Welcome to Our Travel Blog

We have returned to India after 2 years to meet our good friends at the Pardada Pardadi School for Girls in Anupshahar, Uttar Pradesh and work to establish a Health Center there! This Blog documents and shares our experiences as we arrive in Delhi on October 22, 2012 and continues through our 5 week stay. There has been incredible progress at the school since our last visit that we are anxious to see. Thank you everyone for your support in making this dream become a reality for 1200 of our world's poorest girls.

The Pardada Pardadi Girls School is located in the village of Anupshahar, 120 km (a 4 hour drive) from Delhi. Pardada Pardadi 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 founded 10 years ago by the ex-CEO of Dupont India in his home village. Each girl is provided 10 ruppes (25 cents) per day for attending, 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 of the school. This also provides them with job opportunties after graduating. I encourage you to visit the school Website at
http://www.education4change.org/



Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Healthcare Project at Pardada Pardada School

To all friends and supporters of the Healthcare Project at the Pardada Pardadi school for girls in rural India:

Warm greetings to all.

Thanks to many many supporters, enablers, friends, staff, teachers, board members, volunteers and others, I am pleased report to you on the very significant progress and accomplishments of the Healthcare Project at the Pardada Pardadi school in Anupshahr, India. It is just amazing what a group of dedicated people can do by working together!

1) Health Center: A new Health Office has been built and is open for "business" at the PPES school. This facility, without question is the newest, cleanest, and best health center in the community and it will be able to serve the immediate health needs of the 1200 students attending PPES. This office includes; a waiting room, nurse's desk, doctor's desk, medical supply storage, medical supplies, 3 beds, file storage, a new laptop computer, Skype phone, sink, toilet, shower, back-up power supply, ventilation system, new lighting, tiled walls, and fresh paint.  Pictures are below.

2) Nurse/Health Teacher: A highly qualified, experienced, English speaking nurse has been hired!. Elisa, a registered nurse originally from Kerela now living in Dehli, plans to start at the school the end of January.  She will be living at the school. We are so thrilled to have Elisa join the PPES team. We are confident she will be able to play the leading role in providing on site medical care AND provide health education to the students and teachers and potentially the community at large.

3) Medical Supplies: 100 lbs of new medical supplies were donated, delivered and are organised in the Health Office along with new medicines, bandages, and additional supplies purchased locally and in New Dehli.  The Health Office is well stocked. New First Aid kits were created and provided to the 2 grade schools and the pre-school.

4) Medical Records: A datatbase of student health records has been set-up on the new Health Office laptop.  These are set-up to be shared via Google Docs.

5) Immunization Program: A dedicated group of doctors from neighboring Bulandshahar have agreed to visit the school monthly and provide immunizations and medical and dental check-ups. The first monthly medical clinic was held in November with 4 doctors participating, two pediatricians, a dentist and gynecologist.  Hepatitis B vaccine was administered at the pre-school and check-ups given. A second clinic has already been held in December to administer the MMR vaccine.

6) Eye Exams and Glasses: A qualified optician has been found locally and 5 girls were tested and fitted with glasses.  This will make it feasible to provide glasses to those girls who need them on an ongoing basis.

7) Tooth brushing: 3000 new toothbrushes were purchased and 1200 were distributed to all students. This program is funded to continue.

Much work still needs to be done!  All of the current programs need to continuely supported to ensure their sustainability.  Health education curriculum and teaching will need to be defined once the nurse arrives.  Procedures, now under development, need to be finalized. A medical mission of U.S. doctors is being sought for the Summer of 2013.  The nutritional needs of the girls require further review. Fund raising is critical to support, sustain and build on all of these programs.  Your continued support is very much appreciated and has a direct impact on the girls of Pardada Pardadi.

Thank you All for your support!

Best Wishes for the Season.

