I had the opportunity to go to the slums yesterday. I was ready for the worst but nothing can really prepare you for what you see there..
We walked over a thin log to get over the garbage filled swamp in front of the slum area. Heads started to poke out slowly as people started to realize there were white people coming.
We broughtt a few of the girls to see the slums aswell, its part of an outreach program New Hope is going to do. The girls will be able to go to the slums a couple times a week and provide some fun for the kids here. Most of the girls came from the same sort of slums and now that they have been blessed with a roof, full stomachs and people who love and care for them everyday it is their chance to start to give back and give hope to the rest of the kids.
All the kids were covered in mud and dirt, ragged cloths (if any clothes at all) and a headfull of knots. There was a small girl who was holding her baby brother. SHe was not holding him properly so i offered to take him from her for a bit. He looked up at me with these huge eyes, little scratches and bruses marked his face. He had a moment of complete peace on his face and i thought it was me who had comforted him that was making him look so happy... i was wrong, he had peed all over me. haha It was pretty funny.
The kids followed us as we walked along the rows of Shacks made out of garbage. We sang some songs with them and joked around with them and they really craved such possitive attention.
Some older girls poked their heads out and same out to see what was all the hype. These girls were stunningly beautiful. When we told them how beautiful they were they giggled and blushed but they were so happy to hear it. They have probably never heard those words be spoken to them.
We will be visiting the slums again hopefully build some sort of base there and a support system for some of the kids.. I wish we could do something immediate to help.
On a more lighter note 4 of the girls were asked to dance in the independance day celebrations at their school. They Were practicing all day yesterday and we got to go see them perform today at school. They were the most gorgeous girls there and so proud!
I gotta run, they are home from school!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Wow my followers list is looking pretty weak haha. If people ask about my trip et them know i do have a blog they can check in on.
I am really bad with keeping this blog because I dont have my own computer so i have to borrow it from one of the girls staying here. I will do my best with keeping up with all the neat stories i have of my stay so far.
The other day i blew my nose the first time i have been here and it came out black... I am noticing the pollution more and more and how it is affecting my body. I did not think i would have to do much with my skin while i was here because i am not wearing make up but when i wash my face at night there is a layer of dust that comes off...
Bathing is quite the task here... We heat up the biggest pot they have on the stove and pour it into a big bucket. The bathroom is cold and has a window that is constantly open so i frantically pour cup-fulls of hot water over my head while trying to rub soap on my body, shampoo and condition my hair and stay warm all at the same time.. You guys may think i am being a wimp thinking, "how could india be THAT cold?" believe me,the only way of getting warm is than drinking tea constantly and curling up in my sleeping bag. Some days when the fog is not too heavy we can see the sun and it warms up outside, those are the best days. :)
My name around the house is Marni Dee Dee. Dee Dee Means big sister. They have a hard time saying Marni so is always comes out sounding more like Mori or mardi... They decided that Tara DeeDee should be my name instead, meaning Star. But whenever they called me Tara, i would not listen. I think we have decided whatever they can pronounce from Marni they can call me.
When i was using a bicycle Rickshaw the other day with Deesa(the organizer here at New Hope) we went down a pretty rough part of town.. all the little shacks had different coloured houses. Deesa told me that we were in the "untouchable" area with people who suffered from Leprosy. The ones who had Leprocy had Pink coloured homes so people know not to go there.. They lived right next to a cremation grounds. Just an open area where i could see freely into and see the smoke coming up from each cremation. People live right next to it, breathing peoples ashes.. Individuals who have leprosy are mostly the ones who work here.
I have found out why there are so many cows who just wander the streets like people!! They walk around constantly high off of Car exhaust! there is so much gas emmisions that they are constantly stoned! Its kind of funny but pretty sad at the same time. I mean these cows are walking around high and are just pure skin and bones.. They are suffering and look like they will drop dead at any second. I am no Cow lover or anything but atleast put them out of their misery!! The Hindi religion focuses on reincarnation so people allow these cows to walk around town like they are humans because it coul dbe their aunt or uncle. Its just odd that if the cow is sacred, why are they starving and treated like dirt? hmm...
