130 Hours of class room instruction in conversational English and computer skills by 5 volunteers and 130 Hours of preparation time
60 Hours of Childcare by 3 volunteer. over 35 students impacted
2 Children's Homes, 1 School and over 140 students impacted
“The educated do not share a common body of information, but a common state of mind” Mason Cooley
We started off our day quietly but not for long soon Maria had us laughing as usually with her witty journal entry; and quickly told me to lower my glass of water since I am sure she didn’t want to wear what was inside of it if I were to express my enjoyment of her humor suddenly. Off to Assisi to teach the children to write and what a task this is. Not enjoyable for any involved, the children lose interest quickly and I patience, so Maria and I switch children. We congregate in the front yard for our usual singing of nursery rhymes except Sister Matilda joined us and who knew, she is a big fan of the hookie pokie and instead of the children with their usual cry of ‘one more time’ it was sister Matilda asking us! We tried to head over to the tailor to pick up our saris but when we got there yet again they were not ready. We told them he couldn’t procrastinate any longer with Asha’s and we managed to get hers done in time for her departure.
Maria, Jon and I were off to Grace School to teach English and I was not prepared since I had tried to finish the evaluation we were given by Stephen to help Global Volunteers assess the work we and they do. So I didn’t prepare for my class, so I threw a couple books and flash cards into my bag and ran out the door. It was a challenging day since I was boring the kids with nothing really and honestly I felt sorry for them. They did enjoy my expressive reading of Curious George though at least they would rather listen to me read than play hang man.
We spent a good part of this week sorting through bags of hand me downs and recording exactly how much clothes the children at Seam’’s have or I guess I should say don’t have. It broke all of our hearts because what little they did have was ruined, too big or too small. After tallying it all up and realizing that we simply didn’t have enough hand me downs for all the children, Asha in her usual generous spirit stated firmly they needed clothing and she was going out to get it. Instead of telling children we bought them new cloths we let them believe they were also hand me downs for another children homes so as not to make the other kids feel hurt they were into given new clothes.
Once again we got to enjoy the children’s voices in unison and a few smaller groups of song and dance. I truly enjoy watching Mukesh, Ajith Kumar and Paul do their intense circle dance and Ajith’s focus is quite apparently as his tongue sticks out of his mouth while try to stay coordinated with the drum and the others. Then for the formal goodbyes, I whispered to Jon to pull out the tissue because this was Asha’s cue to start weeping, although she held it together surprisingly well and when I told her such she laughed and informed that the inside of her cheek is probably tore and bloody from biting so hard to stop from crying. At the end of the goodbyes she looks at me and said, why do they put the volunteers through this its torture. One day a long time from now you will remember the look in those children’s eyes when they tried to comfort you with pleas to stop crying. Nor will you forget the way Suresh looked in awe at you and exclaimed “Beautiful, ahhhh, beautiful.” That is why, so you are left with those last precious moments that hopefully resonate with you forever.
After Seams we went to back to the Restaurant I waited till almost the end to get my dinner and by that time I had filled up on bread, rice and an little bit of everyone else’s meal.
I sit here at the end of our day at the end of team 96’s program with the task of writing down our daily activities and summing it all up. I had to use two different quotes to really express the theme of my journal. How to describe the experience and how to express the passion we all felt in really making a difference in these children’s lives. For all of us it was different we all shared our unique talents and skills. We all came here and were forced to make and share our goals and I feel we fulfilled them. Jon has surely left his comfort zone on the infamous train, Asha has more than interacted with children she has shared part of her generous spirit, Maria’s passion for extermination discomfort will be felt on every child’s head for a long time to come, not to mention her skill in nursing to help any child whether it be for a band aid or for diagnosing Arun’s mysterious skin ailment that was causing him much pain. I feel my goal of connecting with like minded people is fulfilled as I am about to share my last breakfast with team 96 and onto team 97 with even more like minded people I look forward to the experience.
As it turns out our goals were not all that different, in the end we all came here to share our fortune and help enrich a child’s life. For Jon it wasn’t just computer skills and handshakes it was inspiring people to aspire to more, to strengthen people’s sombri spirit and show them the value of a good education. In Maria’s case she is an inspiration to me with her humor, good nature and formidable strength to make a difference in the world and rise above what she was given and learning to let go of her unhealthy anger. Asha’s kind spirit and creative expression did not go un-used, I will never forget the way her eyes would water every time a child’s eyes filled with tears. Or the pain she felt at the site of the watching the children treasure the few meager belongings they have, how do you tell a child they cannot keep the gifts their parents gave them not matter how old, stained and tattered it may be? You don’t. Then there is me, what do I feel I have given with the little education and experience I may have. I would say it’ my smile, my laugh, my easy attitude about life but let’s not forget my time and energy since I have decided to stay on for another 3 weeks. I came here to do whatever was asked of me regardless of how hard or incompetent I may feel about it. I came here to let these children know that they have hope and that there is a world out there where people care.
