Sunday, January 29, 2012
Volunteering in India
I found this You Tube about our work at Rising Star. It's a great example of life changing experiences there. Enjoy!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1OJ7qPHlG4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1OJ7qPHlG4&feature=related
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Second Job Description
In January the director called me in and said he wanted me to now work improving the hostel. My title would be Child Welfare Manager.
We have a building where the children live called the hostel. The boys live on the east side of the building and the girls on the west. There are between 17 and 20 children in each living quarter with one house mother. In total there are eight living quarters. This is a very, very nice building by Indian standards. Our children come from the leper colonies where they live in a thatched roof hut - period. There is no running water, no power, no toilet, nothing to prepare food, no refrigeration, etc, etc. They have a dirt floor and roof. All food preparation is done outside over a fire. The shrubs and trees out back are the bathroom and a bath is taken at the village well/pump. A bath means washing off with water. Most don't have and can't afford a bar of soap. Laundry is done in what ever water source there is ie: creek, pond, wash tub where large rocks are close. They scrub and scrub the clothes then beat them on the rocks and lay them out on shrubs, rocks or grass to dry.
At our hostel they sleep on a clean floor where they are safe. They have separate bathrooms, sinks with soap, running water and separate bathing stalls. There is even hot water for bathing. Every morning all the children have chores. Some wash clothes, some sweep the living area and some do general cleaning. All of the older children, girls and boys, are assigned a younger child to bathe and dress. The girls also comb and braid their long hair. It is a beautiful site to watch how loving they are to each other.
We have a beautiful new dining hall where they eat 3 meals a day and they can consume lots!! When they come to us they are often malnourished. They have brown hair instead of pitch black, their belly's are swollen and they are lethargic. After a few months their eyes sparkle, their hair is black and they run with energy.
There were many things to put into order when I started at the hostel.
Sleeping mats and wash buckets were replaced, plumbing repaired, mosquito nets placed on windows, rules agreed on and posted in each room, tooth brushes handed out and clocks mounted. Protein food items were added to the diet meaning peanuts, chicken, red rice instead of processed white rice and protein powder in the morning milk.
We started a weekly meeting with the house mothers. This was a great improvement. They were able to voice their concerns and make requests that in the past had not been addressed.
The older girls needed underwear which they were so excited to get. They knew someone really cared. The underwear weren't so important but the attention was.
I created 7 power point lessons to teach good hygiene - how to wash your hair, how to brush your teeth, why soap is important, what deoderant is for, how bodies change during puberty, etc. Some targeted the young children and some the teenagers. The children were fascinated to watch bacteria and learn how those little germs make them sick. They just needed to be given the information. These kids want to do good and want to be good.
We have a building where the children live called the hostel. The boys live on the east side of the building and the girls on the west. There are between 17 and 20 children in each living quarter with one house mother. In total there are eight living quarters. This is a very, very nice building by Indian standards. Our children come from the leper colonies where they live in a thatched roof hut - period. There is no running water, no power, no toilet, nothing to prepare food, no refrigeration, etc, etc. They have a dirt floor and roof. All food preparation is done outside over a fire. The shrubs and trees out back are the bathroom and a bath is taken at the village well/pump. A bath means washing off with water. Most don't have and can't afford a bar of soap. Laundry is done in what ever water source there is ie: creek, pond, wash tub where large rocks are close. They scrub and scrub the clothes then beat them on the rocks and lay them out on shrubs, rocks or grass to dry.
At our hostel they sleep on a clean floor where they are safe. They have separate bathrooms, sinks with soap, running water and separate bathing stalls. There is even hot water for bathing. Every morning all the children have chores. Some wash clothes, some sweep the living area and some do general cleaning. All of the older children, girls and boys, are assigned a younger child to bathe and dress. The girls also comb and braid their long hair. It is a beautiful site to watch how loving they are to each other.
We have a beautiful new dining hall where they eat 3 meals a day and they can consume lots!! When they come to us they are often malnourished. They have brown hair instead of pitch black, their belly's are swollen and they are lethargic. After a few months their eyes sparkle, their hair is black and they run with energy.
There were many things to put into order when I started at the hostel.
Sleeping mats and wash buckets were replaced, plumbing repaired, mosquito nets placed on windows, rules agreed on and posted in each room, tooth brushes handed out and clocks mounted. Protein food items were added to the diet meaning peanuts, chicken, red rice instead of processed white rice and protein powder in the morning milk.
We started a weekly meeting with the house mothers. This was a great improvement. They were able to voice their concerns and make requests that in the past had not been addressed.
The older girls needed underwear which they were so excited to get. They knew someone really cared. The underwear weren't so important but the attention was.
I created 7 power point lessons to teach good hygiene - how to wash your hair, how to brush your teeth, why soap is important, what deoderant is for, how bodies change during puberty, etc. Some targeted the young children and some the teenagers. The children were fascinated to watch bacteria and learn how those little germs make them sick. They just needed to be given the information. These kids want to do good and want to be good.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Our Work in the Colonies
This is a great video of yesterday in the colony. Some of the pictures are pretty graphic. I love these people. They smile everyday!
http://vimeo.com/21796849
http://vimeo.com/21796849
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Village Life
Audry is one of our volunteers. She shot this video of Thottanaval Village. Thottanaval is where Rising Star is. This video is great!
http://vimeo.com/21687075
http://vimeo.com/21687075
Friday, March 25, 2011
You Tube trailer
This shows a good over view of what we do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwNSwPMuJPY&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwNSwPMuJPY&feature=player_embedded
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