The Baby Was So Small, Grandma Was Almost Afraid To Hold Her

There is a small village/neighborhood just outside of Chennai. Some 5,000 people live there. As you enter the village, your eyes are immediately drawn to a row of shacks on the side of the road.

Even the word shacks doesn’t describe the scene. They are small A frame huts made of largely straw. We would wonder if we should keep our animals in them.

The people in these “homes” are slaves. Slavery is against the law in India. But just about every village in India has a grouping of these slave people.

More officially they are called “indentured.” They end up working in nearby plantations, owned by wealthy Indians, who apparently have no morals. At least they don’t mind using these people to make a profit.

These “slaves” go to work for these slave masters initially as free people who need a job. In time, with a menial salary, they are unable to support themselves. The plantation owner offers them a few dollars to help, and all of a sudden, unable to repay these small loans, they are slaves!!!!

On our first visit to these people to see how we could help, grandma saw, held and prayed over a little girl baby so small you could hold her in the palm of your hand. We still think of her. Did she survive? If she did survive, is she a slave?

Don’t ever forget the value of life!!! Every poor woman in the world knows the value of life, often better than we in this nation. As grandma took this little girl in her arms, everything was against her. But, her mother was there, smiling, as proud and happy as she could be!!!!

Ponder life from her eyes!