At my doorstep ... from a volunteer's viewpoint

You wake up to another routine day – the headlines in the newspaper loom like a warning of things to come – Global tension, warring nations, communal intolerance, religious differences

Then I step into my little Universe – the class where I volunteer at the Special Care Centre, & the loud whoops, smiles & ‘good-mornings’ from the kids embrace you like a big, giant hug. Far from the maddening world, this is a little cross-section of the world – Malaysians, Pakistanis, Arabs, Indians, Tamils …

There’s JP, one of the happiest kids I know, who is from the Philippines – when he joined our class he was quiet, & barely spoke. Happy to report that we can no longer say that!! Today’s JP fluently tells Ameen to talk “mella mella” (quietly in Malyalam), asks Wahid “uniform kidhar hai” (where is your uniform?) in hindi, chatters in Malay with Jeremy …. Our JP can give any linguist a run for their money!!!

Sure these kids fight, argue, and get into disagreements – one moment the class will be reverberating with high pitched ‘Teacher, he took my block’, to Ameen’s complaint in Malyalam that someone is troubling him, and Sheru's retort in hindi that he did not …. As I said, regular kid stuff!

But come the lunch break, & till today, I get a lump in my throat, at the casual way in which these bunch of children, unaware of Geographical boundaries, rally around Jeremy, who has trouble walking – Sheru runs to get his bag, Ameen quickly gives him a mat, Wahid puts his books away …

What is hilarious sometimes is that these acts of kindness are taken for granted – while helping each other out, they continue to fight & scream at each other!! After all, kids will be kids!!

While on the subject of the lunch break – it’s a live advertisement for world peace: Chinese fried rice & noodles, at one table, South-Indian dosas neatly packed by Abhishek’s mom at the next, Sheru’s mouth watering giant parathas & curry, and Arabic sandwiches in one of the lunch boxes, they all serenely co-exist!! Let’s not forget the universal language of pizzas, cakes & nuggets from McDonalds which overcome all global barriers!!

It must be simply human instinct which makes Wahid, who is normally withdrawn, to resist the temptation to run when the class is informed that they can go down to play, & to patiently help Jeremy to the lift!

Then you have our little medical geniuses when they play ‘doctor doctor’ – JP importantly hanging the stethoscope round his neck checks Abhishek out, while Sheru prepares the injections & Ameen is waiting to perform a complicated surgery … with a plastic knife!! If I’m lucky, I get examined too, & am firmly asked to pay up – a standard fee of 10dhs!!!

Apologies to all docs, but according to our class, doctors & barbers command the same fee – another favorite game is “Barbershop” – very professional where Saquib will firmly shake the towel before placing it around your neck, squirt water, & one of our little hairdressers ruthlessly set out to chop your tresses – oh yes, plastic scissors again!! No bargaining here too –the going rate again, the princely sum of 10dhs!

Life’s like that, huh? There I was, depressed about the state of tension & unrest in the world, not realizing that I had it all – tolerance, peaceful co-existence, understanding, friendship, right there at my doorstep!