Reflections from India

As you all are busy preparing for Christmas, I have been reflecting on the many gifts I have received during our time in India. We are in one of the very poorest areas in the world, very remote, with limited resources. We have learned so very much from these people, who are kindhearted, warm and among the most hospitable I have ever encountered.

Hospitality doesn’t mean pulling out the finest china and serving the best food and drink. It doesn’t include having to clean the house, arrange the flowers and spending hours in planning an event for those we love and care about.

In Annupshar, being hospitable means being thrilled that the Americans are visiting in your village. They come to your tiny one room home, with cow dung patties drying out front, while the naked babies toddle about, and small children in torn and dirty clothes roam unsupervised through the streets. The water buffalo, pigs, goats, dogs and cows are tied to trees, or pass by on the dirt road. Hospitality means going to the well to draw enough water to boil for chai, cooked on a fire on the floor of your 5 x 10’ house, built with cow dung. It means any of the villagers who happen to see you passing by, join the others to follow these strange looking people, welcoming us proudly to their village. We smile, say hello or nameste, and we become “friends”. Communication is limited, because until recently Hindi or Urdu have been the only language spoken here since the beginning of time. Words are spoken in the smile, a touch, or with the strange words we each speak that neither understands. It may be in asking to take a photo, then showing it to them.

Our hostess passes small cups of chai, invites us to sit on the only piece of furniture in the house, her parents rope bed. The others sleep on the floor. Preeti pulls out a package of cookies from under the bed that cost 10 rupees(23 cents). We know these are special cookies, saved for guests. We take photos, tell her how beautiful her mantle is(adorned with newspaper, cut with a scalloped edge for decoration). Night begins to fall so we must be on our way back to the school. We are so happy to have come for this visit and to have shared the hospitality of a people whose lives are unlike our own in every way.

As we leave, I pray that God will shelter them, keep them safe and healthy. I also pray every morning as the 600 girls pray their prayers in Hindi at the opening of school, and sing “We Shall Overcome” I ask Him to protect them from all the evils that beset a society where the abuse of women comes in every form known to mankind. As I scan the room where the girls gather, I can only imagine some of the unimaginable experiences many have gone through in their precious, young lives. I pray for girls born of rape, and those who are being raped and abused.

I reflect on all of the gifts that God has given to us, as Americans. They take on new meaning now that we are here:
-For not having to cut holes in my children’s shoes because their feet have grown and we cannot buy a new pair. Most children here, if they have a pair of socks, have holes in their socks big enough to put their foot through. My children had so many socks we would simply discard because they weren’t the right color, a favorite, or didn’t feel right. How these children would love to have had our throwaways.
-That my children didn’t die from typhoid, caused by unclean water, and no medical care;
-That I could help heal a young girl’s infected chin, infected since our arrival, by providing her with peroxide and Neosporin, and showing her how to keep the wound clean . She and I are now great friends, as she seeks me out every day to show me how her chin has healed. The scar will remain, as it was badly infected.
-that my children were not born undersized, or with developmental delays, because I lacked iodine during pregnancy. And, that I never had to beg for food to feed my crying, hungry babies.
-that in America we don’t have to sell our daughters into prostitution, out of desperation. The price? 1000 rupees($20US)
-that we don’t marry our daughters off to an older man, when they are 15, so they are no longer a financial burden. Parents are paid money for their daughters. How much are they worth? Not much, for many in this society. Girls are aborted and murdered here, simply because they are girls. The girls in this school are the lucky ones, for many reasons.
-for being able to bathe our children, in warm bathtubs, with soap, rather than at the community water pump, with cold water when the temperature is 50 degrees(it’s winter here now);
-that we can afford to eat rice. It’s grown plentifully around the village, but the villagers cannot afford to buy it. It is more than they can afford with an average family income of just a few rupees a day. Their diet consists of roti(twheat and water) bread and what vegetables they grow. Girls at our school are so fortunate-they receive 2 meals and a snack/day.
-that we have toilets, affording us the privledge of going to the bathroom in private, rather than on the streets;
-the our elderly, frail and in poor health, don’t need to sit, so vulnerable, on the streets begging from the poorest of poor, hoping to be given something to fill their hungry stomachs.
-that our river, the Brandywine, unlike the Ganges that flows through the village, is relatively clean and safe. Though the Ganges is the most holy river, it is a dumping ground for trash, amongst the cremated remains of the Hindi people;
-that our children don’t have to sift, barefooted, through garbage piles, hoping to bring something home to the family;
-for supporting our children through their schooling, knowing that education is the key to a better tomorrow. It is a major struggle here convincing parents that sending their girls to school, and not keeping them home to work and care for the other children, is in their best interest.
-that my son knows that women should be treated with love and respect, as equals, rather than as a piece of property, with no voice.
-that we will help celebrate Christmas here with the students and staff. I have shared with them that Christmas is the birthday of our God, Jesus Christ, and we have a big birthday party for him. Since there are no Christians in this village, having a Christmas celebration, is a big deal. We’ll be working hard for the next 3 weeks to make this a most special celebration. It will be simple, with ornaments(trees, stars, snowmen and snowflakes) made by the kids. We will give each child a new pair of socks and some candies.

I am most grateful that God has been with me every step of this journey. He is the reason for this season, and this year, being in India, away from my family and Christian community, I will reflect on the simplicity and reason for the season, without getting caught up in the mall traffic and the search for the “right” gift, for us who already have so much and really don't need another thing to live our lives quite comfortably.  I will remember all that I have, all that I have been given, and all that is yet to come.

May the love and peace of the season be with you. With love, Mary

Happy Thanksgiving from Pardada

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Though we miss our traditional Thanksgiving in the USA, our day has been one, for me, that has been full of much gratitude for all the gifts we have received in our lives. For the simple things, like being able to flip a switch and have the lights go on; to turn on the water faucet and have clean water flow; for good health that allows us to be here to be of service to the Indian people; for gender equality in the US that still does not exist here; for the financial wherewithal that provides us with food, shelter and all that we can take for granted. And, for all of you who have loved and supported us through your thoughts and prayers. And most of all, for our children, whom we love and miss dearly. We’ll be home before you know it. Thank you for the encouragement and support- Ian, Christine, Lindsay and Lisa.

Living in this impoverished region of rural India also provides us with daily reminders, not only of all that we have, and all that we’ve been given, but for the opportunity and privilege making this great adventure possible. We have learned how much we can live without, and how simple life is for much of the world.

