A Life in Progress

When Mandhala* smiled, her face glowed. Her Mukti sisters had taken time to put bows in her long, shiny hair and helped dress her in a clean, colorful Punjabi. Mandhala looked radiant!

Mandhala has faced multiple life challenges. Tragically blinded from a serious illness at a very young age, she was relinquished to the care of a government institution and placed for adoption. Her parents couldn’t cope with their daughter’s special needs, special care, and expenses. Sadly, however, no one wanted to adopt little Mandhala, so, at the age of 4, she joined the Mukti Mission family.

Although Mukti embraced her into the Bougainvillea Flower Family, Mandhala found studies difficult as her academic abilities were limited. However, she did learn Braille even though she didn’t really like to read, and her comprehension was low. Her self-esteem suffered along with her poor performance in school.

To complicate matters, Mandhala found relating to people problematic. She had a quick temper and reacted to perceived slights and negative comments with inappropriate behavior. She often would throw her plate of food if irritated and then complain of being hungry. Scratching, fighting, and pulling blankets from the beds were all common occurrences for Mandhala. She lacked the skills necessary to properly deal with not getting her way and tried to manipulate others through volatile actions. People, therefore, avoided her company, creating more self-esteem issues. She received counseling intervention, and prayers were offered for long-term improvement in her quality of life.

Her young housemother struggled with Mandhala’s care, as she also had many other blind children to attend to. Then, the guardians of the Lotus Flower Family opened their hearts and home to her. Two other partially-sighted teens were part of their family, and they felt they could be positive role models for her, along with the 15 other girls in their family.

Mandhala, while having limited academic ability, possesses a good memory. It was easy to affirm the impressive number of verses she was able to memorize and recite. She has a sweet singing voice and capably accompanies the family in singing worship songs. She also has an uncanny talent for reproducing people’s voices. A natural mimic, when asked to talk like various staff members, she is able to almost impeccably imitate the tone and cadence of their voices. She can put on an amazing comedy performance to the delight of her sisters!

Small affirmations, repeated often, are helping to shape changes in Mandhala. She still has some distance to go. Sometimes it seems she takes one step forward, then two steps back. It can be discouraging, but God is in the transformation business! He is still lovingly at work within Mandhala’s life.

*Names changed for privacy and security. Images representative.