and have already witnessed some of those moving moments I know I’ll experience in my life. The Unatti Foundation’s “Child to Child” program accomplished one of its goals in front of our eyes- connecting children on a global level.
Volunteers organize donated clothing in Santa Monica, CA
Before leaving for Nepal, Patty and I participated in a massive folding and packing day for the clothes and toys being sent to Nepal. Piles and Piles of clothes were organized by quality, size, and appropriate age group and then piled into big black bags. Each of the 15 or so of us that traveled to Nepal had to bring a 50 pound bag with us on the journey in order to get all of the donations here.
Patty and I also traveled to Brentwood, CA with Stephanie Waisler-Rubin, the Unatti Foundation’s founder. There, we met the girls of brownie troup 965- mostly American-born residents of the posh parts of Southern California. They had gathered clothing to send to Nepal for the girls in the Unatti Home. They wrote letters and sent pictures of themselves to personalize the gesture.
California girls show the faces of their new Nepalese friends
Some of the items were set aside just for the Unatti Girls. Certain toys, games, and clothing items were collected specifically to meet the needs of the orphanage. The rest of the clothing items and shoes were then distributed to street children.
It was one thing to sit in the Unatti home and watch these beautiful girls’ faces light up when they saw dress up clothes, games, and the simplest of items- like glow bracelets. A wall full of empty shelves was suddenly full of dolls, cards, building blocks, teaching tools, and opportunities to get ahead. Zooming a camera in on their shining and glowing faces can only do so much to convey just how appreciative they are.
But their beauty shone through even more later that same day. The girls held our hands and guided us through their home town of Bhaktapur. One girl, Rupali, pointed up and said a word I didn’t understand when we passed a temple. When I looked up and asked her to repeat the word she said “G-d,” and I realized she was telling me that that temple is where G-d lives.
While we were out on our walking tour, the street children of Bhaktapur gathered in the garden next to the Unatti Home. They waited for hours in anticipation as they’d been told they’d get free clothing that day. Returning from a magical walk, we were suddenly smacked in the face with reality. There were needy children all around us. With sores on their faces and no shoes on their feet, they needed help.
The Unatti girls stepped in. All the bags that had not been set aside for them were distributed by the Unatti Girls, item by item to each of these neediest of children. Underprivileged children gave to the non-privileged.
The poorest children in Bhaktapur graciously accept the clothing
The street children scrambled for toothbrushes like they were gold pieces. They bowed their heads and said “Namaste” so many times that it was hard to keep from crying. They asked us what our names were and loved to stand behind us as we filmed so that they could watch the viewfinder. I loved to turn the viewfinder around so that they could see themselves as I was recording them. It was a beautiful and appropriate metaphor that they only smiled and giggled more when they saw themselves with handfuls of new clothes.
The full weight of the day is going to hit me soon. Even as I write this, I recognize that I set up a defense mechanism so that I could get through. So that I wouldn’t look at these children with pity. How do you process the fact that the very camera you hold in your hand to capture these stories is valuable enough to feed and clothe many of these children for years to come?
I know that moral dilemmas like these will continue to be a part of my journey. All I know is that in these moments, I am exremely thankful. To have parents that love me and didn’t give up on me. To have an education. To have freedom and opportunity. Thankful for what I have and thankful to have been able to give some of it to these beatiful children a world away.
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