The plant in the photo above looks special with water drops and dew on its leaves. It is a glorious sight at dawn in the morning sun.
The rose flower too is spectacular to watch, because someone cared to look after the plant which gives this flower.
A child is adorable what ever might be the age of the child! However for him or her to be flowering in life, parents and others around him or her ought to be nurturing, guiding and mentoring!
It is this that is at stake in many homes. Some children arrive when parents were not ready. Some children grow up when parents are struggling to balance between demands of work place and home. Some others are born into situations of stress where families go through conflicts. Some children are left behind to be cared by grandparents when they work in distant places. There are parents who find children too demanding or unsettling that the warmth in relationships is only episodic. In some instances children need extra help and specialised support on account of developmental needs.
Yesterday, when I heard the story of a two year old child, who developed Status Epilepticus as the family did not have money to buy medicines for treating the seizure disorder, I felt alarmed and sorrowful. To see that child with multiple complications told me another story of our health care system. It is those who are well financially who can be secure to access health care.
That was yet another instance during the week, of listening to parents of the multiple hostile situations that children have to overcome to grow up to be flowering and flourishing.
This resounded in my mind thorough the day. Whose side are we! Am I on the side fo children! The logo of ASHIRVAD was 'Taking sides', which Anna and I pursued as our mission for the last thirty eight years.
I drove home at the end of the day, remembering the scene of this child referred above, lying alone in the bed, half clothed, with frequent involuntary movements, limited sight, and in a state of altered consciousness. The mother stood at the corner of the bed bereft and speechless. There was sorrow in her voice. She herself looked short and undernourished. Her husband was somewhere working! I wondered whether she was starving till her husband returned!She knew on local language to communicate.
As I watch and hear the stories of 'withering plants' unfold before me, due to parental neglect or compulsions of circumstances, I feel even more compelled by the calling to 'Take Sides' of children, who live reduced lives and are denied from flowering and flourishing!
I felt yesterday, similar to what Anna and I felt in 1981, when we felt bereft at the home call of our daughter, which opened our eyes to new realities of needs of children! That was when the call to be mindful of developmentally needy children became clear to us!
Thirty seven years are abetting us! I still find that parenting is a struggle for many families and many of them feel unsupported!
I wonder whether there is a 'call within a call' to be more engaged in preparing families for parenting of children to make them flower!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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