The girl with the pink bracelet: Sydney photographers help a homeless girl’s family in India
An iPhone photo and GPS location, that’s all Sydney wildlife photographers Chris and Jess Bray had, to track down a girl with the pink bracelet in India. The purpose was to help the girl’s family who lived under a bridge in Vadodara, India. Like a fancy adventure trip, straight out of a storybook, the couple’s journey was a success, thanks to the pink bracelet the girl wore.
Chris and Jess from Avalon in Sydney’s northern beaches had just landed at Sydney airport after a photo safari in the Amazon and Galapagos Islands. They had not even entered their home when they got an email from 71-year-old businessman and philanthropist friend Dick Smith. The email proposed an unusual adventure – to find a homeless Indian family Smith saw a few weeks earlier when the train he was travelling in, stopped under a bridge in Vadodara for 20 minutes. Smith was travelling to the Indian state of Gujarat with his wife Pip.
Smith quickly took a photo of the homeless family with his iPhone and saved the GPS location. He was especially drawn towards an eight-year-old girl who was wearing nothing but a pink bracelet. He was sure he would help the girl and her family in future, writes Sydney Morning Herald.
He emailed Chris and Jess the little details urging them to travel to India and help the poor girl.
“Chris looked at me and said 'do you want to go to India'? I was like 'sure',” Bray said laughing.
This brought the couple to India on Dec. 15. They had kept aside a week to find the girl which was practically impossible. However, the couple had only Christmas good wishes in store as they were able to find the girl in just two days. Thanks to a professor from nearby university, Dr Chellani and local bank manager, Mr Rajwania. That’s not it, the couple even set the family up with a bank account, school and work supplies, clothing and rent for three months ($417). The money given by the couple can only be used for rent and education.
The girl with the pink bracelet is known by the name Divya, meaning “divine light.” She was born under the bridge to her parents Naresh and Krishna and has two younger brothers. Naresh, a plasterer, does not earn enough to shift to a rented place. They have been living under the bridge for 12 years. But the pink bracelet photo has proved to be life-changing for the family.
“It's wonderful that we've been able to help this young family at Christmas time, because it's a time of giving and helping people,” Mr. Smith said, reports News.com.au.
The Brays came back to Sydney on Dec. 20. Chris posted photographs on his Facebook documenting their entire journey, which has already been shared more than 80,000 times. Both described their journey as “life-changing.”
Mr. Smith said that it is extraordinary that the couple found the girl’s family simply because she wore the pink bracelet. The girl’s family has promised that they would send Divya to school every day.
For the entire photo story, click here.
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