Every day is action packed at Pardada which is why we haven’t updated our blog for more than a month. We’d like to highlight some of the happenings here at the school. Dewali, the festival of lights, which lasts 30 days has finally come to an end. The school celebrated the beginning of this festival, with an assembly that included fireworks inside of the school building. After lighting a variety of fireworks, shocking every American volunteer, the girls were given sparklers to light and play with. The staff didn’t understand why we had concerns about safety! Each girl was then given a large bag of sugar candy to either eat or take home. Because the bags are cheaply made(as is everything) they were breaking, so we wondered how far the candy would make it once they got on the very crowded buses to go home. Two weeks later, during afternoon snack, the girls were again given sparklers, which put a quick end to our class time.

Dewali ended this week, with school again being closed for 2 days. The festival ends with the people taking their final bath for the winter, in the Ganges. They say the water was freezing! This holy river flows through our village, so the festivities are endless here.

We have visited 2 villages where girls from our school live. The first visit was to the home of one of Pardada’s success stories, Preeti. Preeti attended and graduated, then was hired to work in the front office. Her little village was down a long dirt road. After many sharp twists and turns, we got out of the car and walked alleys, up narrow stairs, to her “rooftop” home. From this level we could see the roofs covered with dried cowpies, which they use for fuel. The entire inside of the house was about 5’ X 10’. We were invited in to sit on the only piece of furniture, a rope bed, where her parents sleep. The grown children sleep on the floor. We were served chai, heated on a small 2 burner stove on the floor. The mantle was covered with newspaper that was cut with a scalloped edge. Preeti was thrilled to show us her home. We‘re told that her family is among the well to do in the village, that her father is of importance. He is a farmer. It’s astonishing to see these people living as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago, and wonder what they think of their girls now going to school. Our arrival brings out all of the villagers, mostly men and boys who love to stare at us. I've never been stared at this much in my life.

The school is building a community toilet facility in the village that the poorest children(we fondly refer to as the “urchins“) come from. This is for girls and women, and will allow them privacy when going to the bathroom. It is being built next to the Ganges, on what is currently a garbage dump. Remember, there is no garbage pickup here, no designated dumps. We regularly see young children, and women, rummaging through piles of garbage, usually in bare feet, in search of whatever. They often compete with the pigs and buffalo for what they might find in the piles! It’s pretty bizarre to us that we are no longer shocked by so many of this kind of scene.

Last week, 15 girls from an LA(Brentwood) prep school were at the school for a 4 day visit. They were a very privileged group, so their chance to share in the lives of our girls and the village, amongst the very poorest of the world, most likely came as a great shock. They did a village visit with us, took a boat ride on the Ganges, visited a temple, and attended classes with the girls. The temple visit included being a village with hundreds of monkeys roaming wildly about, and a corpse being carried through the street to the Ganges for cremation. The sights continue to be of surprise almost daily.

The rat infestation at the school was overwhelming until 2 weeks ago. Because the computer room was amongst their favorite rooms, Mike was on a mission to kill them off. The computer wires were being eaten, the room was covered on a daily basis with rat poop. Because the Hindi people consider ALL of life sacred(this includes the rats!) the staff was not open to putting an end to their lives. The opposition was fierce, but we held our ground and insisted something radical be done. Because the school is surrounded by sugar cane fields, where the rats tend to live by day, we were told there was nothing that could be done. We insisted, teaching them about the diseases they carry, as well as the risk of having someone bitten. The whole situation was beyond gross, as this is one living creature I’m not OK with. Mike has had a few jump out of places on him, and I even got to encounter a couple myself. We even had one in our apartment at night.

The story ends with an exterminator coming in and putting out a powerful poison and holes being sealed up. That worked well, but the next day we went to the computer room and there were 2 dead on the floor. I went to ask the administrators what they planned to do with the dead rats, I was told that the girls needed to pick them up and throw them away. Again, we were not OK with this solution. So, the rats sat in the hallway for 2 days, until the day the prep school girls were to arrive. Back to the admin. I went and suggested the visitors might not take well to seeing the rats. They disappeared almost immediately. We again have made it clear that the girls should not be the ones to handle this.

After being here for awhile, I identified my purpose and calling. We have started a sanitation program, in order to reduce illness and disease. Since most of the girls have not used soap before, at home or school, they are going to begin using it here. We are setting up this program, by purchasing soap dishes and soap, and teaching the teachers to teach the girls about hand washing. We can’t do this because their English is extremely limited. Along with this, because of the great success of the toothbrush project we started last month, we are expanding to the rest of the school. The elementary school kids, will be brushing their teeth at school., while the older girls will be given toothbrushes to take home. 1500 toothbrushes have been ordered.

Many of the girls come to school sick. Because they receive 10 rupees/day to attend school, and because many strive for perfect attendance, they come sick. It also happens that for many, this is the only place they get food(2 meals and a snack a day). Staying home while sick means they may have to work. When the girls are sick they carry a washcloth, which they use for their noses. We’re learning to not shake hands with the girls with washcloths, to reduce our risk of getting sick. I can’t tell you how many times a day we wash our hands. We really hope the soap project will reduce the spread of germs and illness here.
Mike and I bought dustpans and brooms last weekend when we were in Delhi. They use short brooms, made out of sticks to sweep. The girls do all of the cleaning at the school, so they do lots of sweeping. They pick up the dirt(bugs, rat poop, trash, etc.) with their bare hands to throw away. This is obviously disheartening, so we have introduced another new concept- the dustpan. We handed these out today and showed 2 girls how to use them. They seemed very excited. We‘ll see if and how they get used.

Besides addressing sanitary issues, I keep very busy teaching English, and doing artwork with the little ones, as well as 3rd graders on a daily basis. I have worked with the librarian cleaning out and organizing the library(3 small bookcases with books), doing art with the older girls, and am presently decorating the newly painted(badly needed!) prep school classrooms with their artwork and a mural. In between, we jump in wherever needed. Our days are full and busy.

Two of my recent highlights have been watching the sheer excitement and joy in the face of a tiny little 4 year old, who didn’t have a sweater(it’s cold here now). Her teachers put a new sweater on her yesterday. Her eyes lit up, her smiled beamed from ear to ear, and she strutted so proudly. This may have been the first new clothing she ever received.

Another incident was with a 6 year old, Jaya, whose chin has had a sever infection and scab since our arrival. When asking the teachers about her, they appear to not be concerned or worried. Last week, I gave her hydrogen peroxide, Neosporin and cotton balls. A teacher explained to her, through me, how to clean her chin and put the ointment on. When she came to school yesterday, she came to me so very excited, to show me her almost healed chin. These are the things that make life worthwhile!

