Sundays at Shanti Dan

Sundays at Shanti Dan are a change from the norm. Sundays are "play" days, so no class! Instead much of the mornings are filled with singing songs and puppet shows (made up on the spot). The girls love face painting and having their finger nails polished. They know that Sundays are special days, they are dressed up a little nicer in their matching outfits, all the sheets are washed on Sunday and special sheets are put on the beds. This past week we had quiet a few new volunteers, so many of the girls had wheelchair races around the courtyard walkway. A wheelchair race consists of someone pushing you faster then usual, but the girls seem to really enjoy the change of pace. Today I was given a bottle of Barbie Bubble Gum Pink nail polish to paint nails. None of the painting really looked that great, but many of them got at least one hand done. It is really hard for some of them to open their hands, so some only had thumb nails done. Rani, one of the girls with spastic cerebral palsy (Inability to relax muscles) lifted her feet up for me to do her toes. Her body is so very stiff and contorted, it was a lot of effort to let me know she needed her toes done also. In the end, I managed to get four fingers, two thumbs, and five toes painted. Her sweet smile was the reward for all that effort!