Super Volunteers

In a previous blog I wrote a bit about the dentists who did such an incredible job for us. Three dentists, and parts of their family, came to spend a week improving the dental hygiene and health of our children. They ended up seeing every child in the school (hostel and village), plus the housemothers and our cook Padmini. They did root canals, filled teeth, removed teeth, and cleaned and scraped every little mouth. It took all six days that they were here. One of our boys, 10 year old Aron, had his beautiful new front teeth broken off this spring. They were bonded by the dentists and now look just like new. He was so thrilled. The only break they had was to go to a very distant colony, late one afternoon, and do some teeth extractions. The colony they visited has only 7 members still living. They have no real means of getting in to see dentists and doctors, so they rely on the mobile medical van/doctor visits, and in this instance, the visit of the dentists. They were so grateful. Last week when our group was there they were showing off their mouths minus the teeth that were giving them trouble. They were very proud of their dental work!

In the group, in addition to the three dentists, were two wives, one son, and five daughters. All of them assisted at least two days in the dental clinic as well as going out with all the activities of the mobile medical, anthropology, and tutoring programs. Playtime and family evening were on their schedule, as well as a great water balloon toss, with an amazing balloon launcher. They not only did a great service for the Rising Star population, but they were so much fun. Thank you McGavin's, Astle's, and VandenBerghe's--I'm sure you saved a lot of teeth for our beautiful children.

Arriving almost simultaneously with our family, were A'lissa and Mark Olson and their two beautiful daughters, Tracy and Veronica. They came equipped with cameras (a great gift from them), soft ware, expertise and again willingness to teach a photography clinic to some of our older children each day. They participated in the full program here, including mural painting in the children's rooms in the hostels. They conducted two 45 minute sessions with a group of 10 in each, from 4:30 to 6:00 daily. It was a beginning, and the children loved it! We had a powerpoint showing one evening of photographs taken by the children, as well as by the Olsons. A photography club will be formed, so that we might continue the enthusiasm engendered. Matt Goodell and his sister, who will be coming in August, will head this up. It's remarkable the talent and the willingness of the people who come to bless Rising Star. We feel lucky to be here to witness it all.

Pictures: Aron, before and after bonding on broken teeth; Dr. Astle teaching proper brushing in Family Evening; massive water balloon toss; Dentists and families (joined by a few friends) preparing to leave; A'lissa Olson and daughter Taylor painting mural on wall; showing of children's pictures on power point.

The Family Came to Visit...

What a joyous week we had with Matt and Natalie and 7 grandsons and 2 nieces on Natalie's side of the family here with us. It was so fun to share a bit of our life with them, and see the way they responded with love and energy to the requirements of being with the children (who couldn't get enough of them), working in the colonies, painting murals, and all other kinds of things they were asked to do. They worked through illness, heat, little sleep and constant activity, to provide Rising Star with everything a volunteer can give. How we loved watching it all. We thank each and everyone that came, as we do all our volunteers for the great gift that they bring: love and willing hands and heart.

The youngest two sons in the Maryland Hanson family are Matthew (Match -- 9) and Jack (11). They were beloved of the children: Ambarasu said Jack is his best friend for life, and Peter and Match could be seen walking everywhere hand in hand. Match and Jack were never without a crowd, with the children knocking our door all hours of the early morning and into the evening, looking for their best friends to come and play. They also took their turns painting murals, doing the Anthropology interviews and the medical day, washing and wrapping feet. In the colonies, they got their cheeks pinched until they were red, and barely escaped several loving older women who wanted to adopt them into the colony. Also, one older man who had been drinking a lot, almost smothered Jack with love and booze! They played games in the colonies and loved the people, giving their whole hearts to the work.

The older boys, Jamie (15), Samuel (16), Eric (17), Ben (17) and Nate (18), and the two beautiful girls, Sammy Stapley (15) and Jane Ostergar (16), were all the perfect volunteers. They were on time for the coordinators meetings where they receive their instructions for each day, willing to go with their group for the days activities, and participating cheerfully at whatever they were asked to do. It was so thrilling to see these beautiful teenagers demonstrate the true love of Christ in their interactions with the young and the old. The coordinators mentioned several times they had never seen young people more willing to serve without complaint than these nine were. How grateful we were to each of them, and how we love them!

