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.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
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!
aTuesday, August 3, 2010
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???
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/
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/
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