Making a Difference

Most of the children here have their sights set on gaining good qualifications & a successful career path.  There have been a few boys, who haven’t wanted to continue their studies & they have been supported by the charity in joining a local training centre, where they can learn a trade.

However, the majority of children here in the home, & especially the girls, understand the need for good qualifications if they are to strive for independence in the future.  From what I’ve experienced & learned here they have an uphill struggle ahead to bring social reform to a country so set in its traditions & beliefs.

Sandhya believes that good teachers for the children are the key to this.  As she says, if we can give them a good education & good values, everything else will fall into place.  So that’s the next hurdle that they face here in Aarti Home & School, as, of course, they can’t afford to pay as much as other schools & how can they therefore attract good staff?  So, they will now seek sponsorship for teachers too.  People will be able to sponsor a teacher for eg. one month or more, which will help to pay the salaries & in turn lead to well educated children, who, from what I’ve seen,  will go out into the world & try to bring about the changes that are so desperately needed. 

There are children here, who were abandoned at birth simply because they are girls.  There are others, whose mothers committed suicide, as they could no longer face the domestic violence of their husbands or the emotional abuse of their so-called families.  These children have every reason to want to build a better India!

During the four weeks I’ve spent living among the adults & children here, I’ve been carefully watching to see what is needed, as so many of you were kind enough to donate money before I left England.  I’ve talked about the way of life here at Aarti Home for the children & I’ve stressed that they are well fed & cared for & happy.  To us in the West, they seem to have very little but that’s only in comparison to our abundant materialism!  I’ve discovered that there are toys & books here - a lot of second hand toys & games, which the children can have access to when they’re not meant to be studying & some are kept in the school for play sessions for the younger children.  So, my offer to buy more toys & games etc. was declined, as they feel they already have so many. There is a very strong work ethic & the children are used to doing their daily chores & studying hard in the evenings, so they don’t have a lot of time to play, unless they don’t take the optional afternoon nap.  Sunday is the only time that I notice the children at a loose end & then they seem happy to make up their own games.  The latest craze seems to be what I remember from my childhood as “Jacks”, which they are all playing with pebbles.

So, as my month in India draws to a close, I’m taking with me a myriad of amazing memories & experiences & I know that I shan’t be leaving Aarti behind totally when I leave tonight.  I know that the children will stay with me for the rest of my life & I’ll continue to support them as much as possible from home, after all, this is an ongoing situation. 



Just some of the books



New pc & printer



However, I’m thrilled to say that together we’ve been able to make a difference here now:  we have bought a computer, two printers & some pen drives, which will benefit the adults & children of both the orphanage & the school.  We have also been able to buy a lot of books for the children plus they will have shoes (they all go barefoot currently) & we can also help with school uniforms for the new academic year in June.  All these expenses have to be met somehow, so Sandhya & her co-workers are delighted & grateful, as am I!  The children too are amazed that people in another country care about them.  As one of the older girls said of you all, “They have a good heart!”  I can only agree.  They have asked me to tell you all in England that they say “Hi!” to you & are grateful for what you have done for them.  So, on behalf of all the wonderful Aarti children, “Thank you all so much!”



The children waving to all their English friends!



For better, for worse?

Well, we now have water again!  It seems such a luxury to be able to turn on a tap & do the washing up, as well as other things.  The lack of water & bathroom facilities was quite a lesson to me! 

Obviously not only the drains but also the maintenance of the orphanage & school is yet another headache for Sandhya & her colleagues.  Sadly, the place looks in need of a facelift but then so is most of the India that I’ve seen.  Buildings are mostly cracked & in various stages of dilapidation, affected adversely by the climate, I’m sure.  Here at Aarti Home what goes on within the      

buildings seems far more important than the physical environment.  However, the children have had a purge on the place this week & have worked hard to clean & tidy their home & school.  Even the teachers came & joined in, carrying away bowls of dried cement, left over from building work, to clear up the little courtyard garden.  This was a strategy of teaching by example & all the adults did their bit to make a difference.  Even the piles of rubbish outside the gate were burned!

 

Headteacher helps to clear up

 

Burning the rubbish

As we all know, marriage as conducted in India, is a controversial subject for us in the West.   Marriages are still arranged by parents but young people often have far more say these days in their parents’ choice of their partner.  One of the young teachers here at the school has told me that her mother is currently seeking a suitable husband for her & the hope is that she will be married this year.  She will be able to meet & get to know the possible candidates before a final choice is made & she is quite happy with that. 



