She told me that today she
was fasting. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised at this
revelation. I knew that all of the children who were older than
eight were encouraged to fast as a part of Ramadan, but I didn't even
know if she was older than eight. My confusion was enhanced by the
fact that she came to the activities department at the same time as
the younger group of kids who weren't fasting. To my surprise, she
is actually nine years old. Developmentally she is a few years
behind. I don't know all the reasons for that, but she is definitely
battling some disease. This becomes apparent when she stands up and
her legs are a bit stiff and her belly is a bit swollen. It becomes
even more apparent when she smiles and half of her teeth are rotting
away. The final straw comes when she takes off her sunglasses and
the whites of her eyes are actually yellow. Despite all that she
must have gone through in her life and is currently going through
physically, she is one of the children at the orphanage who I have
never seen without a smile. She makes people happy simply by being
around them. That's just the type of person she is. Now, we are
nearly a week into Ramadan, and she decided to take on the challenge
of fasting from sunrise to sunset. This isn't an easy task for
anyone, let alone a child or a child who struggles with physical
ailments. But she wasn't put out or grumpy at the prospect. In
fact, she was excited and determined. After telling me that she was
fasting, she proceeded to tell me the other things that she was doing
for Ramadan.
- Not eating a sandwich.
- Fast from sunrise to sunset.
- Working to make her mom happy and not mad or frustrated.
- Don't hit her siblings.
- Pray five times during the day.
- Drink tamr hindi after breaking her fast in the evening.
- Eat qatayif or Ramadan pancakes.
Her reason for doing this
was not simply because the other kids her age were fasting or that
she was forced to by the people at the orphanage. Rather she made
the decision because it would make God happy with her. That is the
power of the faith of a child. It's been a really neat experience to
see how the children view Ramadan. Everything they do takes on a
special significance. They are generally just as happy and energetic
as they are when they aren't fasting. They also spend more time
listening to the Qur'an and learning and reciting parts of the
Qur'an. My favorite part of the day is listening to the entire group
of kids recite Surah Al-Fatihah or the first chapter of the Qur'an.
These kids may have been given the short end of the stick as far as
life goes, but they have the potential to make a big difference in
their lives. All they need to do is put their enthusiasm and faith
to work for them. They are so strong. There is a reason that the
scripture says, “And a little child shall lead them.”
=)
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