We are learning so much. It’s not always easy, but we are doing well anyway. We hope that we will have a small impact on the lives of these children, who we love, and know love us. That’s what makes it all worthwhile, and why we’re happy to be here at this time of our lives. May you all experience the blessings and peace of the upcoming Christmas season.

Chilling News in this Part of the World

These stories can be found in the news here almost daily.  Many women are murdered by spouses and inlaws, starved and treated like slaves. Old ways die here very slowly.  In the Uttar Pradesh state where we live there are only 883 women living for every 1000 men. 

Many murders are called "honor killings".  An honor killing or shame killing^] is the homicide of a member of a family by other members, due to the perpetrators' belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the family, or has violated the principles of a community or a religion, usually for reasons such as refusing to enter an arranged marriage, being in a relationship that is disapproved by their family, having sex outside marriage, becoming the victim of rape, dressing in ways which are deemed inappropriate, engaging in non-heterosexual relations or renouncing a faith.

"Beating wife OK, but can't leave marks"
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/UAE-court-says-okay-to-wife-beating/articleshow/6771422.cms

"Possessed Kids", tortured and killed by parents and grandparents
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Possessed-kids-killed-by-parents-grandparents-/articleshow/6761533.cms

"Husband, In-laws Booked for Women's Suicide
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Husband-in-laws-booked-for-womans-suicide/articleshow/6876833.cms

"Bride found hanging at inlaws"
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/bride-found-hanging-at-in-laws/articleshow/56091817.cms

"Woman murdered by husband, inlaws for lack of dowry"
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-woman-allegedly-murdered-by-husband-in-laws-for-dowry-2085174

The attitudes and laws must be changed in order for these horrific crimes, which are often justified, as a wife is considered to be her husband's property. Hence, he is entitled to do what he wants to her.



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The Toothbrush Fairy

It’s been a busy morning here at Pardada. Mike and I worked on our lesson plan for class this afternoon, teaching English. We have been teaching shapes, colors and numbers to grade 3. The children we are working with know more English than others in the school. They may be able to say words, but not know what the words actually mean.The kids love having us here because we do make it fun- colored paper, stickers, markers! Each class has approx. 40 children, who sit on the floor for hours at a time. The only classroom furniture is an old teachers desk. The kids are are enthusiastic and pretty well behaved.

Each day girls in the school are assigned, on a rotating basis,  to either clean for the day, or work in the kitchen for day. I am now waiting for one to come sweep our room(of the bugs and heavy dust that needs to be swept up daily). It's fascinating to watch them "clean", as they use the dirtiest rags and water to wash the floors, after sweeping with brooms that are about 2' in length, requiring them to bend over as they sweep.  They do not have much in the way of cleaning products here in the village, though we have found some that we do use. In the school, they use just water to clean. We were given a black glass bottle, with red printing, and a skull and crossbone, as a cleaning product to mix with water. I'm not going to even consider opening it!!!

We  launched a new project last Monday, in honor of my dad, who died of cancer in July. He was a children's dentist for 54 years, and had been looking forward to his retirement in August.  I brought 175 toothbrushes here, from his office, for the kids. The 150 children who are in the prep school(means they are learning how to be in school), which holds classes on the first floor of the teachers colony(75 in each room!) are learning to brush their teeth. This will become a part of their morning routine.  For most of them, it is the first time they've ever brushed their teeth. They are so adorable to watch, as they are gettting the hang of it and love the taste of Colgate, so some brush for a long time!  A few aren't so fond of this activity... There is resistance and some tears. They stand at a water trough(similar to what is used for cattle) lined with 40 faucets. The kids either stretch to reach for the water, or jump up and squat on the edge.  I love asking them to smile and show me their shiny, white teeth.  Thanks dad for giving these kids something so important- the gift of healthy teeth.

These young children(who we fondly refer to as either urchins or gremlins) were discovered in April in a village close to the school. No one at the school knew the village existed. Life there is more than primitive, so tooth brushing has never been on their radar screen. It’s more impoverished than the most impoverished villages. These children are learning to eat with a spoon, off of a plate, stand in line, sit and use bathrooms for the first time.  The teachers go to the village to collect them from their houses each morning, often having to get them up and dressed. They are progressing well, though the numbers have gone from 210 to 150(or 135) since April. It‘s hard to keep them in school here, so many incentives are offered- shoes, uniforms, food, transport. What going to school means to the mothers is that they lose their primary source of labor, or child care for siblings when they go to work in the fields. The value of educating a daughter? None, from what they know, so the school works hard to improve attendance with these little ones.  

Corporal punishment, either smacking or beating the kids is still being used at the school, and it’s OK! The volunteers are pushing hard to change many things , including that policy. They justify that parents do it and that it has always been done like that. There is great resistance to change, and they've not been introduced to another way. We volunteers are working to change that, and hope to teach the teachers alternatives to disciplining through corporal punishment.

An incident this morning…The wagon goes to pick up the kids from above village. A girl hadn’t been to school for awhile and when the teacher asked parents why, it was because she had been beaten by a teacher. They dragged her off crying, kicking ad screaming and brought her to school. She refused to stay, so she walked home, a long way, by herself. Turns out her brother had died of typhoid last week. Would they consider that her behavior had anything to do with that? No....

We have 3 house guests that are with us most nights. They happen to be lizards. They are welcome as long as they stay up high(we don't have much choice!). Our ceilings are 10’ so that is good. They eat the bugs! The creatures I have an issue with is the rats. Yes, the rats. Though I've yet to see any, we do see what they leave behind. I am struggling to accept them, big time! Rats are sacred in the Hindu culture, and have always been there. It's only westerners that have an issue!!! Ugh!!!!

We are next to a field that is currently being plowed, which really stirs up the dust here. Behind us are sugar cane fields, where harvesting begins soon. The people must grow what they eat, so there are fields everywhere, along with oxen that pull the carts, pigs that slop in the mud and open sewers, and lots of cows and buffalo that provide dung patties people burn to heat their houses, as well as build many of their homes. Nothing goes to waste here! People travel the roads, collecting the patties, so the roads are semi “clean”, in comparison to what they would otherwise be.

Tomorrow begins another week, with more experiences to share. Will keep you posted! Mary

Life in Anupshahur, India

Some how the word got out before our arrival at Pardada Pardadi School that I knew something about computers.  I must hve mentioned to Sam (the school's founder) that I had worked for Oracle.  So I've been tasked with "upgrading" the computer lab, establishing the teaching cirriculum and training the new computer teacher.  Currently the computer lab consists of 20 ancient desktops covered in rat poop and layers of dirt.  Oh, those pesky rats have eaten through the network cables so only the teacher's computer has access to the Internet.  The biggest problem, however, is the power keeps going out and all of the computers need to be re-booted.  This happen 3 times in the first 15 minutes of class today.  We have new batteries on order, but the will be here on "India time" - promised today but who knows when they will arrive.