Mike
www.education4change.org

 Anjuli getting her toe bandaged with Sevilla looking on.
 Rashimi practicing applying an elastic bandage on Mary.
 Doctors desk with new laptop.  Health office bench and sink.
 Nurse's desk, bed and storage.
 Hep-B immunizations at the Pre-school.
Dental check-ups
 Entry to Health Office
 Waiting area.

Elisa, the new school nurse who will be starting in January. 

Monday, December 3, 2012

Myanmar - Beautiful Land


MYANMAR
 
Though we left India just a week ago, it seems like we have been gone much longer. Myanmar, though it borders India and Bangladesh, is a country so different from where we came, in every way.  How is it different?
                                          Mike in his Longo, the main male attire in Myanmar
We were taken back, as we arrived at the airport itself, with the peace and serene calm.  The drive to the hotel consisted of cars driving in an orderly fashion, down streets with marked lanes. The constant horn honking, cows, goats, broken trucks, masses of people and chaos were gone.  No beggar children approaching the car, hands open for food or money, or hawking plastic toys. Upon arriving at the hotel, it felt like we were in Asia, not India. There was the grandeur of Asian artwork in the lobby, hallways and our room itself.  Clean, it felt clean!!! Simple things, like a hot running shower, tissues and a comfortable bed were so welcome. Free internet access! All amazing. It was worth the wait!
A most delicious breakfast, with so many choices, awaited us the next day. For five weeks, though we loved being with our girls, the food we ate was the food we were served. No choice, no meat, just overcooked, overspiced vegetables, cold rice and dal.  Bucket baths, with a bucket of hot water, and a cup was our shower.  Paper products of all kinds are not available in the village. We quickly ran out of tissues brought from home. Toilet paper, just for volunteers, is obtained in Delhi. Thank you for small favors!!! We never complained, though, as we focused on the girls, not our own creature comforts.     
The pool overlooked a beautiful and serene lake, with a golden pagoda, so picturesque, on the other side. A scene postcards are made for. We learned this pagoda to be a floating restaurant, where we enjoyed dinner and a culture show the next night.   A boardwalk encircled the lake, with young lovers, umbrella to shade his lady, walking hand in hard. Wow! In India, men and women are not seen walking together very often, unless they have kids in tow. Public displays of affection are forbidden by the opposite sex there. Men can walk hand in hand, or with their arms around one another, but not men and women! Here in Myanmar, a Buddhist country, these young lovers are smiling, happy and together by choice, rather than by their parental arrangements. 
 
Our days in Yangon(first of 5  destinations) were relaxing and glorious. We mixed visits to the largest temple in Asia, with poolside reading, walks and some shopping, where bartering is required.  We were then on to Bagan, a UNESCO site, and the ancient  ruins(dating back 1000 years) of almost 5000 temples and pagodas.  Pretty overwhelming, though made more interesting by a tour guide who has lived here her entire life.  We covered the highlights, having to remove our shoes way too many times,  to visit many pagodas and temples, which housed Buddha in endless variations. 

 
We were then onto Mandalay, to visit monastaries, walk across a 1.2 km teak bridge, built in the 1800’s. We stopped so an astrologer and palm reader could tell me about my life and future. A boat ride back to the other side of the river, took us to our taxi, whose driver had lost the keys to the car. We walked around the village, and had a cup of tea, until the keys turned up. We don’t even begin to ask questions here, as the answer will make no sense at all. 
 
After an adventurous day, and a long drive, we were in another village, up in the mountains, to stay at another incredible inn, just like the ones you see in a travel magazine.  The next morning we walked to a spectacular botanical gardens, with a petrified wood museum(housing pieces estimated to be a million years old), the most incredible butterfly exhibit(collected over 30 years) and orchid garden(where they come from in the US). It was then onto a coffee plantation, which was more simple and ordinary than I ever could have imagined. Rows of coffee trees, lush with red and green fruit, and the owner, who invited us for a cup of coffee. Our coffee was Nescafe instant, as his beans are all exported by the government. Though he spoke not a word of English, we smiled, looked at photographs on the walls and moved on.  We are very used to this experience now, as we have had it many times this trip. 


