Ever since she was six years old, Loryn has yearned to visit India. It was the children's classic story, The Secret Garden, that fired her imagination about a country full of romance and adventure. But it was only after she finished high school that she got the opportunity to travel. After a short vacation in Europe, India was still on her mind. But this was not an India of the Taj Mahal or the Tiger Reserve. That could be the part of the plan, but the larger picture was clear to her. “I wanted to go to India to get my hands dirty, work with the people, be a part of the community ― just watch the people up close and try to understand their world,” she says.
Putting “Volunteer Work” and “India” into an Internet search engine led her to a cross-cultural program in India. This sounded perfect, she thought. Then there was the question of funding. Requests to friends and relatives in Colorado evoked an unexpectedly positive response: if we cannot do this program ― at least YOU could! Two months later she was in Delhi, working in a school called Vidya. In ancient Sanskrit word, Vidya means “knowledge.” The school is located within the premises of the 1)prestigious Indian Institute of Technology. But the students at Vidya are not 2)whiz kids studying computer science. They are five to twelve-year-old children from the neighboring 3)shantytown ― home to the working class.
Nine-year-old Puja's father is a 4)rickshaw driver and eleven-year-old Nitu's dad works as a helper in a motor repair 5)garage. These two girls are lagging behind in English and their teacher has gladly passed them on to Loryn. Now it is Loryn's 6)assignment to help them catch up with their class. Beginning at nine thirty, for the first half-hour, Loryn works with Puja and Nitu. For the next half-hour, there is an eight-year-old boy called Ram who also needs special tutoring in English. Thereafter, there are boys and girls from two other classes. It is pretty 7)exhausting to work almost 8)continuously till midday when there is a break and mercifully, Loryn has the option to go home or resume work at three in the afternoon.
If the children could have their way, there would be no 9)respite for Loryn, since every child seems to want to be tutored by this green-eyed 10)blonde. Children take turns to come and tell her, “You are beautiful.” An Indian colleague at Vidya tells Loryn that children see beyond the skin to the real beauty, which is a reflection of her good heart.
At 18 years of age, Loryn is a remarkably mature person, intelligent and 11)articulate. What made her want to do the India program?
“A while back, I realized that life is good. It dawned on me that I have no reason to be unhappy. I love. I laugh. I create. I learn. I am indeed lucky! We are all so lucky! Yes, life is great for me in the U.S. and I am fortunate and privileged to be an American. But there is a whole world out there ― home to billions of people for whom life should be amazing. I realized this happily and was then inspired to take a step beyond myself and reach out to that world, to its billions of people.
“I can let life be full of joy and learning for myself and I can make an effort to let it be so for others. These are people with whom I share my experience: people who teach me and who learn from me. There are people who make me laugh and there are those who give to me and share with me. I cannot fight my urge to contribute kindness and 12)generosity to the lives of other people. It is one thing that fills my own life with 13)humility, light and 14)enrichment.
“I have come to India not only to experience and absorb the culture but also to interact with and learn from the people. It is an 15)incomparable experience. I am committed to doing what I can to share strength, goodness and 16)compassion with the people I meet. This is a beautiful challen