Other creatures we encounter daily are the 4 lizards that live in our apartment.  We were a little apprehensive the first night about sharing our apartment with them but now they are just part of the wall decor.  Peacocks, the national bird of India, are also quite common.  We see them in the morning in the field next door. 

Yesterday was the Annual Assembly for the School and the girls put on a wonderful show with many dances and skits. The guest of honor was the British Ambassador's wife and a large donor to the school from the Xerox foundation. With great fanfare they laid a cornerstone for a new grade school which will be the 4th one built here! After a school tour and big lunch we went for a boat ride on the Ganges River. It was awe inspiring being out on this famous and holy river as the sun set slowly on the horizon! Also, believe it or not Mary and I now have our names carved in marble into our own (what we refer to as our tombstones) monument for being volunteers...things here are just too funny, or just too unbelievable!

Punting on the Ganga!

If you look closely you can see Mary's face right to the right of Sam Singh in the yellow shirt.

The other day Mary and I ventured into town on foot to have some photos printed of the girls to hang on the wall in the entryway of the school.  If you saw the village you, as us, could not imagine that you could get photos printed here.  As we left the print shop (shack) we heard a commotion across the road.  There a group of large monkey's were chasing a another group of teenage boys.  It was apparent that the boys had provoked the monkeys and some had a little fear in their eyes.  Later that night at dinner, Bethany, a 22 year old American volunteer here, told about one a teacher's son who are recently died.  Children's death here is a common occurence. Her 16 year old son had thrown a rock a juvenile monkey.  The adult monkeys chased the boy down to the Ganges where the boy jumped in the river to escape.  The river was swollen from the heavy monsoon rains and swept the boy, who did not know how to swim, away.

Arrival at Pardada Pardadi School in Annupshur, India

Arriving anywhere for the first time in India is always a body and mind boggling experience, filled with disbelief and incomprehension, even after a month in this country. After a typical 6 hour drive from Delhi to Annuphshur, where the roads go from bad to non-existent, complete with a stop out in the middle of nowhere at a brick kiln for the driver to deliver 6 cases of clandestine Bagpiper whiskey and collect his fee, we arrive at Pardada Pardada where we plan to live for the next 2-3 months.

Upper School Girls

The school has the highest passing grade in the UP state, but is appalling by Western standards. As expected, everyone, without exception, is welcoming and friendly. We go about settling in to our apartment at the teacher’s colony and getting to know our way around the school. I (Mike) have a small note pad, purchased along with school supplies in at a Delhi market, and ask everyone to write their name down so I can try and recall it the next time I see them. The children are just incredible, so open and friendly and curious and lively. The look in their eyes is penetrating. They arrive by bike, by bus, by oxcart, by tractor, and on foot. From our balcony we can see the small ones arrive early and play on the swings and slides starting at 7:30. Mary and I go out to give them jump ropes to play with, which is met with great excitement

These children are the first in their families to ever go to school. They are from the poorest families in the region. They first have to be taught how to stand in line, how to wash their hands and how to eat with a spoon. Even though there are toilets in the main school (not the grade school), most prefer to go in the sugar cane field that surrounds the building.

Morning Assembly at Sayta Bharti Grade School

After 3 days of cleaning and sprucing up our apartment it is now pretty comfortable. It's almost a takoff of college days. Today we took a bicycle rickshaw taxi to town though the market street to the end and walked down to the Ganges River. Even this far North, the river is huge, milky brown and moving fast still from the monsoon rain. Trash is freely thrown into it. A man offers to take us on a ride in his wood carved canoe. We politely decline waiting for the waters to recede further. We walk back through the market with hundreds of vendors selling fresh produce, bright fabrics, grains, snacks, rope, chairs, shoes, clothes, bike wheels, haircuts, medicines and who knows what else. The street is narrow and utter chaos with huge bulls, bicyclists, speeding motorcycles, ox drawn carts, women stacking bricks, barefooted young ones, piles of trash and gravel and wood, pigs and goats running loose….and too much more to remember. People stare at us and gather wherever we go. After making a purchase we turn around and are surrounded by a group of boys and men. We are the only white people in the village, so they are mesmerized by us.

The view from our room is the school, a sugar cane field, the outskirts of the town, trees and a field that is being plowed. In the distance I can make out an ox and two women walking both carrying huge bundles of green vegetation on their heads. The music and sounds come from loudspeakers into the wee hours of the morning. We're learning to ignore it.

Everyday is at least 90 F as we try and stay cool, looking forward to the arrival of fall in Nov or Dec. On our first night here we were invited to a Naming Ceremony at a local family’s home. The baby was 1 week old and we were welcomed as honored guests receiving the only chairs in the home. The dwelling can only be described as an old garage from say the 1930’s and we ate food on the roof that was cooked out back. We were served first, and after we finished the men and boys ate. We did not see the women eat but were told they ate after we left. They always eat after the men finish.

Sunday, our day off, Mary and I take a walk on a side road away from town. We encounter many families riding on flat wooden carts pulled by ox. Where they are going we do not know. An old man is lying on a hemp bed by the side of the road talking on a cell in front of a shit-shack, built from sun dried cow pies for walls and grass for the roof. Because of the monsoons, the huts are leaning.  Some families are living on rope beds under a thatched roof on poles with no walls at all right beside the road.

Last night we were invited to go to Sam’s(started the school) house for dinner. Its was about 20 minutes out of town and is a large compound and an impressive manor house built by Sam’s grandfather. Behind the house is a small structure where the women and children lived when Sam was growing up. Women were not allowed in the main house.

Before the 9 pm dinner we watch the first half of the Indian movie “Water”. Sam’s explanation of the cultural context and what was going on in the move was fascinating. You should watch it. This is still going on in India today. At dinner we learn that a 12 year old girl who was is a student at the school was recently wed to a 45 year old man. This was with the blessing of her mother, who was dying, as apparently the man offer a tidy sum of money to her to obtain there daughter. Shortly thereafter the school learned she was being abused by her “husband”. The school stepped in and paid off the abusive man in the same amount he had paid the parents to get rid of him. Now that the girl is a “widow” she is an outcast for life. When a women becomes a widow here she has only 3 options; to throw herself on her husband’s funeral pyre, shave her head and go live as an untouchable with other widows, or with the consent of her husband’s family marry his younger brother.

