DI Cares - A heart-warming Christmas celebration

The bright crisp winter afternoon of Monday, 19 December saw a flurry of activity as Santa’s helpers @DI gathered to pull together a magical, joyous afternoon for about 40 children from The Gyan Deepak Foundation.

The Gyan Deepak Foundation is a registered NGO which provides after school support system to under privileged students. Gyan Deepak envisions a society wherein present economic situation doesn’t deprive a child of its right to good quality education and life. You can find out more about Gyan Deepak by visiting their website: http://www.gyandeepak.org/

  

Santa’s helpers @DI scurried, putting together delightful goody-bags for our important little guests.  Colourful new school bags were filled with gifts which ranged from art kits, stationery, soap, tooth-brush and a hamper of delicious treats – chocolates, jellies, wafers, chips, cold-drink cans etc – courtesy our generous members of DI who truly believe in the spirit of Christmas and in the joy of giving. Tanya excitedly shared that she had never seen such a wonderful goody bag hamper for DI Cares. Members had evidently missed being a part of this wonderful initiative and opened their hearts as they contributed towards this joyous and heart-warming event.

Soon, DI was ready to open its arms to our important guests for the afternoon. One could see the excitement in the twinkle of their eyes as they arrived. Forty children, aged between 7 to 9 years were soon seated on the bright red chairs which had been laid out for them. Dressed in their best clothes and shoes, they were ready for the Christmas party planned for them.

Santa was welcomed warmly with joyful ‘Jingle Bells’ sung by the children who jumped about as they tried to grab the sweet treats Santa threw to them. Our emcee for the afternoon, Shweta, welcomed the children warmly.  As each child’s name was called out, we could see them walk smartly, shake hands and receive gifts from Santa. Their delight was palpable. Little Beauty flashed a warm smile as she confidently wished Santa, “Merry Christmas!”

The magical afternoon had just begun. A very special magic show had been organised. The magician, Ashish Sarkar, soon had the children enthralled. Initially when he had called for a helper from the audience, some were shy to go up on stage, but as our magician weaved his magic, we soon saw all children jumping to volunteer and participate. The children's excitement was so infectious that the magician decided to have all the children participate in the magic. From one volunteer, he soon had 5-6 helpers for each trick he performed with elan. He engaged with his rapt audience and had them truly spellbound.

‘Abra-ca-dabra, gili gili choo’ reverberated in the hall as the children earnestly and excitedly chanted these magical words. From pouring out water from little Nandan’s ears, to little Rajveer laying an egg after shouting ‘cuckracoo’, to a pigeon emerging from the folds of a scarf – magic really did happen - at that moment, these children truly believed in magic and had the faith that these words would make all the impossible tasks possible. At that moment, the struggles in their lives didn’t exist.

After the engaging magic show, the children were invited to our DI lawns where tables had been set up and a feast awaited them, again courtsey another generous DI member Raja. Aloo chaat, French fries, pav bhaji, spring rolls, cold-drinks – all were thoroughly relished by our now hungry children. Our Santa’s helpers and other members, served the food as twilight set in, signalling the turning on of our festive Christmas lights. Awe-inspired ‘OOOOOOO’ could be heard from the children as they admired the lights.

Little Lakshmi could be heard lamenting that she was too full to drink the can of sprite from her goody-bag, but she didn’t want to share her first can of cold-drink with her brother at home. Little Akshat could be seen packing some of his favourite food for his mother in a paper napkin.

We asked their teachers, Kalpana and Shyamashree, for suggestions for the future, and they said – ‘Sab kuch bahut accha tha, magic show ka ‘aabra-ka-daabra’ ne to jaadu kar diya. Khana bahut accha tha – bacchon ke liye perfect – halka aur unke favourite items’.

As they lined up to leave, small food boxes were handed over for the celebrations to continue.

These little children showed us what caring hearts they had, the aspirations they had, the immense faith they had in life. It was truly a heart-warming afternoon that DI had put together.

A Big thanks to the Entertainment Committee – Tanya, Brinelle, Shweta and the others who, after the tiring day organising the Christmas Tree Tea party for DI members on 18 December, came in to make the afternoon special for the children from Gyan Deepak Foundation. A grateful thanks to all the generous DI members who came forward and contributed towards building the goody-bag for the children. Special gratitude for Raja who sponsored the evening treat that was truly relished.

Christmas truly is about the joy in giving and the sparkle in the eyes of our little guests of honour, made this experience truly magical for us.

Thanks to Roshan for the pictures and the write up.  There are more pictures on our Facebook Album.