For those waiting for our first post thank you for your patience... We arrived safely and all intact at the YWCA Delhi early afternoon yesterday... Most of us took the opportunity to grab a quick snooze while Jez and Chris went off exploring... Those who were asleep were woken up by huge crack's of thunder whilst Jez and Chris B experienced the weather first hand.
In the evening we ventured out into the rubble and puddles for our dinner which was at a delicious vegetarian restaurant. There we met up with Hannah, Alans daughter who has been here for 6 weeks and got to hear about her teaching experiences so far. She seemed to be quite settled in and savvy to Delhi already. Returning back we noticed more and more the many people living on the roadsides, some in shelters, some simply lying on the pavement in front of us. The shocking thing was the fact that whole families and even small communities seemed to be living quite permanently in these makeshift shelters.
Today most of us got up early to be ready for our first earlier than expected visit to the slum. After breakfast we piled into the minibus and marvelled at the chaos and colour that is Delhi's traffic. Our welcome at the clinic was surprising to us 1st timers with garlands and lots of expectant faces and joyful clapping. After a quick tour of the clinic we met some of the many groups that Asha facilitate. 1st there were the youngest, full of joy and excitement, followed swiftly by the youth group, more sedate this time until the boys exploded when Jez mentioned cricket! Finally, the room filled with many of the women volunteers who seem to be such a crucial link into the slum. We realized they were a force to be reckoned with as we heard how they had met with many high ranking government officials and brought about significant changes to the quality of life in the slum.
We then were led into the slum in two teams for a tour and were welcomed into some peoples homes. More on this tomorrow as its quite late now...
God bless you all
Chris and Julie on behalf of the team...
Saturday 13 February 2010
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Hi Amanda and team! Glad to hear you all arrived safely and had a great welcome in Seelampur. By now you should also be the proud owners of some new Indian clothes - looking forward to the photos already! Have a good day's sightseeing tomorrow before everything starts in earnest on Monday. Take care and God bless - you're in all of our prayers. With love, Jonathan, Alex and Tommy xx
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