In the Heart of Stone #atozchallenge

For the A to Z Blogging Challenge, I’m blogging 26 days in April based on the alphabet and bringing you stories from the nonprofit Project Why.

At Project Why there are many stories, big and small, but today I bring you the story of Stone, who walked into the hearts of the slum-dwellers of New Delhi, and carried them with him when he left.

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Slums in new Delhi

When Project Why opened its first doors more than 16 years ago, it was to chance upon a discovery of another India. An India that plied those from the Project with numberless cups of syrupy tea or cold drinks hurriedly purchased at the corner shop, often on credit. Money was scarce among the slum-dwellers, but not love or hospitality.

Stone’s story exeplifies this love and kindness, given, and received.

Stone was Project Why’s first volunteer and hailed from Uganda. In no time every family in the street ‘adopted’ him: he became not just the favorite of the children but also of the ladies, young and old, and their men. A passerby was once beaten up by the ladies from the slum for having dared make a snide remark at his skin color.

When Stone contracted TB, everyone took upon themselves to help him heal. Some offered fruit juices, others simply came and chatted with him. There was one family of limited means who took upon itself the duty of feeding him everyday with healthy and wholesome food.

Upon recovering, Stone showed his love in return: from tending to the festering wound of a diabetic old man, to cleaning the house of a young mother and feeding her everyday, he did it all.

On the morning he left India, he went from home to home in the slums to say goodbye. Everyone came out to bid farewell, with not a dry eye in sight.

To Donate to Project Why , CLICK HERE.

To Contact Project Why, Click Here

 Would you volunteer at Project Why, and become a Project Why Ambassador? Will you support Project Why in its drive to make a difference? Have you ever been to India? What was the experience like?

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