Shelly
Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely. ~Auguste Rodin
The definition of experience is the effect on a person of anything or everything that has happened to that person; individual reaction to events, feelings. Today was a day full of new experiences for Team 96.
After once again stuffing ourselves with Rani’s wonderful breakfast of cheesy eggs and coffee the team packed up and was out the door for another day. The girls off to Assisi and Jon off to Grace School. We arrived at Assisi, with silk saris in hand, and were greeted by the melancholy daycare children; that mood wouldn’t last. After a brief trip to Sister Rose’s tailor we walked backed to the daycare stunned and amazed at the interaction of Sister and Sheba with the burly man at the counter. Animatedly speaking and gesturing, with more than one snicker behind their backs, we were able to secure our saris manufacturing for the next day. We all strolled back, opened mouthed, and laughing at the show they put on. What an interesting start to the day, to say the least. Ok… back to work.
The children were still somewhat subdued when we returned so we broke off into groups and started the fun. Nursery Rhymes ensued as we twirled in a circle, stomped our feet and sang yet again… “The Wheels on the Bus”. Will I ever get that song out of my head??? After a few groups we collected in the courtyard for a little play time. Shelly’s beach balls were a hit and once again the glorious pandemonium of children’s laughter, with a mixture of crying, and don’t forget the insistent “Auntie, Auntie ball…” was heard at Assisi. The neighbors were probably wondering where we’ve been.
Jon’s day was as usual… “ASDF space JKL; space”, basic typing at Grace School.
We congregated back at the guest house for lunch and prep before off to Grace. We walked in greeted by the well disciplined children of the school and were off to our respective classes. Bingo was a huge hit for my 2nd and 3rd graders and they enjoyed looking at the magazine I brought to play our “what am I?” game. Shelly and Maria’s classes were equally successful with Maria a bit more challenged with her 16 upper kindergarteners; that’ll teach her to choose the younger ones…
SEAMS was our next stop of experiences for the day. Jon continued his computer/internet teaching and was able to motivate his older students by having them search a website for jobs in their respective fields. They were able to see in the job postings that many of the skills that he has introduced to them are required by the companies that they will one day work for. His ability to motivate these kids to continue their studies is astonishing and I know they all appreciate what he has helped them with.
As Jon “inspired” his group in a quiet room, the ladies of 96 continued to sort through and distribute “new” clothing to the children. It was the boys turn and to my surprise they were much more difficult than the girls. “Sister too big”, “Sister, not my color” was repeated over and over again to Maria and I. We explained that this is what we were working with and they had to make do… and make do they did. When the boys found an outfit that was close enough to their liking, they strutted around campus like peacocks displaying their colors. Most of the clothing was, as they pointed out, the incorrect size or stained in some way but they still were so thankful for the 2 outfits they received and continually thanked us for our help. Shelly was braving the girls trunks full of their possessions, sorting and re-distributing items that may not fit any longer to younger girls, while keeping a smile on all of their faces the entire time.
We departed SEAMS and were back at the guest house inhaling our dinner because… it was shopping night!!! Team 96, less the shopped out token male of the bunch, Sheba, Stephan and a sleeping Roshan ventured to the shopping district for silk saris and jewelry. It was an overwhelming site of people, lights and noises that enticed our senses and excited our minds and checkbooks. What an experience!!!
Finally back at the guest house, shopping bags in hand, we displayed our newly purchased items to Jon who missed all of the action. I think he was pleased with what we all acquired but even more pleased that he got a quiet night to himself!
Our day ended as it began with stories of all of the wonderful experiences we had today and excitement of what we will have tomorrow. This country and its people have been an experience in itself. One that I know we are all so thankful for.
Asha
So after a wonderful sleep in our tree house Maria and I woke up at 5:00am. We were told that we only needed 20 minutes to heat up the water for the showers. I waited for Maria to finish her shower since I had a feeling they were being optimistic regarding the time it took. I was right because Maria came out of the bathroom shivering and cursing about the lukewarm water. Needless to say I decided not to take a shower.
I almost didn’t go on the trek for fear of getting my only sweater wet and I desperately wanted it for the train ride home. Luckily for me Steven was not attending because Sheeba had a splitting headache and he wanted to stay with her. The idea of sleeping in was highly tempting but I am glad I didn’t because it was worth it.
We left at 6:00am with one of the best trackers in the area. We took the jeep deep into the forest to a bird research facility. We picked up the trackers friend who in just a pair of flip flops headed into the jungle, knife in hand.
We spotted deer and some monkeys which are fairly common place so we headed deeper in hopes of getting a rarer sighting. While we walked I thought to myself ‘even if we don’t see much thios exercise is great’ I haven’t worked out in a few weeks. It was really neat watching and learning about different tracking methods. We could see the different animal tracks in the wet mud, easily telling which were new or old. He pointed out the smaller hoof prints of the bison and the much larger one of the elephants. We then saw a peacock briefly in the distance much to Asha’s delight. We watched our guide inspecting different types of animal feces but we didn’t need to be told which was the elephant’s having had a firsthand experience while we rode one of it reliving itself. I was a little grossed out but not surprised when our tracker bent down and with the backs of his fingers felt the warmth of a fresh pile of elephant waste…. We were close!
