A short story written by one member of Team Delk about a boy we met in Sanarate…
Boy
Every camp throughout history that has supported a battle has always had boys like Augustin. It is immediately evident that he is a touch more motivated than some of the other children, most of whom watch we strange foreigners with a certain suspicion and wonder as we arrive in the school and unload. But this one, about seven, was engaged from the moment I first saw him, wiry, birdlike eyes quick to evaluate, his energy and willingness to help us and his desire to play, to be SEEN- is palpable.
He follows me the first morning, only wanting to carry something. He helps when I need to find a small table, then he fetches water bottles and takes them exactly where, and to whom, I have asked. More than once. His eyes miss nothing, as he moves from clinic to clinic making himself useful, not only to me. Each time I step out of our clinic to fetch something- there he is, waiting, ready to help. He asks me for nothing.
I go to get a cold tea and some snacks in the early afternoon heat. Under the hot sun, a woman sits in her shiny new wheelchair. She is an amputee, and appears to be at least eighty. Her husband, in his big hat in the shade under the tree, sits next to her as they wait for a tuk-tuk. She stares ahead, and it is evident that she is very hot. Her remaining leg twitches as the sweat drips from her brow. I decide to bring the tea I had planned to drink to her instead, and stand holding it before her as an offer. She does not move, because I realize that she is also blind. I ask if she would like a drink, and when she nods in the affirmative, gently place the cup in her hand. She drinks quickly and holds the cup out asking for a bit more.
And- there is Augustin, waiting quietly to help from where he has been watching a few feet away. I ask if he will stay with Grandmother, refilling the cup until she has had enough. Eagerly, he assents, and I walk back to clinic after telling him that he is a very good helper…
Mary Lewis, Christa, and Melissa