First Aarti Wedding



When it comes to marriage for the older girls in the orphanage, Aarti Home will firstly encourage any existing family members to carry out the process but will do their best to give financial help to families for the wedding, if they are struggling.  They steadfastly refuse to get involved in dowries, which, in fact, are now illegal but are still prevalent throughout India.  For the girls, who have no known relatives, it falls to Sandhya & the other ladies to try to find suitable partners of similar values for them & to finance the wedding.  They have had two marriages so far & the couples are apparently very happy. They are both pursuing careers and the first Aarti grandchildren have arrived!

 




First Aarti grandchildren



The emphasis here is on the Aarti family & all the children know that they will be welcomed back here for the rest of their lives.  This is their family home & as one 17 year old told me, “This home has given me so much! I want to get qualified & then come back & work here – I want to give back.” 

Helping Hands

Something that I’ve also been impressed by is the way in which the girls all rally together to help when there is some sort of pressure or crisis.  This week has been one of those times, as the ladies in the Tailoring Unit received an urgent order from a Hindu Temple in Southwest Florida for 1,000 cotton bags.  They were to be of a specific design with the ‘Om’ symbol on the side.  The ladies & girls in the Tailoring Unit worked through the night a few times & the older girls in the home stayed up for several nights to help until the early hours of the morning.  Some were measuring & cutting, others were stitching & others ironing.  Then when all the ‘Om’ symbols had been screen printed, they all had to be cut out before they could be stitched on to the bags.  Then they were packed into boxes & sent in batches by bus to Bangalore from where they would be flown to the U.S.  This batch of bags has also helped to publicise the charity, as the woman, who commissioned the work, was so amazed to find out about the wonderful training & work that goes on here, that she has written an article about it in one of the leading magazines in India. 

Packing the bags

 Similarly, the children all rallied together to help others when in recent years, on more than one occasion, there were sudden floods in the Kadapa area.   







                 Flood devastation

  

Sorting donated clothing

When they heard of the loss & devastation that had been caused, the children rallied to help all those, who were suffering & who had lost so much.  The whole orphanage stayed up all night, sitting on the floor, making ‘roti’, a type of bread, for the flood victims.  Aarti Home also provided two truckloads of pots, which they delivered to the outlying areas, for the collection of water.  In addition, the people of Kadapa had such confidence in Aarti Home that they were happy to donate second-hand clothes, so that a relief effort could be co-



Repairing clothing

ordinated by VFT.  The women here didn’t just pass on the donated second-hand clothing. The underprivileged women, who had been trained by VFT, donated their time & skill to repair & alter them, as necessary, before they were delivered in large lorries to the flood victims.  They didn’t just repair clothes, they also made bedding for use in the flood areas too.  In addition, the children gave their time in making up aid packages of food, cooking utensils & clothing, which the staff, older children, the needlewomen & volunteers distributed by lorries in the devastated areas. 


Aid Pack



Bagging up dahl



Cooking pots



Ablutions!

The guest bedroom, which I’ve been allocated, contains nothing but a bed with a mosquito net & a plastic chair.  There is a built-in cupboard, which is full of stuff & where I’ve taken over two shelves.  There is nowhere to hang clothes, so I hang my trousers on the mosquito rail at the foot of the bed.

The term “en suite” conjures up a picture of a clean, very Western style bathroom & the term isn’t appropriate for my little bathroom!  The sink hasn’t been in use since I arrived, as the tap is defunct.  The shower pipe does sometimes emit a trickle of water but this can’t be relied upon, so I’ve become used to the “bucket shower” method.  I’m provided with large buckets (which also have to double up for my laundry too) & a little plastic measuring type jug.  It’s amazing how accustomed you become to the routine of pouring water all over yourself, soaping all over & then pouring copious amounts of water all over again to rinse.  The water just flows down a hole in the floor.  When there’s no water at all, I resort to packets of wet wipes!

After my trip to Hyderabad, I arrived back in Kadapa about 5.30am in pitch dark, desperate for the loo, as I hadn’t been able to bring myself to use the loo on the train!  However, I was to be disappointed, as we now have no drains!  Apparently the drains had broken & they're all dug out outside & visible, but there were then two days of holiday for the Hindu New Year & with the slow way that anything is done around here, I knew that it would be at least a week before anything was working again.  However, I’ve also been interested to note that women often do labouring here in construction work.  I’ve seen them carrying bowls of cement on their heads to & fro in the heat to men, who are doing the building work.  Here in the orphanage it’s no exception & you can see the women in the photo, who are part of the labouring team, working on the drains.

