The Nights of the Jackal
Memories of a young man who spent his childhood and youth at SOS Children's Village Greenfields in India
In my family home at the SOS Village in Greenfields, India, there was a bowl of fruit on the table in the living room. I remember that it always being full; fruit was very cheap in those days.
When I first arrived at the SOS Children's Village, I knew nothing about the Village, and how it would be. One night I got up to get a drink of water in the kitchen. On the way through the living room, I walked past the brimming fruit bowl, and felt a sudden pang of hunger. I couldn’t resist the temptation of the brightly coloured fruit, and gobbled up half of what was in the bowl before going back to bed.
The next morning I remember waking up in fear, worried that I would be scolded for what I had done. I prepared myself for the worst, but no-one in the house seemed to have noticed the disappearance of the fruit from the bowl. So I did it again - for the next five nights, when I was sure that everyone else was asleep, I snuck into the kitchen, and filled my stomach with the delicious grapes and mangos and bananas - and got away with it.
On the sixth night, I got up and went to the kitchen to get a drink of water. Once again, I helped myself to a big banana on my way back through the living room. Just as I was about to take the first bite, the lights went on and my SOS Children's Village mother was standing in front of me.
There was a playful smile on her lips, and her eyes twinkled as if to say, "The nights of the jackal* are over!" I stood glued to the floor, banana in hand. My mother came up to me, laid her hand gently on my head and said, "My dear boy, all the fruit is there for you. Why don't you eat it during the day? It is not healthy to eat at night. Go back to bed and in future try to avoid eating so late." Her words were soothing, and gave me a great sense of relief. No one had spoken to me with such kindness before. I was overwhelmed with emotion. I went back to bed and wept quietly, before I fell asleep again.
My mother never spoke about the incident with the bowl of fruit again, obviously so as to spare me the teasing of my brothers and sisters. That is how SOS Children's Village mothers deal with ill-mannered children like me. That is how, with loving care and affection, they instil goodness into our minds and spirits.
SOS Children's Villages provides a loving home to orphaned and abandoned children. Please sponsor a child in India today to ensure that no child will ever be alone.