We've spent our afternoons travelling to parts of the rural villages near the school. These villages are very poor, but they have such a strong sense of community it is inspiring. Some of the women in one village micro-finance each other; if one woman in a family needs a goat, 5 or 6 of them pool their money together to purchase one for everyone's good. Oftentimes their husbands are of no help, so they take it upon themselves to care for one another.
Another women's organization is working to end child labor in factories where silk is produced. This is especially problematic because in the poor villages, factory owners will buy children from parents who need the money. Those children then are unable to go to school because they are forced to work in the factory. The teachers are supposed to make sure this doesn't happen, but it is safe to assume they benefit from pay offs to keep their mouths shut. Although it is very dangerous for them, the women in the organization bring attention to child labor practices and get the government involved. Also, they do not purchase silk saris; their BEAUTIFUL uniforms were made of cotton. At the presentation we met one young girl who had been rescued from a factory. Since she was too old for school these women taught her to be a tailor so that she could work. Seeing this girl in front of me made me really want to pay attention to fair trade practices - it's really important that people aren't taken advantage of. This girl and three others performed a dance for us - it was so great and I loved to watch it!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Loyola Higher Secondary School
I LOVE THE KIDS AT THIS SCHOOL! They all want to talk to us and they all want to interact with us. It's really intense because when you walk into a 6th grade classroom all of the students want to shake your hand and ask our names and where we are coming from. They are all so cute! The older students behave a little better, but they are just as curious. The kids have extremely long names and laugh when I try to repeat them. They really seem to like my name :)
Most of the students speak English very well, but it is still hard to explain certain things such as snow to them. I find this to be the funniest thing ever: it is winter in India, and it is probably 85 or hotter here, and the humidity it so intense that we just sweat all day long. But some of the kids here, and Fr. Bella, they wear ear muffs to keep themselves from "shivering in the cold"....yes, this is true.
During our lessons I taught with Dr. Forest and Helen. We sang "This Land is Your Land" and discussed information like our names, ages, where we are coming from, our favorite color, etc. The lessons this week were great, but I really enjoyed doing crafts with the kids today. The paint worked out, and I had enough for one class. The kids really loved it. Then Helen had the kids make masks, and Megan had them make friendship bracelets!! It was a very fun day.
I really wish I could do more for the kids here. They are so kind-hearted and eager to be our friends - it seems so unfair that we have to leave tomorrow. There a few kids I can remember specifically by name :) I hope we can find a way to keep in touch.
Most of the students speak English very well, but it is still hard to explain certain things such as snow to them. I find this to be the funniest thing ever: it is winter in India, and it is probably 85 or hotter here, and the humidity it so intense that we just sweat all day long. But some of the kids here, and Fr. Bella, they wear ear muffs to keep themselves from "shivering in the cold"....yes, this is true.
During our lessons I taught with Dr. Forest and Helen. We sang "This Land is Your Land" and discussed information like our names, ages, where we are coming from, our favorite color, etc. The lessons this week were great, but I really enjoyed doing crafts with the kids today. The paint worked out, and I had enough for one class. The kids really loved it. Then Helen had the kids make masks, and Megan had them make friendship bracelets!! It was a very fun day.
I really wish I could do more for the kids here. They are so kind-hearted and eager to be our friends - it seems so unfair that we have to leave tomorrow. There a few kids I can remember specifically by name :) I hope we can find a way to keep in touch.
The Indian Health Care System
The contents of this post are not for the faint of heart....
So last week on Wednesday our group arrived in the rural village of Kuppayanallur. Unfortunately, for the first 3 days, me and my lovely roomates Megan and Hannah were sick. By lunch on the first day I was in the bathroom vomitting everything that was inside of me, which continued then for the next 18 hours. Megan and Hannah followed suit shortly afterward, and we spent the night taking turns in front of the toilet. Unfortunately for Hannah, at one point she found herself "ankle-deep in sink" because our sink fell off of the wall in the bathroom. I had sort of dislodged it earlier when I needed to grab onto it as I puked my brains out, and I forgot to tell Hannah about that. I heard the crash but slept through the whole episode. Apparently there were like six men in our room trying to fix it. I have no memory of this.
Early the next morning our adult leader Rita had one of the Jesuits, Brother Bruno take us to a nearby hospital. (Nearby being 15km away). I was so nervous because I thought that in foreign countries doctors stole tourists' organs or something, but the hospital was really really nice and very clean. Kevin came with and we were made all better by the wonderful medical staff.
Before I left my Dad told me to try all the different kinds of local foods, but since this happened I've sort of stopped being adventurous with food. I've mostly eaten bananas, but I did try papaya today. It was delicious.
So last week on Wednesday our group arrived in the rural village of Kuppayanallur. Unfortunately, for the first 3 days, me and my lovely roomates Megan and Hannah were sick. By lunch on the first day I was in the bathroom vomitting everything that was inside of me, which continued then for the next 18 hours. Megan and Hannah followed suit shortly afterward, and we spent the night taking turns in front of the toilet. Unfortunately for Hannah, at one point she found herself "ankle-deep in sink" because our sink fell off of the wall in the bathroom. I had sort of dislodged it earlier when I needed to grab onto it as I puked my brains out, and I forgot to tell Hannah about that. I heard the crash but slept through the whole episode. Apparently there were like six men in our room trying to fix it. I have no memory of this.
Early the next morning our adult leader Rita had one of the Jesuits, Brother Bruno take us to a nearby hospital. (Nearby being 15km away). I was so nervous because I thought that in foreign countries doctors stole tourists' organs or something, but the hospital was really really nice and very clean. Kevin came with and we were made all better by the wonderful medical staff.
Before I left my Dad told me to try all the different kinds of local foods, but since this happened I've sort of stopped being adventurous with food. I've mostly eaten bananas, but I did try papaya today. It was delicious.
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