Page 19 - Priorities #55 2013-March/April

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by Stephanie Brugger
OM INDI
Every day I was there, I learned something new about India, but there are a few instances that I will never forget that have taught me lessons I am sure no one else could have taught me.
smelled rotting diapers, feces, food, and plastic baking in the hot sun. We held the small, leathery hands of the children of Galthani, the town we stayed in, as they screamed at the contact of such Western aliens. We tasted the buttery, toasty chapatti, hot daahl with lentils, and the ever-present rice and potatoes. We heard the feathery, smooth syllables of Hindi and our botched attempts to say, “Mira nama Stephanie hai.” I became totally absorbed in the culture of Northern India and I loved the beauty. Every day I was there, I learned something new about India, but there are a few instances that I will never forget that have taught me lessons I am sure no one else could have taught me.
Lesson #1:
Disabled people never want sympathy or pity; they want our respect. Our first service project was working with blind students in the local National Association of the Blind School in Mount Abu, Rajasthan. There, I made a friend, Samjeet, who, despite his blindness, could find his way up and down stairs, across roads, and through local markets. He could read Braille and type. Samjeet was not someone to be sorry for—he made his weakness his strength. Volunteering with Samjeet and other blind students taught me how obstacles are put in our way so that we can overcome them.