So now, a week later, I still have no running water, no loo, no bucket shower or even a kitchen sink.  I have to go downstairs, across the courtyard & into the school building, then cross the ground floor, which is all dust & cement (looks only half completed & has no light) & upstairs to another "bathroom".  I could have cried when I first saw it - everything very dirty, nowhere to put anything & this shower doesn't work either!  I suspect it’s because there's not enough pressure for the water.  So I have to wash my hair & then my body from another tap, which is at knee height.  I’ve been managing, & will have to do so until things are fixed.  That means it could be interesting if I need the loo in the night!  I must make the best of it but am just praying that I won't have any tummy problems, as it could be disastrous - the loo's so far away!

Whilst on this subject, I can’t really avoid talking about the differences between the two countries / cultures in hygiene habits.  My experience is that the people here are very clean & wash themselves & their hair frequently.  They also do daily laundry, washing up & the necessary sweeping of the thick red dust from the floors & this is followed sometimes by washing of the floors.  However, that’s where the cleaning seems to stop.  I am now at the end of my third week here & have yet to see a cleaned surface, fridge, sink, toilet etc.  Food is also often prepared on the ground - I won’t go on about it but will just leave all this to your imagination!! 

I’ve already talked about the prevalence of rubbish everywhere outside & the constant dust.  Apart from this, the difference in hygiene habits has been strange to come to terms with.  As I travelled the 300 miles by train in the early hours, I witnessed the morning ablutions of a great number of people in towns & villages.  Just as with the laundry & washing up, everything takes place outdoors.  So, I saw countless people cleaning their teeth by roadsides & squatting for other reasons too!  They always had the customary little pot of water with them, with which to clean themselves afterwards.  This is all understandable if you have no toilet facility but it does mean that deposits remain in abundance on the ground & you have to take care where you tread!  I also wonder about the health hazard of this too!  It was also explained to me that for some people the thought of having an indoor toilet is abhorrent, as going to the loo is considered a dirty task & therefore to be kept outside, away from the home.  Understandable logic, I suppose, but give me a loo, disinfectant & bleach any day!!

All Creatures Great & Small

Well, I’ve now got used to seeing the very bony buffalo, wandering around in the roads, seemingly unsupervised, together with a prolific number of stray dogs.  These aren’t the only animals to be seen all over the place, roaming freely & foraging for food – there are goats, chickens & pigs, all too often to be seen feeding from the piles of rubbish that are a common feature of India. However, I was somewhat disconcerted to find that I was sharing the guest sitting room with a large, green lizard.  He’s about 8” long &

appears regularly at night, quite high on the wall, usually watching me eating my supper.  If approached, he tends to run & hide in the metal casing on the wall behind the fluorescent light.  However, when he decided to pay me a visit in my bedroom & particularly to peer down at me from a position above my bed, my courage failed!  Ok, so I’m a wimp, when it comes to little creatures too close for comfort!  The girls thought it hysterically funny & were wiping away tears of laughter when he darted & I jumped three feet in the air.  They then decided to remove him for me, so that I could sleep in peace.  This involved using a long pole & trying to chase him out of the room, which took some time but afforded them great amusement.  There was a similar reaction when a mouse decided to investigate the office last week!

However, I wasn’t prepared for the other visitors to the orphanage – the monkeys, who, as you can see below, come along the walls & past my windows, (together with tiny squirrels). They also get up to all sorts of mischief in the neighbour’s garden below my balcony, as you can see!  I was extremely thrilled to see monkeys outside but my excitement was met with disappointing calm, as I was told that they are frequent visitors here & are even inquisitive enough to venture inside, if given a chance, & can be extremely destructive in the house!

I’ve now more than once mentioned the rubbish, that’s strewn everywhere in India, although not on the Aarti premises.  When I asked if there is any move to clear it from the streets etc, I was told by someone, who has also lived in England, that the recycling system is actually better than in the UK.  Puzzled, I was given further clarification & it was explained to me that rather than a landfill scheme, both animals & humans forage in the rubbish & every possible bit of waste is ‘recycled’, if at all possible.  For example, animals eat a lot & the plastics are collected & sold on to gain a few rupees from someone, who will melt it down etc.  Occasionally rubbish may be burned to get rid of some of it.  All this may avoid landfill but the health hazard is immense!  It’s one of the things I’ve found very upsetting here – to see animals & people, including children, picking over the rubbish.  From what I’ve seen, there is still a lot which remains & obviously cannot be sold on & what about protection & the health risks?!

