Vijaya Dashain

Today was Vijaya Dashain, the tenth and main day of the festival of Dashain. Normally it's when young people visit family homesteads to receive a blessing and "tika" mark on the forehead from the family elders. Also included in the package is a few barley shoots tucked behind the right ear of the recipient of the blessing and a gift, that usually involves a small amount of money.

I went to our children's refuge this morning to act as the "family elder" for about 50 children who had nowhere to go to this Dashain. They included children who were HIV positive that had been rejected by their families but probably also a few of our older boys and girls who had given up on their natural families and preferred their friends' company rather than attending a shallow family celebration. Often these same family members had trafficked them to the circuses or wrecked their lives through alcohol abuse and various misdemeanours that had led to prison sentences.

The occasion went well and it was as moving for me as ever. For the first time five of the older boys (aged 16-18) after receiving my blessing (which is of rather dubious merit) bent down and touched my feet with their heads as a mark of respect. This leaves you feeling very awkward but it brought home to me just how much these kids realised what had been done for them, not just by me but by the charity as a whole - trustees, staff, volunteers and supporters. At times I rant about the trials and tribulations of working in this very difficult society - including in this blog - but today all the effort felt very worthwhile.