They seemed to have left behind their worries, of living away from their family members, as they danced in gay abandon with the guests from the United States of America (USA). The children of the Government Home for Girls could not have asked for a better outing.
Shedding their inhibitions, the girls danced and played with the young women and men, who were much taller and older than themselves. The constant smile on their faces indicated that they thoroughly enjoyed the two-hour bonhomie with the foreigners.
The guests – officers, marines and sailors from the US Navy – were in the city to participate in the ‘Tiger Triumph’, the Tri-services India-US Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Amphibious Exercise, which got off to a colourful start on Thursday.
The team visited the Government Home for Girls and spent some time with the girls on the initiative of Ken Foundation, a city-based NGO, on Friday morning.
The visitors readily obliged when some of the inmates invited them to dance and play with them. They together danced to traditional and fast beat numbers from Telugu films. Some of them quickly matched their step with the local girls. It did not take long for the local girls either to dance to western songs.
The guests enjoyed playing musical chairs and kho kho. The local girls were, however, no match for the visitors when it came to volleyball. In the tug of war, the visitors joined the girls on either side of the rope and when one side finally won, there was all-round jubilation.
Building friendships
“The purpose of our participation in this community relations event is to build friendships with our Indian hosts and learn about Indian culture. The local girls are fantastic and we are having an awesome time playing with them,” 1st Lt. Tori Sharpe, Public
Affairs Officer, told The Hindu .
“It is nice that local college students are helping us in communicating with the girls. This is my second visit to Visakhapatnam and I am thoroughly enjoying the warmth of the local people,” said Ms. Sharpe, who has been with the US Marine Corps for the last two-and-a-half years.
“Forty-five men and women from US Navy and US Marines came here to spend time with the children. Suchevents help in knowing one another’s culture,” said Drew Giblin, Public Affairs Officer of U.S. Consulate General in Hyderabad.
