Maung is a young student in the RISSE day care program. He is from Burma I am helping him to be able to stay enrolled during the summer months and with some other projects. We have clicked, I’m not sure how or why. We seem to get one another.

When Maria and I showed up at the soccer game, Meung came running all across the very wide field to greet me and give me a big hug, something that happens often when I visit these kids. I know he has had a difficult time.

I’ve asked Ali and others about it, and they tell me that in other cultures – the Middle East, Africa, Asia – the elderly are revered and treated with respect and affection. This is a bit of a shock to me, because I often feel that the elderly in America are ignored and discarded.

They certainly are not revered.

When I began working with these children, several people in the program told me that it would be like having 100 grandchildren, and I found the idea strange and hard to fathom. But it is true. I feel like I have 100 grandchildren and I have a growing love for them, and feel love in return.

In America, children are often taught to fear strangers, especially older ones. In the refugee cultures, they are taught to listen to them and respect, even love, them. It is a curious gift for me, and another bright spot that comes from sometimes troubling times.  I got a bunch of hugs today.

I have a grandchild of my own, and love her very much, but I don’t expect to have any other grandchildren. But I think I do now. That is a gratifying and rewarding gift all of its own. It is a sacred thing to give, and to love, and a sacred gift to be loved. I look forward to getting to know Maung better and helping him in any way I can. I know there are a lot of struggles in his life, and perhaps I can be of some use.