Yesterday I went to the girls school. I was warned i would get some stares but i didnt think much of it because everywhere i go people are gawking at me. But at the school it was absolutely hilarious! I waled around from one girls room to the other and everywhere i went a mob of kids followed behind. I felt subconscious but also like a movie star. They were asking to shake my hand and touch me. The entire school was following me. It was quite the experience, I will put the video i have of it on facebook.
I really am enjoying these girls. I was helping organizing the office yesterday while the girls where at school and i was sorting out each other the girls files. I read their stories about why they have come to New Hope and it just breaks my heart. I cant believe these cute, happy girls had to endure such awful things in their life. The youngest girl here has got in trouble countless times for eating from the garbage's. She is not hungry, because they are constantly being fed more than i thought their stomachs could handle, but just doing it out of habit. When she lived in the slums she would eat from the gutters and garbage because they had no food.
Now to see her everyday with the brightest smile and most outgoing personality i would never have guessed she came from somewhere so dark and ugly.
It is so humbling being here with these amazing girls.
This weekend the volunteers and I are going to Jaipur for a couple day excursion. I am really looking forward to it! We are all wanting to stay somewhere cheap but our only request is somewhere with a REAL SHOWER!!
Love you all!
I am really bad with keeping this blog because I dont have my own computer so i have to borrow it from one of the girls staying here. I will do my best with keeping up with all the neat stories i have of my stay so far.
The other day i blew my nose the first time i have been here and it came out black... I am noticing the pollution more and more and how it is affecting my body. I did not think i would have to do much with my skin while i was here because i am not wearing make up but when i wash my face at night there is a layer of dust that comes off...
Bathing is quite the task here... We heat up the biggest pot they have on the stove and pour it into a big bucket. The bathroom is cold and has a window that is constantly open so i frantically pour cup-fulls of hot water over my head while trying to rub soap on my body, shampoo and condition my hair and stay warm all at the same time.. You guys may think i am being a wimp thinking, "how could india be THAT cold?" believe me,the only way of getting warm is than drinking tea constantly and curling up in my sleeping bag. Some days when the fog is not too heavy we can see the sun and it warms up outside, those are the best days. :)
My name around the house is Marni Dee Dee. Dee Dee Means big sister. They have a hard time saying Marni so is always comes out sounding more like Mori or mardi... They decided that Tara DeeDee should be my name instead, meaning Star. But whenever they called me Tara, i would not listen. I think we have decided whatever they can pronounce from Marni they can call me.
When i was using a bicycle Rickshaw the other day with Deesa(the organizer here at New Hope) we went down a pretty rough part of town.. all the little shacks had different coloured houses. Deesa told me that we were in the "untouchable" area with people who suffered from Leprosy. The ones who had Leprocy had Pink coloured homes so people know not to go there.. They lived right next to a cremation grounds. Just an open area where i could see freely into and see the smoke coming up from each cremation. People live right next to it, breathing peoples ashes.. Individuals who have leprosy are mostly the ones who work here.
I have found out why there are so many cows who just wander the streets like people!! They walk around constantly high off of Car exhaust! there is so much gas emmisions that they are constantly stoned! Its kind of funny but pretty sad at the same time. I mean these cows are walking around high and are just pure skin and bones.. They are suffering and look like they will drop dead at any second. I am no Cow lover or anything but atleast put them out of their misery!! The Hindi religion focuses on reincarnation so people allow these cows to walk around town like they are humans because it coul dbe their aunt or uncle. Its just odd that if the cow is sacred, why are they starving and treated like dirt? hmm...
Yesterday I went to the girls school. I was warned i would get some stares but i didnt think much of it because everywhere i go people are gawking at me. But at the school it was absolutely hilarious! I waled around from one girls room to the other and everywhere i went a mob of kids followed behind. I felt subconscious but also like a movie star. They were asking to shake my hand and touch me. The entire school was following me. It was quite the experience, I will put the video i have of it on facebook.
