So after a long time of no blogging, I have a truly amazing story to share about how yoga has not only changed my life but made a huge difference in the lives of some really special little kids. This definitely constitutes the need for one blog post if not several....
I've been teaching yoga for about 3 1/2 years and had adopted the attitude that I would never charge anyone for sharing their yoga practice with me. It just didn't seem like the kind thing to do. Teaching yoga has been my escape from everything and I really do get just as many benefits out of it as everyone else. And after all those times when I was back in California living like a bum and going to donation only yoga because I honesty could not afford it, charging people pretty much seemed like a sin.
However... a couple of very special people in my life convinced me of the need to receive something back in return for what I was giving. The idea of an equal exchange and that people don't appreciate things as much if they don't invest anything. So about 2 months ago, I started introducing a donation box at the end of class and gently mentioning to my yoga peps that they could donate if they like or offer something non-monetary like a random act of kindness or a gift for our Chokador or chocolate for me (which I still haven't received... :)
After the first couple of weeks it became evident that these expats were not a cheap as I thought... We were raising some serious cash and needed to find a great cause to donate to. Myriam and I found the Enabled Children's Orphanage through our work colleague (and all around amazing guy) Jawed who has been volunteering for a couple of years. He told us that what the kids really needed was people to come over and play with them.
We visited for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it is a wonderful spacious, green and happy place. At first it was a little sad to see these kids. There are 16 boys and girls living there that all have either mental or physical or both kinds of disabilities. Their stories were heart wrenching to hear. They had all experienced so much pain and trauma and were abandoned with absolutely no one to care for them.
It all seems really sad but I actually felt good about it. To know that there is somewhere that these kids are cared for and loved so much by each other and Fooroozan, the woman who runs the orphanage. Some how they had found the way to their new home where things are actually pretty nice.
It was all a bit overwhelming but we were really happy to become part of this family. Since then we have gone back two more times to laugh and play with the kids. They are so awesome and resilient! Just to know that some of them wouldn't hug or even allow anyone to touch them when they first arrived at the orphanage and now they are jumping all over me and giving me kisses!!!!
So back to the story of how this all spiraled into something even more amazing...on our first day there we met Sameer. One of the brightest and most articulate
little kids I've met. He had a tumor on his lower back and was abandon by his family. When the tumor was removed, he lost the use of legs from the waist down. Jawed made a video of him and asked in it asked what his dream was. Sameer shyly responded that is was to meet Aryana Sayeed. For those of you not familiar with the Afghan celebrity scene, she is the most famous singer in Afghanistan and wildly loved by her fans. As luck would have it, Myriam and I happen to work in the Afghan entertainment industry and were able to pull a few strings. The rest was history. Aryana loved the idea of coming to the orphanage and we quickly organized for her to meet Sameer and the rest of the kids.
And if that wasn't enough...
Aryana has millions of followers on Facebook. The next day she posted a long video about the kids and her experience at the orphanage. Tons of people in Afghanistan saw the post and one family recognized one of the kids as their long lost son who had disappeared 2 years ago. Ramin is autistic and had apparently wandered off after getting a hair cut on to the streets of Kabul, which is a very lonely place even if you aren't an autistic child. Luckily he was rescued by Enabled Children's who diligently tried to find his family but resolved that he had been abandoned. Even though Ramin had a disability, his parents tried to get him the medical care that he needed and still wanted to take care of him. Unfortunately, he was found half starved and abused, and was unable to tell them anything about his situation.
Ramin was reunited with his family yesterday August 28th as a result of the video:
Translation: "After seeing Aryana's video in the orphanage, one of the kid's uncles recognized his lost nephew named Ramin. They lost him more than 2 years ago and now he is back with his family."
AMAZING yoga goodness! This is the kind of stuff that wakes up every chakra and makes you want to stay up all night chanting mantras and spreading your energy.
THANK YOU Kabul Yogies for donating and even if you didn't donate, sharing your energy was enough to inspire us to all keep practicing and to keep giving. I still haven't processed all of this but I know that I want to do more with yoga and more with helping kids that just need someone to play with.
Thank you Aryana for coming! You inspired the kids to believe that anything is possible, no dream is too far to reach. And I hope I have inspired you to start practicing yoga. And special thanks to Jawed for introducing us to these little gems and to those who convinced me to do more with yoga than just "focusing on my breath".
If you want to learn more about Enabled Children's, donate or volunteer with us, please visit:
http://enabledchildren.org/special-needs-children/
