Mother Miracle
In November, I traveled to Rishikesh India to visit Shahla Ettefagh and her students at her school, Mother Miracle with my husband, two children, my cousin and a close friend. We really did not know what to expect, but as soon as we landed there, we knew our lives would never be the same again. It was most amazing the difference a few inches could make when you look at what is outside of the gates of her beautiful school and the beauty once you cross the entrance into the yard of the school. It is a completely different place, a clean safe environment that could possibly offer the only hope these children could ever wish for.
We had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the children both in the classroom environment and the after-school programs. Miss Shahla knows every single child and is very intimate with their family life, their strengths and circumstances. Clearly she is not only the leader of this great place, but someone who is truly devoted from the bottom of her heart. The children work hard all day long developing their extremely disciplined skills in English, reading, writing, math, etc. She has made great personal sacrifices to be able to keep Mother Miracle as successful as it is, and is truly passionate about each and every child there.
Most amazing is how different the worlds of these children are inside the walls of the school versus outside the walls. One of the greatest benefits of their daily hard work is that they have one meal a day - and they can eat all they want for that meal. The greatest of the gifts we brought for the children were apples from a street vendor, a luxury they never have the opportunity to enjoy. Outside of the school, they live in extreme poverty in places with no electricity, no heat and no running water. You can not leave this city or school without a more profound understanding of just how blessed we really are to live in a free nation with the right to pursue our dreams.
One of the gifts we brought from the United States was cases containing thousands of legos. Although the children have never had toys (let alone ever seen a lego) it was amazing how creative they were once they understood what a lego is and were encouraged to dream, create, and build. Another \"once in a lifetime\" for them on our visit was the individual photos that we took of each child and printed for them to keep. Each of us selected a child to \"adopt\" prior to our departure, which is more meaningful knowing that we met them personally. We will never forget the relationships and bonds that we made with the many children, Miss Shahla, her staff and volunteers in the short time we were there. We are fortunate to be able to stay connected with many of the student teachers via facebook and we will return to the school again.
I met Miss Shahla at the Iranian American Women\'s Conference in Washington DC when she spoke about her school, Mother Miracle. I promised her that day that I would visit her and her children and I kept my promise. I will go back again and hope that many more from our community will do the same for this gratifying and humble experience.
By: Tammy Darvish
We were thrilled to hear about a beautiful connection made at the 2012 IAW Conference in Washington DC. When Tammy Darvish met Shahla Ettefagh and learned about Shahla’s incredible humanitarian efforts as the founder of Mother Miracle, she made a promise to visit Shahla’s school in India with her children. IAW salutes these two courageous women! For information on Mother Miracle, visit www.mothermiracle.org.
