While in India we stayed on a school campus. The campus has hostels for the children (1 for boys and 1 for girls), an open air dining hall with a big kitchen, a hostel for the volunteers, and the school buildings. Some of the children live locally and attend because their parents work at the school. The children who live on campus don't have leprosy but someone in their family does. The family members with leprosy live elsewhere. The nearest colony that we visited was an hour away.
There were over 200 children living on campus in the hostels. They were divided into boy families and girl families of 20 and each family had a house mother. Each family had a range of ages. The house mothers lived in the hostels with the children and kept the little family groups running. This means the children were ready for the day and were where they needed to be when they needed to be there. These kind women serve the children in much the same way our mothers do. Can you imagine the endless hours of selfless service they put in for 20 children? Seven days a week. Twenty-four hours a day. And without husbands.
From what I understand each boy had an assigned chore like washing clothes, cleaning bathrooms, sweeping floors, dining hall duties, etc. At the dining hall I noted and was quite impressed by how smoothly it ran. Consider the logistics of feeding 200+ people and making sure everyone gets warm and fair portions of food. The cooks divided the food into portions and bowls and placed them on the counter, 1 side for girl families and 1 side for boy families. After the prayer each family's designated person went to the counter and retrieved the food for the family. Other children retrieved the plates and serving utensils from their baskets in designated spots under benches around the outside of the dining hall. Once the food and serving utensils had been matched up the children lined up with their metal plates. The house mother or one of the older boys serves the food. Everyone ate, cleaned his/her own plate, and returned it to the family basket. When everyone was done another child swept up the family spot on the floor. I think how smoothly things go at meal time is a testament to how well the mothers are doing. It really is impressive.
From what I understand each boy had an assigned chore like washing clothes, cleaning bathrooms, sweeping floors, dining hall duties, etc. At the dining hall I noted and was quite impressed by how smoothly it ran. Consider the logistics of feeding 200+ people and making sure everyone gets warm and fair portions of food. The cooks divided the food into portions and bowls and placed them on the counter, 1 side for girl families and 1 side for boy families. After the prayer each family's designated person went to the counter and retrieved the food for the family. Other children retrieved the plates and serving utensils from their baskets in designated spots under benches around the outside of the dining hall. Once the food and serving utensils had been matched up the children lined up with their metal plates. The house mother or one of the older boys serves the food. Everyone ate, cleaned his/her own plate, and returned it to the family basket. When everyone was done another child swept up the family spot on the floor. I think how smoothly things go at meal time is a testament to how well the mothers are doing. It really is impressive.
As if that wasn't enough they all have other jobs when the children are in school. Some are administrators at the school. Some are teachers at the school. Some are nurses that help in the clinics. Some help out in the volunteer hostel. Some help in the kitchen.
These women give so much selfless service. Thanks to all the mothers out there!
Sometimes they help the volunteers put on Saris... or paint hands with henna. You are right they are amazing women!
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