Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
in Koidikanal
Today is Dec. 27 and I am in Koidikanal, a hill station 4 hours drive from Coimbatore. I am here with Manoj and his friends from high school in Kelowna, Cara Christensen and Joseph Frigault.The trip up the mountains was spectacular and we are enjoying the cooler weather, the lush vegetation and the beauty of this hill station. Today we went out on a paddle boat on the lake and tomorrow we plan to hike and go horseback riding.
Christmas was incredible. Manoj and Arun decided to use the donations I brought to put on a very happy celebration for the orphanage that I spoke about in my last post. My new friend, Julia, the Hungarian woman I met in the supermarket, also came and shared the occasion.
We fed nearly 200 people and put on a song and dance show--some of it done by the children.
Each child received an individual gift as well we bought lots of sports equipment for the older children and toys for the younger ones. The photo above is of Cara and Joseph wrapping gifts for the children. The Indian man is our wonderful host in Coimbatore. Youth Helping Hands members did a great job of putting this event together very professionally and I must say I am so impressed by their dedication and their skills. The picture at the top is of a Youth Helping Hands meeting planning the event.
We will return to Coimbatore in time to celebrate New Years, then off to Isha Yoga Ashram for 3 days.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Children of Mother India
The night that I arrived in Coimbatore I was able to watch the news with Manoj to see clips of the Mega Youth Rally that he had helped to organize and in which thousands of students had participated. They were marching to increase awareness of the need for a clean environment for future generations as well as recognition of the rights of the disabled and orphans.
Youth Helping Hands is now planning a 3 day concert in mid-March in which local bands, and talented orphans will also be participating.
When I talked to Manoj about what to do with the $300 in donations that I had brought with me he wanted to use it to give a Christmas feast, party and gifts to a nearby orphanage that is very needy. We went to visit the orphanage and I must say my heart was nearly broken to see the situation there. The orphanage is called "Bharata Annai Illam" which roughly translates to "Children of Mother India". It was started by a woman named Nirmala who was an orphan who was sold to an older man at age 14 and badly abused. She had one daughter, Nalini, but left the marriage when her daughter was 3 years old. She worked in a Catholic orphanage but was not happy with the way psychiatric residents were treated so borrowed enough money to rent a large house and start her own facility. She takes in old age orphans, destitute widows, psychiatric and disabled persons as well as street children. Every month she goes out searching the bus shelters, ditches, etc. to rescue people who have been discarded by society. I see her as the Mother Theresa of Coimbatore. She now houses 150 people between the ages of 2 and 99 and is completely dependent on public donations to support them. She now has 60 children (15 girls and 45 boys), 50 old age orphans (35 are women), 22 psychiatric, and 4 physically handicapped people living in her home. The ones who are able bodied help the ones who are not. The older children help the younger ones.
She felt that she needed to keep the children separate from the psychiatric residents so has them in a separate house 10 km. away. Every morning she gets up at 5 AM and goes to the children's home to get them up and fed and dressed and ready for school. The children live in 2 rooms and sleep on the floor. I have spent some time with them and heard some of their stories which are so sad. One little girl Nandini, who is 13, spent 9 years of her life collecting garbage on the streets and selling anything she could to buy food for herself. She has blossomed in the orphanage and is now using the wits she used to survive to thrive. She has already made it to grade 5 and wants to be a policewoman when she finishes school. I will post a picture of her after Xmas.
Nirmala has constant problems meeting each month's rent for the two buildings as well as hassles with the landlords so she very much wants to build her own place. A kind benefactor has donated 1/4 acre of land near the present children's home and construction of a building was started but funds ran out.
It is Manoj and my intention to raise money for her to complete the building and to buy the adjoining empty lot so there will be some outdoor area as well. We intend to start fundraising as soon as we return to Canada. (Manoj is also planning to return to Canada in March).
So at present I am buying gifts for the Xmas party and the children are practicing a dance routine that they will be doing. I will send lots of photos. Nalini and I went shopping for gifts and bought a badminton net, racquets and shuttlecocks, cricket balls, a chess set, more games, a tambourine, as well as a few toys for the youngest children. I am amazed how inexpensive everything is here, so it is much better to send money than to try to send items here.
I am living with the same family that Manoj and Arun live with. It is a humble home and everyone except me sleep on the floor. I am getting used to the Indian toilet and to cold showers.
Yesterday Nalini took me on her motor scooter to Isha Yoga ashram 30 km away. It is a beautiful facility and I plan to go back and spend 3 days there after New Years.
All for now. I wish you all a happy white Christmas and hope that you will hold the Children of Mother India in your hearts as we celebrate with them on Christmas Day thanks to your donations.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
to Coimbatore
Yesterday I said good-bye to Ooty and boarded a tiny steam train which took us down the mountain, through some of the most spectacular scenery on this planet. It was second only to cruising the backwaters of Kerala on a houseboat. What a lot of variety there is in this country!
