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
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!
> 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.
> 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.
> 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
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