Gosh, where do I start? India is the most fascinating place I have ever visited. There is so much going on around you at all times, you just have to keep your eyes open at all times (esp if you don't want to get hit by a bus or scooter!). The children I work with are some of the happiest kids I have ever seen. They sleep on straw mats on stone floors in small rooms, share everything including clothes and toothbrushes, many have lice and scabies, they come from awful backgrounds (two little brothers came recently that were found living in a drainage pipe, another little girl has a prosthetic leg because she was run over by a bus, another is brain damaged from her alcoholic father smashing a bottle over her head when she was little- the list goes on), but yet, they are very happy and incredibly loving with the volunteers. At one time when I was sitting on the floor, I counted 6 kids sitting in my lap, on my legs and some with arms wrapped around my neck. I know already it is going to be very difficult to leave.
So, I just finished my second week here at El Shaddai and here is a day in the life:
- Wake up around 6:15, get ready, and have my nescafe coffee:(
- Walk over to the House of Kathleen (50-60 children ages 1.5 tp 7) and help get them ready for school. This involves combing their hair, tucking in the boy's shirts, zipping up the girl's uniforms, helping them find their shoes and of course playing patty cake (I made the mistake of teaching them that song "I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee, won't my mommy be so proud of me," and they can not get enough! Oh, and also duck, Duck, Goose:).
- After everyone is sorted out, myself and the 4 other volunteers walk with the kids to school which is about 30 minutes down the road. We are in a very rural part of Goa.
- Soon after arriving, the girls from Rainbow House (50-60 ages 8-17) get there as do two of the boys homes where the boys are 8-17. I have gotten to know many of the children and some of the little boys bring me flowers in the morning that they have picked along the way.
- At 8:50 am all the children are assembled in the front of the school where they sing a song about God as a group, say a few prayers and then the national anthem.
- At 9:00am, I get my first set of girls I work with, Dilshad and Priyanshi, both about 12 or 13, from Rainbow House. I teach math the first hour (fractions and all that fun stuff) and then the second hour it's either English or science.
- At 11:00 we have a 15 minute "break" which involves playing tag with the boys on the playground, which is pointless really because I get out within the first minute of the game, but they seem to like it.
- At 11:15, I get the second set, Geeta and Pinky, who are the same age as the others, are taught the same subjects and are also from Rainbow House. They are very sweet and try so hard to do well.
- 1pm is lunch which is a tiffin filled with rice. A tiffin is a tin container that we bring to Kathleen House each morning and have the cook put some sort of rice variation in there for lunch each day. The kids all get one too. I am beginning to get better at eating with my hands (the first couple days were painstaking) since that is the way it is done here. The stickier the rice though, the better!
- After 1:30, we all walk down the road to an old Portuguese schoolhouse that is now used as a makeshift theatre. There is a group of 5 Italians from a well-knowed theater group in Italy who have come to work with our children on a show to raise $ and awareness. The children will put on the performance at the end of October. Different age groups have learned different things. For instance, the older boys have learned to walk on stilts the Italians made. I have spent so many grueling hours strapping in their legs into these wooden stilts and they holding their arms as they practice. It is exhausting, but I can honestly say the smiles on their faces make it all worth it, especially when the one you were teaching starts to walk on his own without holding on to you. Other groups, like the younger kids, are learning to juggle balls and colored scarves, do clown shows and acrobatics. I can't wait for the show!!
- When we finish at 5pm, we're spent. We go back to one of the children's homes (they are across the street from where we stay) and refill our water bottles. Having clean drinking water is a major issue here. The house we are staying in doesn't have any so we either have to walk to the town of Mapsa which is a good 45 minute walk or we can fill up at one of the houses, but that involves staying awhile with the kids because you can never come and go unseen:)
- So, after a shower to scrub the sweat and horrible red clay dirt/dust that stain everything from your feet to your clothes, Emily, Allison (volunteers in my house. Emily is English and my roommate) and I veg out and read on the balcony for awhile.
- Around 5:30/6pm, we go back over to one of the two houses, play with the kids until dinner which is around 6:30. Dinner is always (surprise, surprise) rice! Sometimes when we feel riced-out, we walk to Mapsa to get dinner.
- Then it's early to bed- I will admit to being in bed by 8pm some nights because you are just that tired from the heat and everything else.
One weekends, we get a rickshaw or taxi to Baga beach which is one of the biggest tourist destinations in Goa, esp for Brits. So that's my life at the present time:)
Here are a couple cautions for you in case you ever visit India:
- Stray dogs. They are everywhere, they are diseased and they are mean. One volunteer, Michelle from Australia and one of the Italians have been bitten and had to go for rabies shots.
- Cows. Holy cow, they are everywhere and it seems that they prefer the middle of the street. Since Hindus believe cows are holy, you have to just drive between or around the herds laying or standing in the middle of the roads. It's insane. I am convinced there has to be an Indian video game where you have to weave through these herds of huge cows and a few stray dogs to win points.
- Scooters, rickshaws and buses. As you walk along the street and you hear a loud honk behind you, stay as close to the side as you can because otherwise you'll be nailed. In fact, just hug the side at all times. India must have the best drivers in the world because they drive like maniacs but I haven't seen one accident yet.
- Being a white female. Unfortunately, Indian men are under the distinct impression that if you are a white female, then they are definitely going to get lucky- no question. It's actually quite comical.
I will say this though, India is cheap, cheap, cheap and I'm lovin it. It's about 45 rupee to the dollar. I usually spent no more than $2 on a proper dinner and that is not skimping. A bread man rides by the house on his bike early every morning and you can buy a roll for 2 rupees which is nothing. A rickshaw ride for 30 minutes is about $3. Although if you get the driver I had the other night that did the "rickshaw world dance" that involves swing the wheel back and forth and laughing hysterically, then it might be a better idea to go for the taxi which is only a buck more. I was in the Mapsa market the other day and bought 3 tomatoes, a cucumber, an onion and 2 green peppers for 35 cents. Mom, you'd be proud:)
Ok, so in the upcoming weeks here are a couple other things I think I will be involved with:
- Working at a night shelter on Fridays that I visited awhile back in Panjim, the capital of Goa.
- Working at the world famous Ajuna flea market on Wednesdays where El Shaddai has a stand where they sell purses and cards the girls have made to raise money.
- During the afternoon in the Mapsa market there are many street children that sell plastic bags for the fish and then give the rupees to their alcoholic fathers so they can waste it on booze. There is a program called Manna that is meals-on-wheels for these unfortunate children. I went last week and it was a very depressing and great experience. The children are filthy and covered in lice, scabies and fish scales (from the bags they sell) but they were all over me trying to hold my hand and play hand games. They taught me their secret handshake:) Then when the time came, I helped hand out the rice to the 60-70 kids that were there. I was told by the man in charge that the numbers will increase in the coming weeks to 120-130 since monsoon is over and now the tourists come. It's hard to imagine. I went down to the market today and spotted a couple of the kids. I waited to see if they would see me and within minutes, I was surrounded by them calling my name which they remembered. The locals look at them as a nuisance though and are treated badly. But anyways, I will be seeing a lot more of them in the coming weeks and at the night shelters.
Another aspect will be going into the slums with trained field worked with El Shaddai to try to get children to come to one of the homes. And lastly, I think I might be doing some counseling with the older girls at Rainbow House as many of them have been sexually abused. The woman Julia that runs the home talked with me about my Psych degree and asked if I would like to talk with some of the girls so we'll see.
I think that about sums it up for now. I will try to get the list of what the homes need for those of you who emailed me about sending things to the kids. Once I get that, I will send it out with the address.
Hope you all are well~
