Children whose parents have Leprosy cannot take care of them and they need a helping hand n raising their child.  That is where the Bhogpur Children’s Home comes into the pictures.  It is a loving place where children are taken care of and get the chance to live a healthy life.  Laura Tarantino, senior, has found a way to bring joy to all these children during this holiday season.

“In the spring of my sophomore year I went on a mission trip to India with my dad and several others from my church.  We spent most of our time at the Bhogpur Children’s Home; a home in Northern India for children whose parents have leprosy,” said Tarantino.

Because of India’s Caste system people with leprosy are not treated the same as other people.  Leprosy is not only a disease, but also a social stigma.

“Although it is a treatable disease, often by the time people have gotten help, deformities have set in.  Lepers must live as outcasts in leper colonies.  If the kids stay with their parents, they will contract the disease through prolonged contact.  They will not get an education.  Most of their parents “professions’” is begging,” said Tarantino.

Parents with leprosy will bring their children to live at the Bhogpur Children’s Home when they are around four years old.  The children will only be able to see their parents once a year.

“At the home, they get to go to school, called Home Academy, and they get their basic needs met (clothes, food, safe place to live).  Most importantly they get to hear the gospel,” said Tarantino.

Once Tarantino returned for her trip she wanted to do more then just little things for the children.

“When I became a part of planning ITSOG through the service committee of student spiritual life team, I thought it would be great if we could bless the Children’s home by providing money for Christmas gifts and a ‘feast’ (a meal with meat) They only get meat once a month.  But I really wanted students here to be more connected to these kids in India,” said Tarantino.

The children in this home are not looking for anything more than attention, love, and care.  They want to be a part of a family.

“These kids are so hungry for one-on-one attention from someone.  When you are one with 311 kids living apart from your parents, it’s hard to get that.  They just need to be loved and cared for.  Remembering their name just makes their day, makes their life, one graduate from home told me,” said Tarantino.

The little things have a big impact on the children in this home.  Certain high school and middle school students are able to bring them great joy just by writing them a Christmas card.

“When I visited, we spent almost every waking moment playing with the kids.  The little ones just want someone to hold them and play duck-duck-goose with them and listen to what they have to say.  I also got to hang out with girls my age.  I helped lead Bible study for some of the girls,” said Tarantino.

Tarantino has helped get the school involved in bringing joy to these children.  Her and her dad have put together Christmas cards to send to the children in the home individually.

She took a late night trip to Hobby Lobby to buy bunches of cards.  WCA moms also donated Christmas cards for them to use. They had to label every card with a kid’s name, age, and gender.  They had to talk to teachers to figure out who would write the cards.  The whole middle school, Mrs.Heyse’s classes, and the senior AP Lit. , and Ms.Zavaglia’s classes are all writing cards.

Making this Christmas blessing happen was a group effort in which many people put in their time.

“It was a part of ITSOG.  When it came time to decide where the committee would donate, Laura asked if we could donate to this home.  She wanted us to get Christmas cards and put candy in them for the kids,” said Susie Brown, assistant to the dean of students.

The hope is to make this more than a one time deal and something that the students will continue to do even after the holidays.

All of the middle school and some of the high school students  put lots of hard time and work into making the cards for the children.

“We are not sure if/how many kids will write back.  When you’re 7,000 miles away it’s hard to send mail frequently.  But some of the kids may be able to, and that would be awesome if we could get a pen pal program going,” said Tarantino.

Most of the children at the home are still in need of sponsorship so that the home can care for more children.  The sponsorship can also help the children get more schooling so that they are able to get a job once they get out of high school.  Signing up to sponsor a child does not take a long time and gives the sponsor the opportunity to choose how much they wish to donate.  It is a small gift that can make a huge difference.  In order to sponsor a child go to the website below.

http://home4children.com/sponsorship.php