Hyderabad

I was very kindly invited to Hyderabad for a few days last week.  I thought it would be a good opportunity to see a city, as opposed to the rural town where I’m staying. I travelled overnight by sleeper train, which in itself was quite an experience.  Indian trains are comprised of a variety of carriages of different classes.  I was advised to travel in 2^nd AC (second class, air conditioned) & had a lower bunk to one side of the long corridor.  On the other side of the narrow corridor were small cubicles of four bunks at right angles to mine & curtains supplied the only measure of privacy.  As I peered out of my curtains, I received a lot of stares of curiosity as the only white face on the train!  It reminded me of the film “Some Like It Hot” with Jack Lemon & Tony Curtis, as people clambered up & down into upper & lower bunks & curtains flapped backwards & forwards & heads popped out!

The bedding was provided: a single blanket to lie on (which I had certain misgivings about) but also a pillow & two freshly laundered sheets in a sealed brown paper bag. Having secured my luggage, so that no-one could access it during the night (I’d been warned of this possibility), I slept quite well, considering the number of people trudging up & down past my bunk through the night!  In the morning I was woken to shouts of “Coffee! Coffee Sir!” or “Chai!”, as attendants carried urns of tea & coffee & disposable cups up & down the carriages. 

I was anxious not to miss my destination station, as Hyderabad has several stations & I was being met by a driver.  I had no idea where the exit was, so just followed the majority of passengers, as they disembarked & climbed the stairs to the footbridge.  As I emerged from the station, I was suddenly bombarded by a sea of male faces, crowding me & all trying to secure my fare for their taxi or ‘auto’, as the yellow three-wheeler tuc-tucs are called here.  I had to be far more forceful than I would normally be, just to fight my way through the exit, where, to my relief, a man held up a piece of paper towards me, which had in red: ‘LINDSEY VFT’ on it.  Gratefully, I followed him out of the chaos & into the waiting car.

There followed yet another hair-raising journey through crazy traffic.  I suppose I should be getting used to it by now but it’s hard to relax & look around when tooting vehicles are coming at you in every direction, swinging in & out of lanes & cutting across from the right hand lane to turn left!  The place is simply swarming with yellow ‘autos’, which have painted on the side: “4 in all” but you plainly see at least six people hanging out the sides of them!  Similarly, the roads are full of motor scooters, which also seem to carry the whole family – I’ve seen several with five people riding on them – & no helmets of course!

The weekend was a rare treat, as my first hosts live in a huge, beautiful, western style apartment with all mod cons!  It was a different world from what I’ve been experiencing for the last two weeks in Kadapa.  So, I made the most of the hot & cold running water & luxuriated in the wonderful real shower!  It was with secret disappointment that I found in the next house that there was no loo paper or shower, so it was back to the bucket wash!  However, I’ve learned to go prepared now for every eventuality!



Birla Temple of Marble



The three days gave me the chance to do some sight-seeing, such as the beautiful Birla Temple, which is made completely of marble.  Sadly, of course, photos are forbidden, so I couldn’t take any in the temple or of the fantastic views from the top, which look over the whole of Hyderabad.  Unlike our Western souvenir shops, outside the temple there wasn’t a postcard or photo to be seen, so I couldn’t even buy a picture!  In fact, I haven’t yet found a postcard since arriving in India.  Apart from sight-seeing, the weekend was, of course, dominated by the cricket!  It seems the whole of India shut down for the afternoon & evening to watch the World Cup Final.  The roads were quiet for once until India won & then the country went mad with delight!  There were fireworks & fire crackers long into the night & people drove around the streets, whooping, shouting, whistling & singing.  It was a night I shan't easily forget!



Ghandi outside the
Assembly Rooms



Buddha in the 16th Century
man-made Lake

Strange & Busy Times

Some of you have emailed to ask what specific work I’m doing here.  It’s all been office work so far, eg. typing up & amending the Annual School Report, which was read out in its entirety at the Annual School Day – no printing off & distributing to governors etc, as I was used to in the UK.  Then I helped re. a bid to the government for extra funding.  This involved putting together a history of what the charity has achieved to date, together with evidence (reminded me of preparing for Ofsted Inspections!).  Obviously they have a lot of photographic evidence, which had to be sorted.  It’s surprised me that so much is done in English, which is where I’ve been useful, I hope, in reading & amending some of the documents.  (All exams are done in English too.)

