For Prem Singh, 13, it was yet another Rakshabandhan away from his two sisters at his village in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Only this time, he found a new sister in Benazir and had a rakhi on his hand after four years. For him and 12 similar homeless children, who stay in a drop-in-shelter run by the Ahmedabad Social Action Group (ASAG) in Saraspur, this Rakshabandhan did not mean empty hands.
Their ‘sisters’ from ASAG’s slum children programme in Juhapura had come to tie rakhi on their hands. Manoj, who had run away from his home in Bihar two years ago said, “I have an elder sister and I was thinking about her today. Luckily, this time I have someone to tie a rakhi.”
It was a joyous monent for the 40-odd children who had gathered together to celebrate the occasion. Narmada Vaghela, program director of ASAG said, “These children had left their homes due to various reasons, but they really miss their siblings. In fact, some of them broke down while talking about their sisters.”
It was a festive atmosphere with the children singing songs and playing games with each other. Farhana, one of the girls from Juhapura said, “I already have one brother but today I got two more.” The children departed with the promise to stay in touch with their brothers and sisters.
Courtesy : ExpressIndia.com
Their ‘sisters’ from ASAG’s slum children programme in Juhapura had come to tie rakhi on their hands. Manoj, who had run away from his home in Bihar two years ago said, “I have an elder sister and I was thinking about her today. Luckily, this time I have someone to tie a rakhi.”
It was a joyous monent for the 40-odd children who had gathered together to celebrate the occasion. Narmada Vaghela, program director of ASAG said, “These children had left their homes due to various reasons, but they really miss their siblings. In fact, some of them broke down while talking about their sisters.”
It was a festive atmosphere with the children singing songs and playing games with each other. Farhana, one of the girls from Juhapura said, “I already have one brother but today I got two more.” The children departed with the promise to stay in touch with their brothers and sisters.
Courtesy : ExpressIndia.com