Haripal blows out the candles on his cake and laughs with delight as his brothers and sisters break into ‘Happy Birthday…’ Along with presents, his new family has picked special birthday gifts for him – along with bags full of love and affection.
Trapped between moments of lucidity and periods of silences, Haripal has finally arrived home. And he has been truly blessed with a loving family and caring, concerned siblings.
The child who was thrown into a dry well by a drunken father and abandoned at a hospital in Delhi by relatives unable to cope with his broken body and damaged mind today seems to be at peace with the world in far away California, USA.
Brought to the Missionaries of Charity orphanage in 1985, at the age of five, Haripal was completely bed ridden as every major bone in his body been broken or dislocated. The next few years were spent in and out of hospitals, cared for by the nuns at the home in San Francisco. Despite being able to communicate only in broken Hindi whenever he was in the mood to communicte, Haripal spent most of his day motionless, locked in a world all of his own that precluded almost human interaction.
When Mark was escorted to the home run by the nuns of Missionaries of Charity in Delhi, his first encounter was with Haripal who had been set outside to catch a bit of winter sun. Mark was deeply moved by this broken, motionless eight-year old whose eyes followed him. It was obvious that unless something was done this was all Haripal’s life would ever amount to.
Back in the USA, Mark contacted Shriver’s Hospital for Crippled Children, a charitable specialist centre, considered one of the leading facilities for orthopedic care.
The doctors agreed to consider Haripal’s case and asked for his dossier. To complete his medical files, Haripal was admitted into AIIMS, India’s leading medical facility for two stretches of three weeks each. Literally carried from department to department, Haripal’s medical report was completed and sent to Shriner’s , who agreed to take him on if a place to stay before and after the multiple surgeries could be found for him. Did Haripal realise that his life was about to change dramatically? Did he sense destiny taking its course? If Haripal crooning all the way from AIIMS and back, to and from the home is any indication, certainly he could feel something extraordinary taking charge of his life. The Missionaries of Charity based at San Francisco agreed to take him in and care for him.
What remained was the fare to San Francisco. As he was entirely bed-ridden, and would have to travel in a stretcher, about 5 seats would need to be removed so as to accommodate the stretcher. A particular airline official agreed to get some special sanctions for Haripal’s ticket to be equivalent to two full fares instead of five. God Bless this official as he himself died of cancer some years later.
Being unable to care for himself or communicate in any language except Hindi, Haripal would need an attendant to accompany him. Again, where was the money to come from? Well wishers were mobilised, trusts contacted, individuals approached, corporate petitioned, and within a couple of months the money accumulated, bringing Haripal closer to the semblance of a normal, more humane existence.
In August 1989, Haripal had two operations to reposition his leg that had fused into the pelvis, and that made it possible for him to sit up. His perspective re-aligned by the simple act of being able to sit up, soon, the little boy in a red wheel chair became a familiar sight, fussed over and adored by the hospital staff and the various volunteers that stepped in to help out.
Learning to make himself understood in English was a challenge that Haripal took on with the help of the nuns who looked after him during his recuperative period. Slowly, in an alien land, he learned to interact with others around him. To express his joy in an existence few of us can imagine. However, despite the care lavished on him, what he needed was a family and after a couple of false starts, Haripal did find one.
The Blakes, visited Haripal at the home regularly. They had a number of natural and (in their terminology) supernatural children. They wished that Haripal could be another supernatural child. Haripal learned to swim and attends school regularly. His older brothers and sisters dote on him and he is not complaining.
Today, Haripal is happy and well cared for. His electric wheel chair allows his undreamed of mobility. Loved and cherished, his life has changed completely. Does Haripal understand the odds against which he has made this amazing journey? Is it necessary that he should? The happiness that he experiences splashing in the pool, at family get-togethers, the joy of finding himself in this place far from the land of his birth – is it not vindication enough? The answers do not concern Haripal; what does is that a little concern and caring has touched and changed his life, forever.
It is this spirit of caring and concern that lies at the core of Genesis Foundation.
And more children must benefit from simple intervention, for a miracle to happen and change the course of their life forever.
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