Last Days in Nepal

Our last days in Nepal were wonderful.  We finished our trek walking through gorgeous hillsides of terraced rice paddies and small villages.

Himalayan rice paddy terraces

Satellite TV comes to the Himalayas

Funeral pyre along the river

Back to Pokara we recuperated at the massive Fulbari Resort (rated one of the greatest hotels in the world which we found quite humorous )  As soon as checked in the power went out and no Internet.  So we relaxed by the pool and enjoyed the cliffside views. 

Roughing it at the Fulbari Resort pool in Pokara

While Mary got a massage at the Spa, I tried my hand at Nepali golf!  First the clubs were vintage 1920s and only 3 balls could be found. My caddy was a bright eager lad giving me suggestions on which club to use.  The first hole was straight at the clif dropping off hundreds of feet to the Seti River.  You hit it over the green and it's gone!  Hole 2 was unbelievable. Shooting from one cliff to another...needless to say my ball did not make it. Hole 4 was even worse having to shoot and land on 2 cliffs.  With 3 balls gone an enterprising young soon appeared an offered 3 more at 300 rupees apiece.  After some back and forth we settled on 50 rupees.  At hole 6 a family of monkeys appeared on the green but didnot linger long.  By now I had 4 caddies, all helping and hoping for a grand tip at the end of 9 holes.  At every tee the smallest one stood no more than 25 yards in front of me with both arms raised straight over head indicating where I should hit the ball.   Finally at the 9th hole I landed on the green from the tee and tapped it in with one additional stroke, both to loud clapping by my entourage.

The following day we flew to Kathmandu rested further at the Yak and Yeti hotel before heading to Delhi for the 4th tiem so far.

Nepal Primer and Fairwell (again) to Delhi

Nepal October 3, 2010

We have been in Nepal for several days now, and continue to having fascinating experiences on a daily basis. We are learning so much about these countries and their people, as well as each other. Travel days are long and hard, always with delays. Once we settle into a new place (14, to date!), we tend to fall in love with the area.
Before I get to Nepal, just a few thoughts on India. It has been a most interesting time to be in India, as the Commonwealth games begin today, causing so many changes for Delhi. The difference in the roads was incredible from our earlier flights and road trips through Delhi. It’s now or never for this country to show its best side to the world with these games, which involve 54 countries of the British Commonwealth. They’ve had 7 years to prepare for the games, and the debacle they have created has been absolutely unbelievable. From the sites not being ready, to building dorms in flood zones(monsoons ended last week, so this is a big deal!), to the collapse of the main pedestrian bridge to the stadium, cleaning up the filth in the atheletes dorms, removing snakes from tennis stadium, and getting rids of thousands of homeless surrounding the games area.

By now, people know that the roads and byways are filthy, littered with everything, both living and nonliving that one can possibly imagine. From the time we left the airport terminals, which are both new and very nice (completed in time for the games), the highway is congested, with cows, people and dogs living roadside, with trash scattered solidly along the way. Every imaginable vehicle, both old and running way beyond their years, packed with goods, people, and who knows what else, travel along without regard for lanes, who they are cutting off, nor speed limits.

When we arrived back into Delhi last week, the roads were clean. The people, cows and the rest of the trash were all gone. It is unbelievable that the army(who they used for much of the cleanup) made this happen. We felt like we were in a different city! Due to threats of terrorism, security is top notch. We want to keep up with what goes on with these games, as we now feel a connection to India we didn’t feel a month ago.
Our trip through Nepal, to date, included Kathmandu and Chitwan National Park. We just arrived today in Pokara, having sat through a road shutdown in a village where the locals were holding a protest about the roads not being redone. When the road blockages occur, you sit and wait. And read, and accept there is nothing that can be done until they reopen them. At home there would be riots as people would have no patience for having to wait for such an inconvenience. Here, waiting is the name of the game. Nobody gets upset, they just wait. After the road was opened allowing the massive traffic jam to move we came to a bridge on the main road between Kathmandu and Pokara that is broken. The Nepali solution? Just allow one vehicle at a time to cross the bridge to keep it from crashing down into the river far below! We held our breath…and made it to the other side! Tonight we are in a the Fishtail Resort that can be reached only by boat. It’s in the middle of a lake, peaceful, beautiful! Tomorrow we fly out from here to do several days of trekking.

Main Street, Swartha, Chitwan, Nepal

Chitwan National Park was great. Staying in a lodge that reminded me of my days at Girl Scout camp, we were in the middle of the jungle, in a village of indigenous people. Our guide told us that 46% of the women who give birth there don’t know who the father of their babies are, as rape and sexual violations are rampant, between trafficking and police and military abuse! The Army is there to protect the tigers and rhinos from poachers. The lives these women live is unimaginable!

Rhino Sighting

Things always look better in the A.M. than they do when we arrive in the evening. We’re learning! Our day started with an elephant safari, where we followed a rhino through the jungle, on the back of an elephant. We saw some other wildlife, including monkeys, deer and peacocks. After, as we strolled through the village, elephants and water buffalo passed us by. We then went on a river safari, in wooden dugout canoes made from Sal trees - a wood like mahogany but much harder, in search of crocodiles. It was so hot, so I sheltered myself with an umbrella. The sun was more than hot for that to happen. We THEN went on a jungle walk- which almost put me (Mary) over the edge.

Our guide tells us, after we get out of the canoe, observing fresh tiger and elephant footprints as we walked up the bank, that we needed to be quiet, stick together(us and 2 guides), and watch out for 3 dangerous animals- sloth bears, Bengal tigers and rhinos. He wanted us to wait until dusk came close so our chances were increased at seeing these guys! This wasn’t sitting well with me, especially when we were told that if we saw them, we were to run “zig zag”, hide behind a tree if the rhino charged us, and climb 6 feet up a tree for safety. At this point, they about lost me. I have always wanted to go on safari, but this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. We were ½ hour into the jungle when Crocodile Dundee decided that we would traipse through deep mud, bugs, and tiger tracks to see if we could spot any! That’s when I knew I wasn’t going any further. My idea of safari was to ride in a jeep, surrounded by at least some protection from tigers, rhinos and bears! As we continued to the hike, we went to an elephant breeding ground, where we saw the 2nd set of twins born to an elephant. Turned out to be a cool day!

