My friend Kristin sent me a great update on her work in India to share with all of you here. If you'd like to read the original post or find out how to donate, visit my post from Thanksgiving. I firmly believe I have the best readers ever, and to know how much we all contributed makes my heart swell. Thank you, thank you. Here's Kristin- and be sure to follow along on her journey via her blog too!:
Hi lovely readers! It is almost impossible to believe but it has been two months since Danielle shared the story of Asha Guwahati right here on Sometimes Sweet. I knew that her readers were awesome, but the outpouring and support that I have received from you all is more than I ever imagined possible. to put it in perspective, you guys have donated enough money to make 6,000 meals. That is right, six thousand!!!! There are no words I can even say to describe how incredible that is. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that this would stretch around the world as it already has. The amount of support we have received has recently allowed me to expand what we can offer to these kids, and it definitely has me dreaming big. Every penny (or rupee!) that we have received still goes one hundred percent to the children, either through meals or street girls days.
Every week, I head to the same slum with some of my friends and coworkers, though it is the same location it feels different week by week. Things are changing before our very eyes. The slum children are reaching out to one another, helping to pass out meals and doing it with huge smiles on their faces. They hold our hands and guide us through their homes, right down by the tracks as the trains barrel by. One local girl has started inviting me over every Sunday to spend time with her family. Just today we danced, sang, played and laughed and when I went home I couldn't help but cry. I knew when starting this that I was letting them in my heart, but now they have completely let me in theirs. Asha Guwahati continues to provide these meals every week but more importantly, it has become a dependable source of love, happiness and support in a place that rarely (if ever) saw those things.
On behalf of the children of Lakhtokia, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for supporting me and these children though we have never met. As one of the slum girls, Anjuna, sat next to me a few weeks ago and asked if she could help to give out the meals, the purpose of all of this lit up in her. We have the incredible responsibility to be the living example of self-less giving and compassionate love to the children in our lives. Our smallest of actions impacts them in the biggest of ways and has the potential to change them forever. Thank you so much for providing such incredible inspiration to continue to serve the children here.
With Love,
Kristin