After one gets a hang of what’s going on the field and takes another closer look at the group of boys, it seems that they are taking instructions from the German girls. After making a few enquiries one comes to learn that they are volunteers from the Don Bosco children’s shelter. However, Sarah and Magdalena are not new to the shelter. Last year they were in the city looking after boys who were newly brought to the shelter. Sarah throws more light on her status saying, “I’m a social work student and wanted to know more and therefore came to India as a part of my project work.” She was also joined on her trip by Magdalena, who is senior to her by a year and studies theology.

Their job has been to teach the children subjects like maths, english, geography as Sarah points out, “Basically, our main task is to engage the attention the kids for a sufficient period of time so that they would sit at one place and be able to concentrate.”

But they have been touched with their interaction with the children and though there were communicational barriers to be overcome, Sarah says, “They were very welcoming,” she adds, “We have been showered with so much of love by giving them just a little attention.” Magdalena adds, “We had to take roles like being someone’s sister of sometimes their friend to deal with them.”

After last year’s interaction, when Sarah and Magdalena had gone back home, they found some changes in their behaviour and they say in unison, “Our families felt that we had become a little crazier.” Sarah jokingly says, “That’s what interacting with children can do to you. As we were constantly playing with them, we have ended up behaving just like them, too!”