I really am enjoying these girls. I was helping organizing the office yesterday while the girls where at school and i was sorting out each other the girls files. I read their stories about why they have come to New Hope and it just breaks my heart. I cant believe these cute, happy girls had to endure such awful things in their life. The youngest girl here has got in trouble countless times for eating from the garbage's. She is not hungry, because they are constantly being fed more than i thought their stomachs could handle, but just doing it out of habit. When she lived in the slums she would eat from the gutters and garbage because they had no food.
Now to see her everyday with the brightest smile and most outgoing personality i would never have guessed she came from somewhere so dark and ugly.
It is so humbling being here with these amazing girls.
This weekend the volunteers and I are going to Jaipur for a couple day excursion. I am really looking forward to it! We are all wanting to stay somewhere cheap but our only request is somewhere with a REAL SHOWER!!
Love you all!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
And so it begins!
Namaste!
So, i have arrived!!
It took almost 2 days to get here but i am alive and well!
My 10 hour stopover in London was nice because i got to spend some time with my friend Amy, who just moved there! we took the metro into London and saw Big Ben and Trafalgar Square.
When I landed in India i didnt know we were landing until we actually hit the tarmack it looked like we were still in the clouds because of the fog and smog..Arriving at the Indian airport was a little intimidating, the honking of taxi's, and smell of pollution was a shock, not to mention i stick out like a sore thumb with my blond hair, blue eyes and pale skin. Although my Driver did not speak english, luckily there was another volunteer who was getting a ride with me.
After some confusion of where i was being placed, some volunteers and I got a ride to our volunteering location. Apparently where i was being placed was a little longer drive so i stayed the night at a Doctors house where a few interns from America were staying and working in Indian Hospitals. Everyone here is so kind and hospitable, always feeding me and handing me chai's.
I sure was not prepared for how cold it is here. I only brought a fleecey sweater but had to go out to the market to buy another. The mornings and nights leave me with a chill but the days are hot and sunny! THANK GOD for my sleeping bag, or else i would have been sleeping with a few light sheets! (thanks mom)
I am now placed at the house where i will be volunteering for the next three and a half weeks. It is a girls home, not an orphanage but a second stage house for girls who were found in the slums. It is so horrible the way girls are treated here. Some of the guys volunteering at the hospitals were telling me how they were checking the sex of babies..(for the life of me i cant remember what this is called haha, but i think you catch my drift) And if it was a girl that the mother was pregnant with they would abort it... I didn't understand how this could be legal.. i found out it isn't legal but the doctors do it because they know what the child will go through if it is born. If the mother keeps her, the girl will either be abused and left in the slums or when she gets married the parents of the Groom will take all the money from the girls parents...
We are so Lucky we do not hate to think about this in Canada..
The house i am in is a second stage house for girls. They were on the slums but they have been going to school and living more normal lives now.
I sleep with them in bunks and eat with them for their meals. I help them study and get to goof around and play with them as well.
I will get to go out on day trips to the heart of Delhi with the other volunteers and girls who run the house on some days. We are talking about a weekend in Jaiper (dont know if i spelt that right...)
The language barrier is alot harder than i thought. I have a very hard time understanding them which makes it hard to get to know them more. They are trying to teach me some Hindi but i suck at it! There are 2 girls who do not go to school and are home schooled here which i get to help out with. We go and teach on the roof of the house which is great! yesterday when we were teaching there was a bunch of monkeys who were bugging us and one got inside the house.
This blog is sort of all over the place, sorry my mind is pretty scattered.
I miss you mom, dad and corrie! I got pretty emotional saying goodbye at the airport haha. I was all calm and collected until i actually realized what was going on! I was leaving for 6 months!! haha well love you a bunch I will keep blogging whenever i get a chance and put some pictures up soon!
So, i have arrived!!
It took almost 2 days to get here but i am alive and well!
My 10 hour stopover in London was nice because i got to spend some time with my friend Amy, who just moved there! we took the metro into London and saw Big Ben and Trafalgar Square.