I enjoyed being with all the backpackers from various parts of the world, including a 12year old Irish boy named Liam who was travelling with his father and was so wide-eyed and excited by everything he was experiencing. One of the highlights of the trip was stopping for chai and seeing a large band of monkeys crossing the bridge and approaching us for handouts. Some had babies clinging to them. Apparently they get fed like this 3 times a day when the train stops there.
Leaving Ooty was another lesson in contrasts as we arrived back on the plains to the humid heat and mosquitoes, crowded cities, and dealing with the Indian trains.
It was wonderful to see Manoj and two of his friends waiting for me when I arrived in the Coimbatore train station. He took me to where he is living and the family had a bedroom waiting for me with my own bathroom. So I am experiencing true Indian life now and am no longer a tourist. Manoj has changed so much during his year here, and we have enjoyed getting caught up and sharing our experience of India.
He was adopted from an orphanage here in Coimbatore when he was 6 years old by a Kelowna family, along with two other children who also were adopted into Kelowna families. Manoj came back in February to spend a year volunteering at the orphanage that he had spent the first 6 years of his life. There he met Arun, who had been his childhood playmate and was now a student in a music college. Arun was conscious of the discrimination that orphans faced and decided he wanted to do something about it. He was inspired to start a trust called "Youth Helping Hands" to raise awareness, to recognize talents and to empower orphans through providing resources and scholarships for further education. He shared his vision with Manoj who immediately recognized a kindred spirit and joined him with his more international vision.
They have been joined by two other groups who are working collaboratively with them: VOYCE (Voice of Youth for Clean Environment, and Caliber Trust which lobbies for equality for the physically disabled in India). Their efforts have attracted many influential supporters and they are doing some wonderful work. I will learn more about it as I spend the next month here and will add more as I understand more. I will also post some photos soon.
I enjoyed being with all the backpackers from various parts of the world, including a 12year old Irish boy named Liam who was travelling with his father and was so wide-eyed and excited by everything he was experiencing. One of the highlights of the trip was stopping for chai and seeing a large band of monkeys crossing the bridge and approaching us for handouts. Some had babies clinging to them. Apparently they get fed like this 3 times a day when the train stops there.
Leaving Ooty was another lesson in contrasts as we arrived back on the plains to the humid heat and mosquitoes, crowded cities, and dealing with the Indian trains.
It was wonderful to see Manoj and two of his friends waiting for me when I arrived in the Coimbatore train station. He took me to where he is living and the family had a bedroom waiting for me with my own bathroom. So I am experiencing true Indian life now and am no longer a tourist. Manoj has changed so much during his year here, and we have enjoyed getting caught up and sharing our experience of India.
He was adopted from an orphanage here in Coimbatore when he was 6 years old by a Kelowna family, along with two other children who also were adopted into Kelowna families. Manoj came back in February to spend a year volunteering at the orphanage that he had spent the first 6 years of his life. There he met Arun, who had been his childhood playmate and was now a student in a music college. Arun was conscious of the discrimination that orphans faced and decided he wanted to do something about it. He was inspired to start a trust called "Youth Helping Hands" to raise awareness, to recognize talents and to empower orphans through providing resources and scholarships for further education. He shared his vision with Manoj who immediately recognized a kindred spirit and joined him with his more international vision.
They have been joined by two other groups who are working collaboratively with them: VOYCE (Voice of Youth for Clean Environment, and Caliber Trust which lobbies for equality for the physically disabled in India). Their efforts have attracted many influential supporters and they are doing some wonderful work. I will learn more about it as I spend the next month here and will add more as I understand more. I will also post some photos soon.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
First Week in India
India is a country of contrasts, including contrasts in feelings about the country. One minute I can be in ecstasy and the next swearing I will never come back here. I arrived in Bangalore on Dec. 10 after a very smooth trip from Vancouver, through London and 24 hours at the Globetrotters Hostel by tube and being upgraded to first class on British Airways to find that Bangalore has a new international airport far from the city and 950 (about $35 Can)rupees later arrived at my homestay. I was so tired that I barely noticed the dinginess in contrast to my recent luxury on BA, but felt a bit depressed by it at first. I arrived at 6 AM and was amazed at the modernness of the airport, a brand new car, and a modern freeway. At 6 AM there were no cows on the roads so I could barely believe I was really in India!
But reality soon set in as I was taken down some very dirty backstreets and I shuddered to think where I was going to end up.
The homestay turned out to be absolutely wonderful thanks to the warmth and hospitality of my host and hostess, Sumathi and Jay Jayakrishnan. There were some other travellers there from New Zealand and Australia and we all ate with the family and became fast friends. All of the others were going on to Ooty, a hill station, and the highest elevation settlement in Southern India. When I realized that it was on the way to Coimbatore I decided to do likewise.
