The place where I met the most wonderful people

 BRAIN CHALLENGE CLASS

It was in year 2009, when I first came across Ngoenga Lobda, an institute where children with special need are looked after. I was mesmerized at how happy those children looked, rejoicing  at the good things that life has to give, rather than complaining about what they lack.  I thought I could definitely help them in small ways and that’s when I decided to go back again.

Throughout last year, I kept reminding someone who works there and who used to be my home-matron that I wanted to work there as a volunteer and she also talked of promising things. I made a huge mistake of not directly contacting the head there, which brought a huge disappointment to me. I was turned down at the last minute, when I have already bought the one- night bus ticket to that place. Since I can’t just waste the money that I spent for the ticket, I paused for a moment and a wonderful idea popped into my mind; why not visit my school to meet my teachers and my friends. Meeting them was a joyous moment. Our school principal was surprised, not at how physically I have changed, but at how intellectually I have changed. The exams were in progress, so I decided to come some other time, to share the enriching experiences I had in UK  particularly in Pestalozzi.

I know that there is an institute called Nyingtobl Ling which also looks after physically and mentally challenged people so I contacted them and that’s how a new opportunity opened for me. Though I intended to work for one month, I was able to work for only three weeks. However, the experience that I had there during my volunteering was something that I could carry on for a lifetime.  I was given one class to look after starting from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and consisting of people, whom the staffs believe cannot learn, or be taught anything, labelled as ‘BRAIN CHALLENGE CLASS’. Their age ranges from 10 to 60s. Initially I was bit afraid of dealing with them, because of how some staff described them. Soon, I found out that they are no different from me. They seem to react based on environment and the people they see. They too have feelings and understanding. No matter what, I tried to stay positive and strong all the time. I would take them to toilet for around ten times and even then, sometimes, they end up dirtying their pants. That’s when they have to be ready for a beating from their home-matron. I guess I can blame neither the home-matron nor the disable people.  The home-matrons are kind enough to be looking after them and the disable people don’t have a control over even the voluntary functions of their body. My job was to look after them throughout the day. I was given the full choice to do whatever I want with them, so each day, I tried to come up with new ideas and games for enjoyment. It was indeed, hard for me to put my ideas into action, because of their physical and mental ability. And indeed hard to control my own emotions by their difficulties, and yet how wonderfully, they all look complacent.

Fascinatingly, most of them, even those can’t walk properly like dancing. So for their enjoyment as well as for their exercise, dancing became one of the most famous activities I arranged for them during my volunteering. Others include modelling, footballing and car-racing. Sometimes, I would let them draw so that they can express their thoughts and feelings in a way they can. At other times, I would show them videos ranging from Aladin and Tom and Jerry to Tibetan traditional dances. Luckily, there are no blinds.  At other times, I would knit head-bands and gift them. Throughout my stay, I was able to make eight of them. I would teach how to take wrist band, even if it’s only one person who can learn.  At tea times, I would give them some snacks to enjoy. Eating is the second thing that they love the most.

In the end, I didn't even feel like leaving them. There are some people who won’t go for lunch without holding my hand, and won’t stop crying unless I ask them to. However, I thought it is not about knowing whether they feel my love towards them or not, but rather about giving the unconditional help that they need. I also felt that I gained more from them than what I gave to them. I learned to appreciate the difference in each individual which changed my way of looking at life. They, who could otherwise have done great good for the betterment of the world, made me into a girl of more responsibility.

Note: Throughout my writing, I used the word ‘people’ to refer to them, because most of them are quite old aged, though they think and act like children. Indeed, they are people! 

To view about my visit to the school, Dechen Yangkyi (Alumnus)Shared Her Experiences & Concerns…