When I landed in India i didnt know we were landing until we actually hit the tarmack it looked like we were still in the clouds because of the fog and smog..Arriving at the Indian airport was a little intimidating, the honking of taxi's, and smell of pollution was a shock, not to mention i stick out like a sore thumb with my blond hair, blue eyes and pale skin. Although my Driver did not speak english, luckily there was another volunteer who was getting a ride with me.
After some confusion of where i was being placed, some volunteers and I got a ride to our volunteering location. Apparently where i was being placed was a little longer drive so i stayed the night at a Doctors house where a few interns from America were staying and working in Indian Hospitals. Everyone here is so kind and hospitable, always feeding me and handing me chai's.
I sure was not prepared for how cold it is here. I only brought a fleecey sweater but had to go out to the market to buy another. The mornings and nights leave me with a chill but the days are hot and sunny! THANK GOD for my sleeping bag, or else i would have been sleeping with a few light sheets! (thanks mom)
I am now placed at the house where i will be volunteering for the next three and a half weeks. It is a girls home, not an orphanage but a second stage house for girls who were found in the slums. It is so horrible the way girls are treated here. Some of the guys volunteering at the hospitals were telling me how they were checking the sex of babies..(for the life of me i cant remember what this is called haha, but i think you catch my drift) And if it was a girl that the mother was pregnant with they would abort it... I didn't understand how this could be legal.. i found out it isn't legal but the doctors do it because they know what the child will go through if it is born. If the mother keeps her, the girl will either be abused and left in the slums or when she gets married the parents of the Groom will take all the money from the girls parents...
We are so Lucky we do not hate to think about this in Canada..
The house i am in is a second stage house for girls. They were on the slums but they have been going to school and living more normal lives now.
I sleep with them in bunks and eat with them for their meals. I help them study and get to goof around and play with them as well.
I will get to go out on day trips to the heart of Delhi with the other volunteers and girls who run the house on some days. We are talking about a weekend in Jaiper (dont know if i spelt that right...)
The language barrier is alot harder than i thought. I have a very hard time understanding them which makes it hard to get to know them more. They are trying to teach me some Hindi but i suck at it! There are 2 girls who do not go to school and are home schooled here which i get to help out with. We go and teach on the roof of the house which is great! yesterday when we were teaching there was a bunch of monkeys who were bugging us and one got inside the house.
This blog is sort of all over the place, sorry my mind is pretty scattered.
I miss you mom, dad and corrie! I got pretty emotional saying goodbye at the airport haha. I was all calm and collected until i actually realized what was going on! I was leaving for 6 months!! haha well love you a bunch I will keep blogging whenever i get a chance and put some pictures up soon!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Departure
Everyone keeps asking if im nervous or scared... i am just too full of excitement and anticipation to be nervous about travelling alone. I have been planning this trip for years now and its finially happening!!
Its definately time for me to leave everything behind and experience an adventure!
my plane boards at 6:20 pm and have a stop over in London. It arrives early tomorrow morning and i leave again late that night so i plan to do a little exploring of London using the Metro.
I arrive in Delhi late in the evening of the 17th and start my volunteering program the next day.
My first volunteer placement is working with Delhi Street kids. I am really excited to see the kids. Ill let you know more about the volunteering details when i get there!
I better go deal with my last minute things before i leave!
I hope to hear from family and friends throughout my trip.
You can find pictures on my facebook page :)
Cheers!!
Its definately time for me to leave everything behind and experience an adventure!
my plane boards at 6:20 pm and have a stop over in London. It arrives early tomorrow morning and i leave again late that night so i plan to do a little exploring of London using the Metro.
I arrive in Delhi late in the evening of the 17th and start my volunteering program the next day.
My first volunteer placement is working with Delhi Street kids. I am really excited to see the kids. Ill let you know more about the volunteering details when i get there!
I better go deal with my last minute things before i leave!
I hope to hear from family and friends throughout my trip.
You can find pictures on my facebook page :)
Cheers!!
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