And sometimes they ask you things...

It's not that I haven't been in situations when a question has put me into a deep thought. It's just in Ummeed it happens quite frequently now.

There is this kid Farukh, an extremely adorable kid, who stammers a little. I had noticed it and was thinking of talking to him about the simple techniques of speaking slowly and getting rid of the fear which makes you stammer even more for starters. What I hadn't noticed was that the other kids were taking his case from time to time, and making the situation worse. Today, when I was speaking to one of the older kids, I saw him behind me. I asked him if he wants to say something and he just vanished. While I was about to walk out of the Ummeed door, he came and asked "Didi, mera yeh bolna theek ho jayega naa" (Would I be able to speak properly someday?)

And though for the next ten minutes I assured him with all my heart, and explained all the ways he can work on it, and how he shouldn't listen to other kids, and how he'll be fine; his question filled me with a kind of feeling that I can't box up in words and that stayed with me a little longer than usual. The thing is, very few people will be able to understand the helplessness, that a stammering child feels. Probably, you know the right answer to teacher's question, but you'll not say the answer because you fear you might stammer and then everyone will laugh. Probably, you like studying, but you'll not enter the class for the fear that the teacher might ask you something. Probably, there's so much inside you that you want to scream out from the top of your lungs, but this damn stutter prevents you, it makes you inexpressive, and that in turn makes you feel isolated and low on self-esteem.

Try being inside a child's world, maybe his problems aren't as tall as your problems but then to him they are like giants. I hope I'm able to help Farukh bring down his giants, as I did for myself when I was young.

Pallavi)Things Ummeed has taught me so far..

1. How to make mosques, temples and animal faces in the mud (dug up for making a garden inside Ummeed).

2. How to shout one moment, and break into hysterical laughter the other.

3. How to run after 10 kids in 10 different directions and ask them to attend the class.

4. How to do Emotional blackmail :) when everything else fails.

5. How caring the most mischievous kids can be, when it comes to the new born puppies.

6. How the intricate game of 'Gilli Danda' is the best thing on planet.

7. How these kids never feel cold, with half sleeves T shirt and no slippers/socks, when the adults are literally shivering.

8. How they never get tired of surprising me with their mood swings.

9. How carefree, free-spirited and fearless they are towards life and how difficult it is not to get impressed once you get to know of it.

10. How inadequate it can feel at times! There are days you keep thinking, if you're ever going to be able to understand enough, to do enough, to heal enough.

11. How many things they juggle in their head, and how you'll never get to know about it.

12. How observing you have to be to intercept the mild signals to know when they're ready to talk.

Aseem Dalal,Volunteer from IIT Delhi

" ................ My first day at Umeed  I was expecting that the children would not have temperament of learning and I would be running and shouting around them to make them learn but I was so amazed and filled with joy to see that everyone tries to extract out maximum from the volunteers. They know the importance of Umeed Ghar for them.  “Prem’s concept about x^3 = 3x, whether you put ‘3’ before or after x, it’s the same still sometimes makes me laugh “.  Sometimes If I shout on them for not able to do homework or some problem, then everyone gets on me and start asking me some G.K. questions and tell me, “see you also don’t know these things ……. “ .Playing cricket on arbitrary bouncing pitch with one ball over head and other on feet with leather ball and no protection was furious but thrilling, sorting out disputes among small kids with Rahil always coming crying for one or the another reason was total fun. The best thing I observed and learnt that despite of lack of facilities in life, they still are so happy that there is so much positive energy you gain in one visit. I can’t forget these 30 days of my life................"