The Path to Hope
Volunteers at Work
This story has been written by Isabella, A volunteer who joined us in Nagaland to help expand Agun Ki, The House of Hope.
The full story with photos can be seen here. Path to Hope.
The Path to Hope
After some of us travelling for 13 and a half hours whilst others travelling for 21 and a half hours we finally made it to ‘Agun Ki’ also known as ‘House of Hope’. This is located in Tening town, Nagaland (NE India) and is run by a local family. Within the ‘House of Hope’ Rentta and his family opened their home to orphans with a goal of expanding to accommodate many more children. As part of EWB Malaysia we teamed up with Naruda to help expand this loving home due to the large number of orphans in the area. During this post I want to focus more on what I learnt from the locals because to this day it is one of the most life changing experiences I have ever come across.
In my opinion even though these children faced so many problems they possessed something so special, appreciation. They had so much appreciation towards everyone and everything which made them so positive and have so much hope for the future. When hearing the story of one of the children that when they were 4 years old they were waiting for their parents to come home but sadly they had passed away and so they had to take care of their siblings and find any food they can get. They mentioned how they found mushrooms and it was the best food they had ever tasted. Many of the other children at ‘Agun Ki’ also have very moving stories. The hardship they faced turned them into such loving, hard-working and mature children. Many people in this world focus on the negatives and problems in their lives but these locals I met were the opposite. They would always point out the highlights of their day such as going to church and school no matter how they were feeling.
Despite the difficult physical challenges that came with expanding ‘Agun Ki’ such as moving bricks and gravel from church site as well as digging a 5ft sanity hole, the children would jump at the first opportunity to help. There was one point I was digging and one of the children even tried to take the shovel from my hand when they could not even hold it. During our visit to the hospital I learnt that they mostly just offer first aid and that women who need to deliver a baby have to drive 8 hours to a bigger hospital so many of them die on the way there. No one should ever have to be deprived of basic needs.
When we went to other villages to speak to the chairmen and their people about the issues they face and future projects that can be put in place, I discovered how strong the community was. Despite any differences they may have between different villages they welcomed eachother and complete strangers into their homes. In addition, they help each other as much as they can even though they don’t have much. Many of us lack a strong sense of a community, whether it’s at school or at work people are always feeling isolated and lonely. Members of a community feel a strong psychological connection to their group, and will protect their group. During my time in India I realised just by participating and sharing the same goal with locals I became a part of this community.
I would like to thank Rentta and his family for opening their home to us and teaching us some of the most valuable lessons as well as John for organising this opportunity. Despite the hard work and motivation of the local people in Tening Town, Agun Ki and other villages still require financial aid to pay for food, healthcare and education still remains a major need. Funding these can help these children reach their full potential. To help support these incredible people please donate on our website naruda.net, any help will be greatly appreciated.
If you are interested in volunteering, please look here. Volunteer
