By Kerryn Patrick

Emmanuel Boarding School in Orissa is beyond doubt the nicest school campus I have ever visited either here in Australia or in India. The buildings, all painted white, look fresh and clean.To stand in front of a school assembly and see the 750 smiling faces looking back at you is breathtaking. The girls look stunning in their dark blue kamees dress with white salwar pants and dupatta scarf and the boys make a dashing impression in their school uniforms.

Sangeeta and friends walk through the well-tended grounds of Emmanuel Boarding School

---

I was very excited to visit this school because my own sponsored girl Sangeeta, goes there. My husband and I have sponsored her since she was seven. It has been a privilege to watch her grow into a beautiful young lady through the annual photo updates.

Although I had planned for this visit and had special gifts ready for her, the actual moment of meeting Sangeeta caught me by surprise. Shortly after I arrived on campus and as I was speaking with some of the teachers, I noticed the principal's wife bring along a shy young woman who had been asked to dress in her best clothes.

When Sangeeta was told I was her sponsor, she burst into tears of joy. I feel a little chagrined that I had taken this sponsorship somewhat for granted but, for her, it was the avenue that had given her new opportunities and new hope. Her family thought so too. With the meagre income of about $25 per month, earned by collecting honey from wild bee hives in the forest, they could have never afforded for her to go to school.

Kerryn with Sangeeta and her family

---

Sangeeta wanted me to meet her family, so the next day her father, brother, sister-in-law and two nephews made the three hour bus trip to the school. I felt so nervous:

"What will they think of me? Will I be what they expect?" I wondered. They were such gracious people - so thankful for the opportunity and hope Sangeeta now has. Sangeeta and her friends took me on a tour of the school. The campus is clean and neat - such a contrast to the garbage strewn streets of the Indian village outside the gates. The bougainvillaea flowers planted in abundance around the campus provide vibrant colour.

Sangeeta's clean, but crowded, domitory

---

Sangeeta showed me her dormitory. Her bunk is the middle bed in a 3-tier bunk and there are 64 girls who share her room. At the end of her bed there is a small metal trunk in which she stores all of her personal belongings.

As we wandered the campus I would stop and chat with groups of children. If I asked them what was their favourite song, they would simply start singing and others, hearing them, would come running to join them, totally unfazed at providing an outdoor concert on the spur of the moment for this foreigner in their midst.

The majority of the students at Emmanuel are sponsored. Meeting Asian Aid's criteria for sponsorship means that each of these children has come from a difficult background. The opportunity they have to attend any school - let alone one as special as this - is a privilege they take seriously. It made me proud to see the eyes of these beautiful children glisten with hope rather than be dulled by fear and privation. I feel so blessed to be able to play a small part in this transformation.

To experience the joy of sponsorship, you can click here and choose your sponsored child.

The Emmanuel Boarding School Choir

---