A few days at Prem Kiran Transformation Centre.

the main entrance at the center

a few of the dorms for the women and children, surrounded by the beautiful mountains

Our purpose in Badlapur was to spend three days at the Joyce Meyer’s home called the Prem Kiran Transformation Centre. It is a home for women and children that have been pulled from the Red Light District and given a second chance at life. Aside from the staff, there were about six women, twenty girls, and twenty-five boys living there. We had so much fun spending time with them, and despite the language barrier that stood very high, kids are kids. We played, we danced, we sang, I painted tiny finger nails. I learned their stories. So here are a few I know they would share with you if they had the voice.

Meet Balla. She has the most energy I’ve ever seen stored up inside a three year old (aside from Liam of course!). She is always on the go, and you would not expect her tiny body to be able to go so hard. Every afternoon she would crash, as you can see in the picture. There is no nap time here, when you’re tired, you sleep. When you aren’t, you play. Balla came to the center just a few months ago, and would probably not be alive today if God hadn’t been watching over her. She was found, by the right hands, abandoned in a hut with no food. They gathered from neighbors that she had been alone for twenty days, just grabbing food that had been thrown onto the street. A three year old.

Meet Fahreen. This beautiful girl captured the heart of a man, and not a man of the Red Light District she calls home, but a man of God! Praise the Lord! A man that has given her a chance to experience a life outside of India. She just made the move to Prem Kiran just this week, and when she is eighteen, her adoption will be complete and she will move to the United States to join one of the band [Delirious?] member’s family. This Christian band has become greatly involved in what’s going on in India and they often come visit the children here. They also provided the funds for this medical center to be built. I am so thankful that there are people from our country that know and understand what is going on in India and have the means to make a difference! I cannot bear to imagine the life that all of these preteen girls, like Fahreen, would now be facing in the Red Light areas, had they not been rescued.

the medical center inside the joyce meyer's home, by delirious?

Meet Anjeli. I don’t know much about this girl except that her mind is eager to learn! She is seven years old, and not enrolled in school. Unlike many of the others that aren’t currently in school, she spends her days trying to learn as much English as she can! She carries around a notebook and would have the staff (and me!) write English sentences for her so that she could practice reading and writing. She did so well and I hate that she is not able to go to school. I hope that soon she gets plugged in somewhere, she has such opportunities for a bright future!

And finally, meet Neelum. On the last day at our stay here, we interviewed several of the kids that had recently arrived for the center’s records. This sweet girl’s story broke my heart. She left her mother and grandmother in November to come to the center, and she is excited for her educational opportunity. While hearing Neelum’s life story I learned that she lost her father in a bus accident, her mother is HIV+, and she lost both her brother and sister one fateful day as they played in the train tracks at the wrong time. When asked what she wanted to do in her future, she responds that she wants to return home and care for her grandmother and mother. When asked if she could have any wish in the world, she responds that she would have her brother and sister back. She longs to go to the US, to visit us. She dreams of becoming a pilot. I wonder if I saw the things she saw in her mere fourteen years, would I not also desire to fly away?

Neha captured my heart!

One morning as I sat painting the tiny fingernails of this precious girl, I was overcome with a wave of grief. Here I was, painting this little girl’s fingernails. I thought about the days when my mom painted my little nails and toenails. This three year old would never have a mommy to paint her fingernails, like I was doing now. Her mom would never fix her hair in beautiful ribbons. Her mom would never take her out for ice cream. Who was there to scratch her back and sing to her until she fell asleep? Who was there to hold her when she cries? The answer is, no one. I wanted to scoop her up and run home with her and give her all these things, give her all the love I could. But the problem is, most of these kids are in the same boat. All forty-five of them. Yes, some of them still have their parents and will remain in touch, but for many of them, this is their home and their family now. When they turn eighteen and leave this place, they will embark on life’s journeys without their mother and father watching them prosper. This is a life I cannot begin to understand.

Here are a few remaining shots from our great time spent here:

spending time with some of the kids

Faith teaching how to play the bongo drums!

Melanie & Neha, constantly playing!

Leiah & I leaving the center for the day

Molika, Wijay, & Anjeli loving on me!