Yesterday, it was back to another airport, for a flight to Inle Lake, a 22 km long lake. Since the closest road to our resort is 45 minutes by boat, the ride was another amazing experience.  As we sped across the water on a very old, noisy skiff, we passed people bathing in the river,  fishermen rowing one legged,  floating huts throughout the villages, and natives carrying boatloads of produce.

We now sit on the deck of our floating cottage, at a resort most will only dream about.  Surrounded by water and bungalows here, it is so peaceful, only the sound of boats going by, fish jumping and birds tweeting. Heaven!  How many times since we have been here in this country have I felt like we are in heaven? Many! Below our bungalow, snakes slitter(not too happy about that! Just so they stay down there and don’t slide up the pilings!), waterlilies bloom profusely, and fish swim and splash.

This morning we took a boat to a market, where we went between having fun and buying some fun, great stuff and being stressed by the call of “happy money. You will be my first money of the day, lucky money”. Though she didn’t understand, I felt compelled to tell one woman that it wasn’t my job to bring her lucky money.  We do feel good about doing something small to support the local economy, while at the same time, bringing back gifts and surprises.

Tomorrow, we are on to the beach on the Bay of Bengal. We understand there is a slice of heaven waiting there for us, too.  My angst and apprehension I experienced in India, before heading to Myanmar, is gone. What a beautiful country, beautiful people! How grateful we are to have experienced it!  
 

 

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Farewell Pardada! November 23

 We didn’t know how hard leaving Pardada Pardadi would be. An assembly
 was held on Wednesday, for our farewell,We were gvien a beautiful hand
 embroidered, framed  picture for each of us, hand embroidered by the
 girls. Saying goodbye was so very hard, with several girls stopping us
 to  tell us not to go.  Anjalie, one of our very favorites, came to me
 in the Health Center, dropped a folded piece of paper and ran out. I
 called to her, but she continued on. Her friends told me she was upset
 and wouldn’t come back. On her note to me, she had written, “Miss you
 Marry Mam! Love. Angelie”.

 It must be so hard for the girls to have volunteers come to the
 school, spend time improving the quality of their lives, and then
 leave.  They have no understanding of what it takes for us to get
 there, how far we travel to make it happen, and what going home means
 to us.

 Wednesday was hard, very sad, but not nearly as hard as yesterday
 morning, the day of our departure.  We thought we would be leaving
 early enough to avoid seeing the girls and teachers again. One goodbye
 is hard, two is much harder.  I needed to return to the Health room
 one more time. I needed to leave an angel, given by a friend, to watch
over the school. I placed her in a spot where it will not likely be
found.  Angels have been, and will continue to watch over these girls
every day! I also needed to get some cold medication, as we are both
leaving the school with colds, and the likelihood of getting familiar
meds elsewhere is not good.
> Most importantly, I needed to look one more time, at the gift we are
> leaving behind. I was overwhelmed by what Mike and I have created. It
> is, without a doubt, the cleanest, brightest, best medical facility in
> the entire village(and possibly,in the state of Uttar Pradesh). How
> did we, two very ordinary people from the US, make this happen? To
> think that we had hopes and a dream, to bring 1200 girls desperately
> needed health care, in such a remote place, where it has never been
> before….Wow! We leave it behind, knowing that the lives of these
> amazing and innocent children, will be better than they were before we
> arrived.   Simply amazing!

