A Day Aboard the Good Shepherd Ambulance

It was 7am and Amol ‘Bhaiya’ (meaning brother) as kids would call him, got the engine of the ambulance started and made his 2-hour journey to V.T. (Victoria Terminus) all the way from the Panvel Center.
Once he reached a place near a familiar slum, he parked the ambulance and looked out for street and slum children. Some of them who have grown familiar with Amol run from every corner, all set to spend a day at the Panvel center.

As I helped gather the children, I found this little boy asleep right in the middle of the footpath. We tried to wake him up but he couldn’t even lift his body. He was totally high on some sniffing solvent. Amol who is very experienced with street kids told me something very unfortunate. He said that these children could get hold of these solvents at a very cheap price and would rather indulge in these hallucinogens than eat a proper meal. This is not the story of just one child but of many children who live on the streets and in the slums of India.
Before we took off with the children, we checked if they had any kind of injuries that required our immediate attention. We also saw if they were in need of any clothing. After assessing the kids we bought the supplies, which were needed and treated their injuries. The kids, who visited the center before, encouraged the first timers and made them familiar with the routine. They were all excited to go to the Panvel center.


Just as we arrived at the Panvel center, we got the children ready for a bath and gave them each a brush, towel and a bar of soap. Most of them played games, while the rest were bathing. They went to bathe happily taking turns. The staff people also joined the children in their games.


After the boys settled down with a pair of new clothes, hunger pangs started to set in. A strong and lovely smell of vegetable curry made the children get ready to eat a delicious meal. They sat in line waiting eagerly. We all gave a little prayer of thanks before the meal was served and then the children got set to feast upon a filling and wholesome meal. The type of meal which most of them don’t get for weeks at hand.