The Day we felt like Santas : Bal Sahyog Distribution Drive

It was the afternoon of the 6th of April, a hot summer day in Delhi. We kept around 120 clothes for boys between the age of 6 to 16 in the boot of the car and set off from Model Town to Cannaught Place. This is the first time, we (Abhishek, Abhinav and Apoorva) were going to Bal Sahyog Orphanage or even the first time of going to a boys only orphanage and so we didn’t know quite what to expect. The only little idea we had gathered from a couple of E-mails exchanged with the director was that the people managing this social welfare organization were highly professional.

When we reached the grounds of the building, our annoyance at the hot weather was quickly replaced by a certain sense of positivity. This place had a very happy vibe to it, almost like a sacred temple. We were greeted with a soft-spoken teacher and she guided us through the entire process. We unloaded our boxes of clothes from the car and then had the privilege of taking a short tour of the grounds where some of the kids were playing cricket and other sports. The kids here were an embodiment of hope, shining in all their ebullience. They were so welcoming of us and so interactive — a few of them were forthcoming in introducing themselves and saying hello. They played little pranks with us and we were even lucky enough to be their students in the learning of a few of their clever tricks. Spending time there with those kids was one of the most heart-warming feelings we had had after a long long time.

But our favourite part of the day came towards the end when on reaching the boxes of clothes on our way out, we found some of the kids choosing and picking their desired clothes of need from those boxes and running away with them back to their playground. And oh my, the look on their faces was priceless, their happiness so unadulterated and knowing no bounds. We felt like Santas, and those boxes were like early Christmas presents. Quite fittingly, at this moment, one little boy pulled out a pair of long socks — the Christmas imagery in my head was concretized. And in that moment, the journey of We Clothe Them from its first conception of idea in our minds to almost an year later on the gate of Bal Sahyog made absolute sense. The sweat induced by the heat and exertion were now like drops of dew. We were on our way. We were making a difference.