India – A Piece of Candy

I recently was in Bangalore, India with my friend Sam who is the head of Yuva Lok Schools in Bangalore. We were doing some training with the teachers of Yuva Lok. Yuva Lok Schools go into the slums of Bangalore and pick up young people and bring them to school each day. The “uniform” and meals these kids receive at school are the sum total of what most of them have.

The day I visited, one young boy was celebrating his birthday. (He is the boy wearing the shirt that is different from his classmates.) He came up to me with a small brown piece of paper with 2 pieces of candy he had received from the teachers… His birthday present. He was so proud to be able to share with me. On the inside I was saying no, no, no. On the outside, I smiled, laughed and gave him a hug telling him thank you. I then excused myself and went into the toilet and wept alone.

A young boy with nothing taught a rich man about love that day.