As we headed from Kathmandu to Chitwan, we traveled on what was to be a 5 hour drive, turning out to be 7, I reflected on what life is like for the Nepalese(could be Indian, too) people. We were on the main highway from Kathmandu to India. This road is less than 2 lanes wide, windy, with steep ascents(or descent, depending on the direction you are headed), bumpy, dusty, heavy diesel fumes from trucks, people and young children on foot, horns honking, motorcycles, with more trucks than I95 has on the entire east coast. We had the opportunity to be part of a traffic jam like we‘ve never experienced in America. We were fortunate to be in air conditioning, with each other, and with food and water.

This is a normal part of life in these countries, so plans and schedules really don’t mean much of anything. The people aren’t reacting in anger and road rage. It just is what it is. And they deal with it. I can’t imagine, as a mother, letting my young children walk these roads, or letting my babies play 5 feet off the road with their friends, unattended; living in a shack sitting on the road with the dust and fumes being breathed daily. I can’t imagine having a store(shack), with the food stuff(both fresh and packaged) covered with dust and black soot. I can’t imagine being a woman, carrying a load of stones on my head that weigh more than they do, being a child begging for money for food, a truck driver who has to earn a living driving to and from India with no front windshield on their truck to be protected from the elements, or being so physically deformed that a piece of wood with wheels on it is what you sit on to beg for food. How blessed we are, and how we can take what we have for granted, or worse yet, complain about what we don’t have or what we think we “need”.

The most intense experience we’ve encountered so far was our visit to the Monkey Temple in Kathmandu. I was overwhelmed with the many mothers with babies and young children, who were desperately begging from tourists. You have to ignore them, as there are too many of them. There is no assistance of any sort available to the people of Nepal. None, no food stamps, no welfare no WIC, no housing. Nothing! What is the answer?

That is one big prayer wheel!

Another experience, encountered that same day, was a visit to the Basmati River, a holy river, where they cremate their dead. That was all pretty surreal. We arrived early in the day, so the wrapped bodies were being carried to the site, to be cremated. Other bodies were being carried out immediately after death, to have their feet placed in the river and a ritual of makeup painted on their faces. After their feet are washed, they too, are taken to be placed on the funeral pyre, with the eldest son starting the fire for cremation. Because we were there early, the fires had yet to be started, which was fine by me. Across the river, we were, lots of families were sitting together, performing rituals done on the 13th day after death. School children milled about the area, which was somewhat bizarre to us. There were lots of Holy men around, whose photos we captured. Teenagers were in the river, barefooted, cleaning up the trash and remains of the cremations. The Hindis do death quite differently than we do in the western world. The experience will stay with me a lifetime.

We’re off tomorrow for several days of trekking, heading to village for 3 nights where only transportation mode is the tractor that will pick us up at the airport to take us to the hotel.

DAILY NEWS

Mary and I came across this article as we read the morning paper in Amristar.......

India Tribune Newspaper September 15
INTERNATIONAL SEX RACKET BUSTED
13 Girls, 2 Agents Arrested From 2 Hotels
Amristar, September 15

A Civil Lines police team busted an international sex racket here today.

According to police information, 13 girls in the age group of 18 to 22 were arrested from two city hotels along with two agents.

Declaring themselves as Plaa dancers’ troupe, they were scheduled to fly to Dubai tomorrow from Amristar International Airport.
On a tip-off, the police party, led by ACP (Crime) Avtar Singh and SI Jasvir Singh of Civil Lines police station, raided the hotels in plain clothes and nabbed two persons, Kishore Kuer and Arvind Kumar, originally hailing from Mumbai. They have allegedly engaged these girls from Mumbai, Delhi, Orissa and Punjab and were about to go to Dubai under the garb of dancing group.
“In interrogation, the girls confessed to having been involved in illegal sex trade through their agents with consent. It was found that their agents used to operate from New Delhi Mumbai on regular basis and Amristar was their destination for the first time to catch flight abroad. Their past records revealed that they used to send girls to entertain rich people in India, too, on regular basis,” said Avtar Singh.

“Their passports have been confiscated. The occupation slot mentioned them as ‘artistes’. They would be produced before the court and investigation is on. Though exact amount has not been calculated, yet a huge sum of foreign currency and several mobile phone sets have been confiscated from them.” he added. A case under the Immoral Trafficking Act was registered.

September 23 India Telegraph newspaper - Letter to the Editor

DAUGHTER VANISHES - West Bengal

Human trafficking should be made into a culpable offence, to be condemned alongside such evils as drug peddling, child labour and dowry. The state police recently disclosed that 2,500 teenaged girls have disappeared from Bengal in one year (“Missing: 2500 girls in a year”, Sept 18) This is just the official figure. How many more have vanished is anybody’s guess. Jahura Bibi is an exceptional women since she had the courage to move court after her daughter, Zarina, went missing from Kakdwip in Sougth 24-Parganas. Who will fight for the rest of the girls who disappear?

Impoverishment and illiteracy are the chief reasons why traffickers flourish in rural areas. Non-governmental organizations must play a leading role in combating this social menace. The state government should instruct gram panchayats to always be on the lookout for suspected traffickers and to file periodic reports in local police stations. The Telegraph has done a marvelous job by reporting the case of Zarina, who now has some chance of being rescued and brought back.
Yours faithfully,

Debasish Banerjee, Calcutta

DARJEELING

9/24 We’re in Darjeeling, famous for its tea. We have changed hotels 3 times in 3 nights, starting out in traditional Tibetan guest house and have ended up in a quiet place with the best views ever. Our room has an incredible panoramic view, high in the clouds(we are at 7000 ft). As the clouds roll in and out, we can see the valley below, and the mountains in the distance. We just had a rare view of Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world. Really cool!

Sleeping at night hasn’t been easy. Between the chorus of barking dogs, generators switching on when the electric goes out, the 4 a.m. Muslim call to prayer that blasts over loudspeaker for the entire city to hear. We‘re no longer in Kennett Square.

Dogs roam wildly all over the place here. Good news is, there are no cows here on the streets. That eliminates having to watch every step to avoid the cowpies. The dogs bark all night long and sleep in the streets during the day when their not eating the trash. We saw a woman and baby sitting in the middle of the street yesterday with cars whizzing by, the baby playing with the dogs, while she was on her cell phone. I can’t even begin to imagine the germs! Monkeys roam wild, hanging in the trees, climbing along rooftops.