Just as things were getting boring we all stopped in our tracks as we heard the loud sound of an elephant blowing its trunk. We all looked at each other gleefully excited to be so close. We start moving off the path toward the sound. Then we heard a different sound the loud pop of what we all silently wonder could be the sound of a poacher’s gun! Feeling angry about the people in the world that rob us of our beautifully diverse species we continue walking. We finally come to a clearing and our hosts stop, point and said “See the elephant?” Slowly my eyes adjust and locate what he’s pointing at, a large, round, grey hump above the bushes – WE DID IT! We found them all of us stand and stare silently, I was hoped to get closer but our guide noticed five others close by and knows it is too dangerous for us with a young one in their midst.On our way back we see some more deer and a rocket tail bird. I collect some quartz for my collection and I find the bottom jaw of an animal which I guessed correctly to be a wild boar.
We get back to the resort to have a very yummy late breakfast. I am glad I left the water heater on since Maria and I had wonderfully hot showers. We packed and left for the palace in Mysore. Even though it was a short stay it was highly rewarding and memorable. How many people do I know can say they tracked wild elephants in the jungle, had a hot shower and used a toilet in a tree?
The palace was beautifully constructed with its silver plated doors, ornate wood carvings, ivory inlaid doors, gold leaf paint and stain glass windows. It is a shame we couldn’t take pictures as it was truly lovely. We then went to the market place which was a wonderfully cultural experience with lots of smells, color and textures to experience. I got every color bangle I wanted and a collection of oils.We went to order pizza before our long train ride home and I dumped Roshan into the ball pit to his delight. I wasn’t allowed in but in my usual Shelly style in I went and gleefully played amongst the balls with for a brief minute.
Shelly
Both energy and persistence are attributes that we must attain from the deepest part of ourselves. On this New Year’s Day 2011, neither of them was coming to Team 96 easily. But we would soon find out what the ideals of those attributes really meant.
Our day started slowly as we were out on the town to ring in the New Year the previous night. Breakfast and our brains all started much later than normal. After Ronnie’s life-saving coffee and stories about our night to Stephan and Sheba we were off to visit St. Joseph’s Hospital to meet Sister Dr. Rexline.
To say Sister Rexline is a good woman would be like saying the Hope Diamond is “just a diamond”. Standing no more than 5’ tall, Sister Rexline is a mountain of a human being. Starting in the mid 70’s, in a one room dispensary, she managed to nurse the cities lowest social classes in all of their ailments focusing on woman and children. Not only did she service the in town patients, she rode her bicycle to travel to out- lying villages to treat patients in some of the most remote locals. Today her one room dispensary has turned into a 200 bed hospital facility and is home to state of the art surgical rooms and equipment. She is also responsible for several businesses and schools including our morning location Assisi Illam.
After spending a few meaningful minutes with Sister it was impossible not to be moved by her warmth and overwhelming spirit. Her generosity was displayed as she fed us snacks, over, and over, and over again and took time out of our meeting to bless different people as they wondered into her office. The children of Assisi Illam came to the hospital to “make their rounds” and were staying for a longer period of time at St. Joseph’s so our morning focus was shifted to SEAMS.
After a short break at the guest house we collected our supplies and we were off to SEAMS to celebrate New Year’s Day. We were greeted by the children all giving their ritual handshakes and broad smiles wishing us, “Sister, Happy New Year.” They were excited to show us what they learned in the hygiene class with Maria on the previous day and proudly displayed their clean finger nails, teeth and rooms. We finished with the dormitory cleaning and inspection and it was time to celebrate.
The children were divided into the appropriate age groups and as some volunteers got light headed blowing up balloons others tied them on the kid’s ankles. Let the noise begin. Laughter filled the complex as they tried to pop one another’s balloons. After all age groups were finished, the winners came forward and had to compete against each other. Ramesh was victorious and won the competition.
On to the tug-of-war. Our make shift rope, which consisted of 2 small ropes knotted together to make a large one, held throughout the competition of rooms but it hadn’t seen anything yet!!! It was the volunteers turn to take on the older kids and that rope had seen better days. After 2 failed attempts and 2 episodes of rolling in the dirt as the rope gave way we called it a draw and moved to the next event. After a rambunctious game of dodge ball and more subdued game of ball toss we called it a night at SEAMS.
The group packed up and made our way to the train station for our next weekendadventure in the jungle with hopes of wild tigers, monkeys and elephants. It will be a long night ahead on the train but we are all optimistic about what is to come on our next excursion.
At the end of the day, our energy levels depleted and being persistent only to find sleep, we once again went to bed satiated by our day. To begin the day with Sister Rexline, a soldier for the poor people of India, and end the day with the joy and laughter of the children at SEAMS is hopefully an indicator of the wonderful, fulfilling year to come.
“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”-Benjamin Franklin
Asha
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