Dimapur | August 18 : This home away from home is a ‘Little’ Nagaland where every ‘piper’ would be compelled to pen another “Songs of Innocence.” Little Lights Home, an orphanage at 4th Mile, Dimapur, is home to 15 boys and equal number of girls belonging to 11 tribes (Sumi, Ao, Lotha, Phom, Konyak, Angami, Sangtam, Khiamniungan, Zeliang, Phommi and Kuki).
The eldest among them is Namnyei Phom, a 15-year-old boy studying in class VII and the youngest is 5-year-old Limeka Sumi. Limeka’s best friend is Churmila Sangtam who is elder to Limeka by a couple of months. Both the girls are class B students and share the same bed. With no parent to read them bedtime stories, the two girls tell each other stories from the Bible before going to sleep.
Six-year-old Apu Angami is the youngest among the boys and his best mate is Nikhuyi Khukiye, son of Mrs. Alotoli, a warden of Little Lights Home. Both are also class B students of Carmel School adjacent to the orphanage. Apu who has hazy memories of his late father, gets consolation when his mother visits him once in a while. Apu and Nikhuyi said they like to sing together their favourite song “This is the day.”
Despite the varied backgrounds and tribes to which they children belong, a warden of the orphanage Ms. Viotoli said there is hardly any quarrel among the children. “They are sincere in their studies and cheerfully perform their assigned chores. I feel blessed to be in their midst,” she said.
While the two girls Limeka and Churmila said they would like to become missionaries, Nikhuyi aspires to be a policeman and Apu’s aim is to become as doctor so that he can “earn plenty of money.” Among the inmates are two from the ‘Phommi’ tribe settled along the Indo-Myanmar border. Six-year-old Thingdiong Phommi has faint recollection of his three younger brothers he left behind in his village ‘Hachiknyuknu.’
Proprietor and founder of Little Lights Home, Mrs. Hekali, said that most of the children were brought to the orphanage by the Nagaland Missionary Movement. Hekali who initially worked in Nepal in children ministry said that the orphanage was started in 2009 with only Rs.5, 000, but with plenty of “faith.”
“My vision is to work for Naga kids, especially the underprivileged ones. Over the past two years, despite the difficulties, this home has sustained due to contributions from churches and some Naga families,” she said.
But there are others who try to take away the limited facilities and comfort the orphanage provides. The wardens of the Home narrated a shameful incident last Christmas time when some miscreants broke into the kitchen of the orphanage and decamped with two LPG cylinders and a stove.
At the entrance of the orphanage is a quote from the Bible: “He defends the cause of the fatherless…giving food and clothing.” (Deut. 10: 18) Paying for education of the kids is a major headache for the orphanage. All 30 children are studying in Carmel School but the school is reportedly not giving any fee concession.
To cut food expenses, the orphanage rears chickens and small vegetable gardens dot the compound. Though some may call them children of a lesser God, these children look as content as any other kid and the intrinsic harmony of the orphanage provides a sharp contrast to the adult world plague by tribalism, favouritism and other social evils.
The eldest among them is Namnyei Phom, a 15-year-old boy studying in class VII and the youngest is 5-year-old Limeka Sumi. Limeka’s best friend is Churmila Sangtam who is elder to Limeka by a couple of months. Both the girls are class B students and share the same bed. With no parent to read them bedtime stories, the two girls tell each other stories from the Bible before going to sleep.
Six-year-old Apu Angami is the youngest among the boys and his best mate is Nikhuyi Khukiye, son of Mrs. Alotoli, a warden of Little Lights Home. Both are also class B students of Carmel School adjacent to the orphanage. Apu who has hazy memories of his late father, gets consolation when his mother visits him once in a while. Apu and Nikhuyi said they like to sing together their favourite song “This is the day.”
Despite the varied backgrounds and tribes to which they children belong, a warden of the orphanage Ms. Viotoli said there is hardly any quarrel among the children. “They are sincere in their studies and cheerfully perform their assigned chores. I feel blessed to be in their midst,” she said.
While the two girls Limeka and Churmila said they would like to become missionaries, Nikhuyi aspires to be a policeman and Apu’s aim is to become as doctor so that he can “earn plenty of money.” Among the inmates are two from the ‘Phommi’ tribe settled along the Indo-Myanmar border. Six-year-old Thingdiong Phommi has faint recollection of his three younger brothers he left behind in his village ‘Hachiknyuknu.’
Proprietor and founder of Little Lights Home, Mrs. Hekali, said that most of the children were brought to the orphanage by the Nagaland Missionary Movement. Hekali who initially worked in Nepal in children ministry said that the orphanage was started in 2009 with only Rs.5, 000, but with plenty of “faith.”
“My vision is to work for Naga kids, especially the underprivileged ones. Over the past two years, despite the difficulties, this home has sustained due to contributions from churches and some Naga families,” she said.
But there are others who try to take away the limited facilities and comfort the orphanage provides. The wardens of the Home narrated a shameful incident last Christmas time when some miscreants broke into the kitchen of the orphanage and decamped with two LPG cylinders and a stove.
At the entrance of the orphanage is a quote from the Bible: “He defends the cause of the fatherless…giving food and clothing.” (Deut. 10: 18) Paying for education of the kids is a major headache for the orphanage. All 30 children are studying in Carmel School but the school is reportedly not giving any fee concession.
To cut food expenses, the orphanage rears chickens and small vegetable gardens dot the compound. Though some may call them children of a lesser God, these children look as content as any other kid and the intrinsic harmony of the orphanage provides a sharp contrast to the adult world plague by tribalism, favouritism and other social evils.