Our visit here included a trip to a tea plantation, where we met up with some Aussies we enjoyed being with. It’s great when we find people who speak English! We hiked down a long, rocky hill to get to our destination, very unlike what I thought the entrance to Harrod’s Happy Valley Tea Plantation might be. At the bottom of the steep slope, a Tibetan woman took us into her teahouse, a 1950’s rendition of a mishmash of dirty stuffed animals, a woman nursing a baby, sacks of tea, a boy making momos (a Tibetan staple) and whatever else the tiny crowded room held. We learned about tea, and what makes Darjeeling the top quality tea. We toured the “factory”(all terms are used loosely), as the women pickers napped on the floor on their lunch break. These poor souls are paid 68 rupees($1.48) per day to pick the tea. We tried to imagine their lives as they toil all day in the fields and then go home to care for their children and homes. We have it so good! We had hoped to take a taxi back to the top of the hill and learned that wasn’t an option. As we climbed back up, I thought of the woman doing the same after a long hot day of work, day in, day out.

Carrying the tea in from the field.
We visited the Tibetan Refugee center reached by a very scary drive up a jeep trail like road with hair pin turns that was washed out here and there.  We later learned, and saw a picture, women built the road by hand in the early 1960s.  At the Center is an orphanage and an old folks home, as well as a craft center where they sell their handicrafts to help support themselves. We could only find a few small things we were interested in- a total of $2 US. We delighted 2 little boys with peppermints! We continue to ponder the plight of the Tibetan people.  Now, how do we get back to town?  We ask a man standing by the only car in site for a ride.  He kindly agrees.  On the way down Kema tells us he was 2 years old in 1959 when his parents fled Tibet for India when the Chinese invaded.  What journey that must have been walking over the Himalayas wih a 2 year old baby. Kema has lived in the refuge center ever since.  Soon we pass the Tenzin rock climbing school, founded by the first person to climb Mt Everest, Norgay Tenzin (with Edmund Hillary) in 1953.  Kema tells us Norgay was Tibetan and lived in Darjeeling.  In fact we learn that Tenzin lived on the same road, Gandhi Road, as our hotel!

Tibetan Childrens Village

Saturday Sept 18th

On the road to Dharmasala!

Today we awaken to clear skies, the Himalayans as a backdrop from our patio. We watch as the village awakens, people gather at the well, teeth are being brushed by the villagers, school children hustle off, women brush their daughter’s hair, the old man sits meditating into the sun, the cows moo. We begin the day with our usual routine of finding our man, Manod, or him finding us in the early morning to bring us coffee and tea on the balcony of our room. Not like Starbuck’s, but it works. He serves us bananas and apples, the first fruit since we left Delhi. Mike agrees to peel the apples and eat one. This is an experiment. If he gets sick, no more. If he doesn’t, I’ll have one later.

The view is of an enormous play unfolding with actors performing their small but integral part of the total village scene. Children are dressing and preparing for school, after which they all walk or run down the main village path to the school, women are sweeping the roof or porch, a man sits seemingly staring off into space…is he meditating or something else?, an old man sits on a large pile or rocks and hammers one endlessly to shape it into a square for the new addition to the house. The children are many and the girls each have 2 red ribbons in their hair and wear long white shirts with blue pants and a sash for their uniform. Out on the road 5 men watch one raise the metal roll-up to his shop, an old women chases a cow from the field, another women beats rugs to clean them and hangs them up to dry, at the village water pipe people come and go splashing water on to various body parts to bathe. All of this and much more is going on below the backdrop of the Dargulahur range of the Himalaya. Dense moist clouds roll in and then out, veiling one minute and the next reveling the steep rocky cliffs and green lower slopes.
The electricity goes off, the water stops. What we so take for granted at home. It’s ok here. The sun is warm, so why do we need those things now anyway?

The boy offers to take us on a hike through the village later, up to a waterfall. We will look forward to that.

Our "hotel" in Naddi village in the Himalylas.

Tibetan Children's Village.
Our plan today is to walk down the road to the Tibetan Children’s Village. As some may know, this school was created by the Dali Lama shortly after the Chinese forced him and hundreds of thousands of Tibetans into exile from their homeland in 1959. Over one million Tibetan’s were slaughtered then by the Chinese. This event in human history is well known the world over. To be here, to see, and to watch the children and the Buddhist monks and see the primitive (to say the least) living conditions really brings the story to life. Heartbreakingly, parents in Tibet send their children to the Tibetan Children’s Village in India and many never see them again. Why would a parent do this? In Tibet today, the only schools are run by the Chinese that suppress and denigrate Tibetan culture and language. All classes are taught in Chinese and the school system is used to suppress the cultural identity of Tibetan children. The Tibetan culture is being destroyed, while Western consumers continue to support the communist government of China by buying just about everything from that country. The Tibetan Children’s Village is a vast and sprawling complex of buildings cascading across the mountainside. Here there are class rooms, sports fields, living quarters, dining halls and education centers for teachers. If you’d like to learn more go to www.tcv.org.in

Our next door neighbors.

Mary and her new friend at the Shiva waterfall!

India: Here We Are!

The best news is that we are both healthy, having no ill effects on our first 4 days in India. We are having lots of laughs, some frustrations, missing some things (ice in my Diet Coke!) and happy to have others (coffee every day, so far!).

However we travel, it has proven to be interesting, at best. The 5 ½ hour train from Delhi to Amritsar turned out to be 7 (the engine needed to be replaced), the driving can be terrifying, to say the least. Cars, rickshaws, cows, bikes and whatever else moves on the road- all compete for the same space. Our taxi driver honked constantly to the Pakistani border and back tonight. Just hope we don’t have him tomorrow on the 5 hour taxi to Dharmasala. My prayers are constant while on the road!

We went to the crossing ceremony today at the India/Pakistan border. This big event draws thousands of people daily. It’s all in Hindi, so we were clueless. We know it will be a lifetime memory, as most of us can say we have never been to the Pakistan border. It is a celebration of nationalism, the result of the division of the countries in 1947, each wanting to prove it is better than the other. The Pakistani side was not well attended, possibly due to the floods and other crises in the country.

Indian and Pakistani guards at the border:

Parading the colors

All of the newspapers have been running articles about violent protests, as a result of the Quran being burned in the US. We have not found anything online indicating the burning actually happened, but know that there have been deaths as a result of rumors.

It’s been fascinating to learn about the many religions of this region. We are in Amristar, where the Golden Temple is. It is an incredibly beautiful place, where Sikh’s worship. 6 million Sikhs left Pakistan in 1947 and came to this region of India. We were taken back by the size, beauty and holiness we experienced as we toured. 60-80,000 people come daily to worship here.  Above is a picture of Mike with the required headgear at the Golden Temple. We went to India’s largest mosque, in Delhi, which was interesting, but unlike the temple here. I’m done with temples, as I’m over having to take off my shoes to walk through these places.

Mike's Punjabi shoes!

India, so far, is fascinating, overwhelming and unlike anywhere else in the world.

