Stolen my heart

There is a young girl here who has stolen my heart.  Her name is Vijajalakshmi.  Most people call her Bujji, spoken with a long u.  She is in my house and the connection is so strong.  At Rising Star they call all the female volunteers "Auntie" and the boys "Uncle" or they call you by your name.  Bujji told me those weren't good enough.  She wants to call me "Mama".  It melted my heart.  I truly count her as my daughter from India.

My fourth daughter

    She has an amazing smile with an adorable dimple.  I have watched her help the other girls in her house with homework, translating English (she is very good at speaking it) and making them feel good about themselves by the compliments she gives them.  She is the definition of a true leader at the tender age of 11.  One evening during family time we were doing profiles for the website on the children.  It had lots of questions that they had to answer about their likes and dislikes.  One of the questions was to write something that is good about that person.  One of my girls, Eswari, didn't really know what to write about herself.  At times I feel that she feels left out as there are a lot of sisters within our house.  Bujji noticed that and took her paper and wrote some of the most lovely things about Eswari on it.  I looked at both of them and said that they have a sister in each other.  You can choose who your sisters are.  They both smiled.


The positive energy that radiates from her is contagious.  She wants to be a dancer someday.  Life dance has been brought to this school and so many of the kids have embraced it.  Bujji dances with confidence and brings her light to the stage.  She dances with a natural grace.  I want her dream to come true.

Helping Bujji study for her science test.  She got a perfect grade!

A few of my favorite moments with her have been helping her to study for science and hearing how well she did on the test the next day.  Another one is sitting by her at lunch on the days I am on campus and can eat with the kids and visiting with her.  Another one is when she says "Good night, mama" as she wraps her arms around me affectionately.  My favorite moment was when she blew me a kiss out of the classroom window as I walked by.  All of the windows are open air and she sits next to it.  Daily we find one another and there is always a smile and a hug available.  If I could pack her up in my suitcase I would bring her home with me.  She would fit right in.

This beautiful woman embraced me.  All for of her limbs
are affected by leprosy.

This past Monday when I was with the medical team, we went to the colony where Bujji's grandma and father live.  Her father splits his time between taking care of his leprosy affected mother and living in a different place with his wife and oldest son.

I was so pleased to meet her grandma, Maria.  She walked in right away and greeted everyone like she owned the place.  She was saying "Vannakum" to everyone and giving hugs.  When Kim, our coordinator, introduced Quincy and I as people that spend a lot of time with Bujji, she embraced me and kissed me.  Quincy washed her feet and I bandaged them.  I can see where Bujji gets her radiance.

Later when we were finished, we visited her and her dad in her home.  It is a very humble place with very little.  She invited us in to sit with her on the floor.  She asked if I would say a prayer with her.  It was a very intimate moment as we prayed together and I can't remember feeling the spirit as strong as I did in the presence of this woman.  The words just came straight from my heart.  She had Quincy put eye drops in her eyes.  The leprosy has affected her eyes.  She quietly lay in Quincy's lap and you could see the relief come over her face.  We visited with her son for a little bit and told him how special his daughter is and how much we love her. Shortly after that we had to leave.  That evening I showed her the pictures I took and she beamed with pride.

Posing with her candy bracelet we
 made for talent night.  Check out
that beautiful smile.

It was so nice to have this moment and see where Bujji spends her time.  She is such a compassionate girl like many of the kids at Rising Star.  I feel they are this way because so many of them have helped and nurtured relatives and parents that suffer from this dreadful disease.  She will always be my fourth daughter from India.  I'll be her "Mama" any day.