 
> As I walked down the steps one last time, I was greeted by three
> beautiful girls. We’ve been asked many times, by many people, how we
> communicate with the girls, as many speak either no, or almost no,
> English.  It happens, it really does. I told them how proud I was of
> them, how much I will miss them, and how they need to stay in school,
> so they will be there when we go back. That was a lesson learned this
> trip, as two of our very favorites, Moni, and Jaya, from our last trip
> are no longer there. Moni was married off. Jaya moved. How
> disappointed we were to not see them again!  There are no guarantees
> here, and we know that now!
>
> The girls who greeted me told me not to go. I told them we needed to
> go back to America to see our children. They told me our children
> could come there. I told them I now have 1200 daughters in India, as
> well as my daughter at home.  They beamed! They understood.  As we
> walked along, my arms around the three of them, I know that they, too,
> are my daughters. I love them and want the best for each of them. I
> want them to be healthy, to stay in school, to be protected from any
> harm, and to have a future, filled with the promise of a better life
> than that of their forefathers
> .
> As we walked outside, many students and staff were gathered for the
> real, final farewell.  I broke down as I looked around at the
> outpouring of love and support from each and every one of them.  As I
> got into the car, I didn’t want them to see me crying , but they did.
> My tears showed them that they matter, that we care and that they
> count. Mike’s tears did, too.  As we drove away through the village,
> we passed many girls walking or waiting for the bus to Pardada. We saw
> many other children on their way to school. We also saw too many
> others that have not been given the gift of education.
>
> Those children don’t look like the ones in uniforms going to school.
> They wear tattered rags, mismatched tops and bottoms, or bare bottoms.
>  They carry heavy bowls of buffalo dung along the road, the wander
> aimlessly, throwing stones and just standing. With no purpose, no plan
> and no hope. If only all of the children could be given what our own
> have been given. The gift of education, the gift of hope, a gift for a
> brighter tomorrow.  Should that not be every child’s right? No matter
> where they live, no matter how poor?
>
> After visiting hospitals, schools, doctors offices and clinics in the
> village, we know Pardada’s new Health Center is, without a doubt, the
> best show in town. It is clean, bright, friendly, well equipped. It
> has, and will continue to have volunteers, or a school nurse, who will
> show kindness, gentleness and care when a girl shows up with a fever,
> a scraped knee, or a skin infection.  Simple things, like soap and
> water, hydrogen peroxide and Neosporin and a bandaid can save a child
> from getting a serious infection.  Or losing their toe, which is very
> likely reality for our student nurse. She injured her toe a month ago
> and the infection she has is very bad.
Getting immunizations at the first medical camp we arranged.

> Our stay at Pardada ended the very way it began, and continued to
> during our entire stay. As we were getting in the car, Mr. Jose, the
> school administrator and our good friend, told Mike he had received a
> call late the night before from the government hospital doctor(the one
> I told I was a pediatrician in order to get things moving when we went
> to pick up the weekly iron pills every girl gets), saying he needed
> the names of all the girls under age 10, so they could get
> vaccinations! Yes!!! We will wait to see what that means, but at least
> the phone call came.
>
> The day before, we learned that Elsa, the nurse we so wanted to hire,
> had called to say she wanted to take the job. For 2 weeks, we hoped
> and prayed for that to happen. Just as it didn’t seem like it would
> happen, it too, did! We talked with her and she gave us her promise
> that she would start in January, after giving one month notice to her
> current job at a hospital in Delhi, and then going to visit her family
> in Kerala.  Elsa, is in her 50’s, she was great with the girls on her
> visit to the school, and, she is a Christian. She is just who we were
> looking for to fill the position.
Mary with Elisa, the new school nurse and health teacher

> On Monday, we picked up eyeglasses for five girls we had taken to the
> eye doctor. Several girls then came to us to say they couldn’t see and
> need glasses.  For $5-6, we can give these girls the gift of sight. We
> hope they will convince their families to allow them to wear the
> glasses, so that children who need them can get them. And, no, village
> people, wearing glasses won’t stop your daughter from being eligible
> for marriage!
>
> As we head on to Myanmar, we are happy for what we have accomplished.
> This is a beginning. Our hope is that this beginning will help
> continue to change the lives of the people of Annupshar.     And that,
> through example, many of our girls will decide to go to college for
> medical degrees. Another new concept in a world so isolated from the
> rest of the world!!
>
> We're heading to Myanmar for two weeks now and look forward to
> returning to America on December 9th.  Peace to all of you as you
> begin preparing for the Christmas season.  With love, Mary