Front Page Interview in Kennett Paper Covers Mary and Mike's Trip

Kennett Paper News
Local couple traveling to India to fight child sex slavery
Published: Wednesday, September 08, 2010





Photo by Fran Maye

Mike Mays and Mary Carins will be departing for India on Sept. 11 for a six-month mission trip.

By Fran Maye

When Mary Cairns discovered that young girls in India rarely get a basic education and many are sold as sex slaves, she knew she wanted to do something about it.

Going to India, she thought would be cost-prohibitive. And what about her interior decorating business in Kennett Square she built up over the years? And she’d have to leave her pets behind.

Cairns decided that with her two kids grown, now was the time. So she leaves for India this Saturday with her boyfriend of more than a year, Mike Mays.

“There are 27 million sex slaves in our world and a lot of them are children,” Cairns said. “Girls are either kidnapped or sold by their families into slavery. Families sell them because they are desperate for money. The atrocity of this issue got me interested in wanting to go to India.

Cairns and Mays will be traveling to the Partdada Pardadi Girls School in Anupshahar, Uttar Pradesh, India, about 80 miles east of Delhi. They will be there for six months and will help teach girls at the school to set them up for success later in life.

The school was established about 10 years ago by Sam Singh, a native of India who headed up DuPont’s headquarters in India. He used his retirement savings to build the school, and his goal was to take one girl from each of the poorest families in the villages and give them basic education and some training.

As an incentive for the girls to go to school, Singh set up a fund to pay them the equivalent of 25 cents a day for each day they attend school. If they go from 5th grade to 12th grade, they can make about $750, which sets them on the road to economic self-sufficiency.

The money can only be taken out when they reach age 21 or when they are married. The money cannot be accessed by a man, even their father.

“Up until now, girls had never gone to school over there,” Mays said. “Girls worked in the field. The Indian government provides basic education, but it’s only the boys who go to school.”

Mays will instruct teachers in English, life skills, and use of computer programs like Microsoft Word and Excel. He will bring standardization to teaching practices, and aid with marketing and fundraising. He had to quit his job a s a software engineer in order to make the trip.

And Cairns too made a leap of faith. She’s having friends take care of her business she’s had in the borough for 25 years. Cairns and Mays estimate they are spending about $20,000 each of their own money to make the trip.

Trip, though, isn’t the word Cairns and Mays like to use. It’s more of a mission.

“We can work with the girls there, get them educated, provide them with educational training that will reduce their risk of ending up in slavery,” Cairns said.

Recently a teacher’s colony, complete with a modern building, was built in the area. Cairns and Mays are elated they will at least have electricity (for about six hours a day) and running water.

“We’re leaving our lives behind here,” said Cairns, 53, who previously had done some missionary work in Jamaica. “After 911, we all realize how fragile life is. Most people will never take this risk.

“I love my business, I love doing what I’m doing,” Cairns said. “But I’m hanging window treatments, making people’s houses pretty, but there’s more to life than that. Gratification comes from making a difference in the world.”

Cairns has set up a blog at marymikeindia.blogspot.com and plans to update frequently.

Donations to the school

Many of you have asked if there is someway you can contribute to the school and the students it serves. Because of the limited amount of luggage we can take, and because shipping costs are so high(and arrival of packages unpredictable), we will use any monetary contributions you wish to make to purchase school supplies in Delhi. We believe this will be the most prudent use of your resources.
If you are interested in supporting this cause, please send a check made out to me, with Pardada written in the memo section. Mail checks to Mary Cairns. 321 Hillside Lane, Kennett Square, PA 19348. Checks received after our departure will be deposited, and I will be notified. This way, 100% of your support will go directly to benefit the girls.

Teachers Colony

Here is the beautiful new Teacher's Colony at the Pardada Pardadi Girls School in Anupshahr, India.  This was a major investment and commitment by the Board of the PPES to the overseas volunteers and other long term visitors to the school.  It is located directly next to the school making the daily commute a short walk.  Previous volunteers had to either stay at Sam's house in a nearby village or with a local family.  Mary and Mike will be living here while working at the school this fall.  The building has all the Western amenities, like bathrooms with toilets and even showers!  We can't wait to arrive!

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The endless abyss of trip planning

There have been so many pieces that have to be put together to make this experience become a reality.  From visas and vaccinations(typhoid, malaria, polio, Hep A, Hep B, etc), antibiotics, drugs galore for all of the possibilities that are before us, evacuation insurance,  renting our houses, finding highly qualified people to take over my business, banking, bill paying(that still goes on while we are far away in the village), spending hours working on a complex itinerary, buying our tickets(3 days, 30 hours!)...the list has been endless.  By the time we board the plane for Delhi on 9/11, it will all be done. Or, as done as it's going to be.  I wake up at 3 a.m., run over lists in my mind, and then wake up forgetting what's on the list. 
Packing...what to take? DEET and more Deet. Indian mosquitos carry Dengue fever, malaria and Japanese Encephalitis.  Do we need to know what each kind of mosquito looks like, stings like and buzzes like? So much to learn.  Oh, customs and etiquette? Never use your left hand to do anything. It's the bathroom hand, highly unsanitary in India. No flowers behind the ear. Only loose women do that! Our book collection consists of thousands of pages that will all make sense by the time we come back in February. Clothing? Not taking much as we'll have it made over there. PACKING???  

Welcome to our travel blog!

This blog is the beginning of Mary Cairns and Mike Mays travel tales covering our upcoming travel to India, (and Nepal) as well as the preparations.  This includes planning our time in India, as well as the preparations for being away for home for nearly 6 months!  The goal of this trip is two fold; 1) to work with a local organization that is helping girls at the very bottom of the worlds' economic rung, providing them with our time, energy and inspiration; and 2) to travel extensively in the Indian subcontinent to experience and learn from what is truly a unique and endlessly different culture and life style than our own here in the U.S.

The Pardada Pardidi girls school in Anupshahar, India is where Mary and I will be teaching at and working on several projects starting in October.  This village is 80 miles from Delhi(4 hour car ride).

Just a few words on the school. Pardada Pardidi provides a wonderful opportunity for the poorest girls from the community to learn academic, vocational and life skills leading to a productive and happy life. The school is very well run and was found 10 years ago by the ex-CEO of Dupont India in his home village. Each girl is provided 10 rupes per day (25 cents) for attending school, amounting to $750 (equivalent to India's per capita income) for perfect attendance, which they can access only after graduating. They also learn textile skills and make products that help fund some of the operating costs for the school. This also provides them with a job after graduating. I encourage you to visit the Website at http://www.education4change.org/