A visit to Morning Star -
A Ray of Hope for the Children!
It was the dawn of the New Year 2007, when on the 2nd January precisely
that I received a call from an old friend whom I haven't seen or met for
over 40 years. It was Philip Wollen and his wife Trix. One
of the reasons was that he had left Bangalore very early in the '60's and
however did return occasionally to Bangalore, but we just did not meet. I
guess one reason that being a traditional 'Cottonian', and I being a 'Josephite',
it's quite unlikely we would have had priorities right!!! But as the years
go by, one tends to become mellow and then the real inner side of a person
just glows through and that was what Philip and I did. We buried the hatched
of 'School' and went back into old times of our childhood. We caught up with
many a memory and his dear wife Trix was quite amused by some of the past
stories. Query was where were the guys from the town today, and of course
the 'girls' were brushed by in passing without any blushing.
After further catching up with the brilliant work that Phil was doing
with his 'Winsome Constance Kindness Trust' which covered the supporting and even actual perusing
of saving of whales, animals, dog shelters, ambulances, clinics, and also
shelters for orphaned children. Philip wanted to visit the Morning Star orphanage
that I was involved in. So we set off to see the orphanage and allow them
to get to know the children and those who were looking after the organization
part of it, namely John (Joy was not in station during this visit).
Phil and Trix moved freely with the children asking them questions and
was impressed with the level of education they had. One of the bright lads
they were taken up with was James who wanted to be a pilot, but Philip thought
he would make a good engineer or doctor. The children on their part were
equally taken up by the couple and quizzed them responsively. Even the chauffeur
was taken up with the children.
Philip spent time taking in all the work that was already done by John
and Joy, and while on the roof, observed the work that was needed for the
expansion of the children's quarters. The future plans were shown to them
and they soaked in all the needs.
Below are some of the photos taken during this visit by me, and some photos
have also been borrowed from Trix.
The children also sang for Trix and Philip, and being so impressed with
the children's genuine love and simplicity, they decided to help by funding
the building of the top floor of the present building. This will help to accommodate
the children more comfortably, and ease the present cramped quarters which
housed both the normal children and the challenged ones, and also some of
the adult volunteers.
The visit ended with a few songs by the children and a farewell hug for
Trix and Phil. The song 'I am a child of God', kept on ringing in Philip's
head even when I met him two day's later!
