By Dara Youngdale
I first visited Children of Faith last year in February of 2024 with a group from the Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church in California. It was an exhilarating and action-packed week. During that stay, I made deep connections with the 12 girls that our team taught to sew and make skirts. I had the heartwarming experience of spending time with the two children I sponsor. It was difficult to say goodbye and I realized as I left, that I wanted to return. So, I did!
I want to share a bit about this wonderful second visit. My focus was sewing and I worked with 6 girls, teaching them to follow a pattern and make a tunic or blouse. During the week, Rosie was so inspired by the girls that she made herself a skirt (taught by the student sewers) and by the end of the week, we were all so inspired that we also made a pair of shorts for the boys too, with the long-term goal of every student making or receiving their own skirt or pair of shorts.
The sewing experience was productive and very satisfying, but the quiet times were equally beautiful. I was able to observe the ebb and flow of the students throughout the week, did some reading exercises with them, spent late afternoons talking to small groups of students, and attended more than one birthday party.
A highlight was playing my favorite board game, SORRY, with several of the boys and girls each Saturday discussing game strategy and laughing a lot. Spending time in conversation with Rosie and Anand was a beautiful gift of time, as well as being able to share amazing meals prepared by Ruth, Rosie, Sonia and Bhavya. And, I watched in awe as the laborers created the foundation for the new dining facility.
While it had been less than a year since my first visit, I found myself surprised to see that so many of the young people I knew were now in “junior college” or in college or taking exams in March and planning to go to college! Each that I talked to were thriving, including 18-year-old Spoorthi, now living at home and studying chemical engineering who overjoyed me with a Sunday afternoon visit. Each were a testament to the wonderful education and loving care provided by COF. Beautiful!
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You don’t have to travel all the way to India as Dara did to join us in transforming the lives of underprivileged children in India. Help us provide a home and education for 1 of our 120 children. Your will help give a child a stable home, medical care and an education that prepares them for college or a professional career. This home and education breaks the cycle of poverty, and fills your child with confidence.