My major job since then has been to compile a bank of up to date pen portraits about each individual child.  I’ve been fed the details eg. school progress, hobbies etc. & then have put together a profile, again it has to be in English, so that it can be emailed, with a current photo, to the sponsor (if there is one!).  They’re hoping to do this at least three times a year to keep the sponsors informed about ‘their’ child.  It apparently costs £300 per year to sponsor a child & some people sponsor for life & others just for one year.  Quite a lot of children have no sponsors at all!  So, this is something I hope to be able to help with in the UK – to find ways of gaining more sponsors.  (All suggestions gratefully received!) 

I’ve noticed that the Indian way of working differs greatly from what I’ve been used to at home.  As some of you know, I’m a morning person & like to get started early, work through the day & collapse in a heap in the evening when finished!  No chance of that here!  Although I might be at the laptop from 8.00am (having showered, breakfasted & done my daily laundry – by hand, of course, & put it outside to bake to a crisp!), the rest of the office workers arrive from 10.30ish.  By then I’m ready for a coffee break!  They then proceed to work collaboratively, which means slowly, as it involves endless discussions & even arguing, so the actual production in the end appears somewhat limited!!  Lunch is from 1.00pm-ish & then everyone disappears until about 5.00pm.  I found this strange at first & was ready to continue after lunch but I had to get used to the idea that they all need a rest, due to the heat, & anyway there’s the daily power cut in the afternoons.  So, just as I’m ready to wind down from about 5.00pm, they all appear in the office again and work until about 8.00pm!

There is only one full time office worker, that I can make out, at the Home.  The other people (& there were nine of us working in the office last week) are all volunteers.  There is one very sweet girl from Aarti Home, who is on holiday from college at the moment & whom I’m apparently training!  I hadn’t actually realised this!  She’s very conscientious & knowledgeable about the place & is used to helping out in the office, so she supplies me with the info I need to put together a document & then she learns how to do this herself.

Indian timing is also quite individual!  When I’m told that something will happen at a certain time, I’m ready & waiting (the emphasis is on the ‘waiting’!).  I now know that things usually happen at least a couple of hours later than you expect!!  Things also often don’t happen at all or plans are changed at the last moment.  Hence, I’m never quite sure where I’m going or what I’m doing until I’m actually doing it!  It’s certainly teaching me to be far more laid back & to simply ‘go with the flow’!

Annual School Day

Saturday was the ‘Annual School Day’, which, I discovered, was the equivalent to our ‘Speech day’ or ‘Prize Giving’.  The school year ends in a couple of weeks & the children are looking forward to the holidays already.  All functions take place in the evening at this time of year to avoid the heat of the day.  The children were all very excited about it, as there were to be lots of performances by different classes & groups.  Saturday is usually a normal school day but this time classes were cancelled, so that the children could rehearse & everything could be prepared.  I’d been given a written invitation but it was a great shock to find myself sitting on the stage in the evening with another guest & then delivering a speech (hurriedly put together in the afternoon!) & giving out prizes!  I’d been casually informed of this expectation only earlier in the day!

As this was a special occasion, the children were all dressed up in beautiful, colourful clothes & I’d been given Indian clothes to wear too, as you can see!   (I usually have to stick to full length trousers & short sleeved t-shirts, as I mustn’t show any leg at all & must always have my shoulders covered – not easy in this heat!)

The evening was conducted in English & the children were extremely impressive.  They sang, danced & performed dramatic stories, some of which were in English too.  They are a credit to Aarti Home, as they are happy, well mannered & confident youngsters.

While talking about their behaviour, it’s interesting to note that there is no television or radio in the orphanage.  Some youngsters are very interested in current affairs but their knowledge comes from daily newspapers.  I’ve not seen many toys, mostly just worn school text books.  There are some educational toys, which they are trying to build up at the moment for the youngest children, such as shape sorters, stacking cups etc. The slightly older children don’t really have toys but the staff are keen to try to get them a soft play area, which they would love.  I’ve been told that there are some story books in boxes in the library but I need to dig them out, as Sundays are free & the children seem to have little to occupy them.  However, they don’t complain, as it’s the norm for them & they play happily together without material things.

There are very few children in Aarti Home, who have special needs as we denote them in the UK.  Obviously most of these children have strong emotional needs, due to their backgrounds but great care is taken re. their wellbeing.  There is good access to hospitals for any physical problem & one little girl is being moved to a specialist school / home, as she is deaf & has no speech.  There is a strong spiritual ethic here too, as you would expect, & it’s enlightening to see the children at prayer in the evenings, when they chant together & do a short meditation.