The Rise of Buddha

05/05/2011 at 11:36 am · Filed under Children, Mission and tagged: Buddha, Nepal, volunteer teaching

Our little Buddha came to us from the most difficult situation, and as a result has had the most trouble adjusting. When he first arrived, he would often wander off silently until someone asked, “where is Buddha?”, and we would find him standing by himself in another part of the house staring off into the green fields that stretch out towards the Himalayas. Even when he did stay with the whole family, he would sit quietly, and if asked a question, stare down towards the ground and answer barely above a whisper, if he answered at all. In the village where we found him, like most small villages of Nepal, they have no proper toilets, so the transition to not only using a toilet, but a western toilet, has caused him trouble as well and made for a few accidents. However, with the proper love and attention we have been giving to him, he has slowly begun to come around.

First, he began to be more open to touching and holding hands until he would finally come of his own will to rub his uncle’s arm or sit in his lap. Then he began to play more and more with the group and we got to hear his squeals of excitement and see his eyes grow big when he is having fun. And this past week and a half with our volunteer Bina has been a huge breakthrough for him. The first day or two after she arrived, it seemed he was reverting back to the shy and frightened boy we found. However, through her personal attention to him and her patient and loving teaching style, he quickly shed the shell he had been hiding in and began to raise his voice and speak more loudly. This extended beyond class and his speaking started to become more clear. The other day Bina and Himal came upon Buddha alone again, but this time not staring silently to the outside, but singing and dancing to himself inside his home. It was the first time anybody has seen Buddha singing and dancing. Through this whole journey, the one thing that hasn’t changed is the beauty and radiance of his smile when he lets it shine, which has been happening more and more often these days.

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