When I arrived in Bangalore I discovered that Manoj was no longer there, but he had returned to Coimbatore. So, rather than carry so much luggage by myself I ended up finding some needy orphanages in Bangalore and considerably lightening my load. Sumathi helped me to meet some people who were very much in need of school supplies and clothing, saris, etc.
After all of the others had left I became very good friends with my hosts and they took me with them to their farm, and to the Banaglore Club--one of the most luxurious clubs I have ever seen.
It is left over from the British colonial days and has been completely restored to its former opulence. We had dinner there one evening and I got a tour of the club.
Bangalore is quite a modern city with a nice climate. It is the IT capital of India. It is not unusual to see a chauffer-driven Mercedes limo next to a cowherd driving the cows home to be milked on the main streets of the city.
After 3 days in Bangalore I boarded a bus for Ooty. It took 8 hours, the last 4 of which were climbing via hairpin bends and first gear. We went through tea plantations, teak forests, and many villages. I could not believe that a city existed at such a high altitude and still cannot fathom how they get everything up here to service the needs of the thousands of people who live here. Ooty was a hill station where the British went to find cooler weather and relief from the hot summers of the plains below. It is now full of Indians doing the same in the summer but winter finds more foreign tourists here. It is a pleasure location with a man-made lake and lots of fun things for families to do. It was originally inhabited by indigenous peoples called the Toda, and some still live nearby. I am hoping to ride a horse to one of the villages later today if it ever stops raining. I am very glad that I still have my winter jacket with me as it is very cold here at night.
Yesterday I unexpectedly met my Australian friends from Bangalore on the street and have been hanging out with them as we are all staying at Reflections, a lodge overlooking the lake that had been hightly recommended by our hosts in Bangalore. It is full of backpackers from France, Germany, Holland, Poland etc. I am enjoying being on the road again and exchanging information with other travellers. Tomorrow I will be taking the mini train down the mountain and changing trains in Metapulayam for Coimbatore. Manoj will be meeting the train and has arranged a place for me to stay near the orphanage, so a whole new chapter of my life will begin.
But reality soon set in as I was taken down some very dirty backstreets and I shuddered to think where I was going to end up.
The homestay turned out to be absolutely wonderful thanks to the warmth and hospitality of my host and hostess, Sumathi and Jay Jayakrishnan. There were some other travellers there from New Zealand and Australia and we all ate with the family and became fast friends. All of the others were going on to Ooty, a hill station, and the highest elevation settlement in Southern India. When I realized that it was on the way to Coimbatore I decided to do likewise.
When I arrived in Bangalore I discovered that Manoj was no longer there, but he had returned to Coimbatore. So, rather than carry so much luggage by myself I ended up finding some needy orphanages in Bangalore and considerably lightening my load. Sumathi helped me to meet some people who were very much in need of school supplies and clothing, saris, etc.
After all of the others had left I became very good friends with my hosts and they took me with them to their farm, and to the Banaglore Club--one of the most luxurious clubs I have ever seen.
It is left over from the British colonial days and has been completely restored to its former opulence. We had dinner there one evening and I got a tour of the club.
Bangalore is quite a modern city with a nice climate. It is the IT capital of India. It is not unusual to see a chauffer-driven Mercedes limo next to a cowherd driving the cows home to be milked on the main streets of the city.
After 3 days in Bangalore I boarded a bus for Ooty. It took 8 hours, the last 4 of which were climbing via hairpin bends and first gear. We went through tea plantations, teak forests, and many villages. I could not believe that a city existed at such a high altitude and still cannot fathom how they get everything up here to service the needs of the thousands of people who live here. Ooty was a hill station where the British went to find cooler weather and relief from the hot summers of the plains below. It is now full of Indians doing the same in the summer but winter finds more foreign tourists here. It is a pleasure location with a man-made lake and lots of fun things for families to do. It was originally inhabited by indigenous peoples called the Toda, and some still live nearby. I am hoping to ride a horse to one of the villages later today if it ever stops raining. I am very glad that I still have my winter jacket with me as it is very cold here at night.
Yesterday I unexpectedly met my Australian friends from Bangalore on the street and have been hanging out with them as we are all staying at Reflections, a lodge overlooking the lake that had been hightly recommended by our hosts in Bangalore. It is full of backpackers from France, Germany, Holland, Poland etc. I am enjoying being on the road again and exchanging information with other travellers. Tomorrow I will be taking the mini train down the mountain and changing trains in Metapulayam for Coimbatore. Manoj will be meeting the train and has arranged a place for me to stay near the orphanage, so a whole new chapter of my life will begin.
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