Natalie and Matthew led the group--survived losing Match at the Red Fort in Agra, and mentally preparing the young people for what they could expect when they arrived at Rising Star Outreach. They had six days in the north of India touring with their group before coming South. They were incredible volunteers, also, lifting, encouraging, bearing gifts for all the staff and the children, teaching the children how to make boxes (and the children made a lot), preparing picture and picture frames for each child to give their family at the next parent's day, and encouraging and lifting their aging parents! (No easy task!) It was a bit of pure heaven having them here: all loving being here, and all being loved. The following is a bit of Matt's email home to the families interested in their children's activities.

"Our days at Rising Star have flown by. You would all be very proud of how our group of kids threw themselves into the flow of the school and had a very positive impact. During the day, we break into our groups and work on various assignments. Yesterday my group painted a Nemo mural in one of the girl’s dorm rooms, while the other two groups either met with people in the villages to work on oral histories (part of an anthropology project), or went to the hospital with the medical team to escort some of the leprosy patients through the morass which is public health care.

" A few other highlights: Yesterday a US born daughter of Indian immigrants performed a traditional Hindi dance, complete with the formal gown, makeup and jewelry. The kids experimented with Hennai, which is a semi-permanent sort of tattoo (it comes off in a about a month). Jane, Sammy and Natalie have been doing various crafts with the girls: decorating picture frames and boxes out of folded paper. The boys have been playing some intense basketball with the students, and working hard at their assignments.

" The lowlight? We ate Porota (Indian flat bread) at a road side stand on Tuesday night. Nate lost in an eating contest to a girl. Nate downed 10 Porota, while Esther consumed 11. We were all very embarrassed and pessimistic about the future of SVU football.

" We leave tonight to Chennai for our flight back. The kids had the option of leaving this evening and having an American dinner in Chennai before going to the airport, or staying at the school for as long as possible and heading straight to the airport. They unanimously chose to stay for as long as possible, so that they could be with the kids and enjoy all the activities here at the school. These kids have really been great to travel with."

What a joy as parents and grandparents to have had this opportunity to host these wonderful young people and Matt and Natalie. They were all awesome!!!

Pictures: Night of departure, Jamie strutting his dunk, Nate and his 10th parotta, Sam and a wild game of soccer with Sathya and Praveen, Natalie and Sammy in the craft mode, Ben and friends, dinner on the balcony, Match and Jack with the boys collecting 20 eggs, Jane and Match on afternoon "ticket to play" check, Sammy with 2 friends, painting the "Nemo" mural, Nate and Eric with their mural, "Flounder"

Dancing and Dental!

We have had so much dancing in the past week!  The Marriott Day was our turn to entertain them for a change (although they did bring a great magician with them.)  Katie Winder, one of our fabulous volunteers who is a student at the Boston Conservatory, was here for a month and worked tirelessly each day working on new dance routines with the children.  On the day the Marriott associates were here, along with a great program by the children, Katie also did a beautiful ballet routine out in the middle of the mango grove.  She looked so lovely and for many of the adults, it was the first time watching ballet.  Also, her students loved seeing her dance.  Also performing that day was Rhadika Kannan, our newest volunteer (here for a year.) She was born and raised in California, but her parents and grandma are from Southern India, and Rhadika grew up bilingual (Tamil being her other language). She has taught in the public schools in California, is ESL certified, and performs and teaches Indian Classical dance.  She is an answer to many prayers!  She is going to teach a variety of subjects in the school, has prepared a wonderful curriculum for our housemothers to improve their English, and will be teaching dance for the year!  How incredible is that.  She is such a lovely example of both cultures that make up her background.

 

Becky was here for almost a week, and we were grateful for every day.  Everyone is so thrilled when she comes, and the children are just ecstatic.  She lifts and encourages each and everyone of us.  She and Padma and the Hansons had a great day working on the Micro-finance program. We are excited to see the direction it is taking, and thrilled that Padma is truly enthused about it all.  She had such a hard time when her father died, and we were afraid we would never get her back.  We are going to join with a national group, Mitra National Forum for Leprosy Rehabilitation, which will give us a far wider sphere of influence, but still we will be able to maintain our autonomy in the colonies we now work with.  Padma is on the national board, which will give Rising Star Outreach more clout.  Exciting step forward.

The dentists (3 from Utah with family members) arrived yesterday, and by 9:00 Monday morning were ready to see their first patients.  They came completely ready to work with three complete dental set-ups:  chairs and all equipment needed for fillings, extractions, and any other requirements.  They will see every child in the school during the next five days and try to head off the awful problems we see with the older people, particularly in the leprosy colonies. This great gift has come about through Scott McGavin, who is David Archuleta's dentist.  David got excited about the project and raised funds to help make it financially possible and Scott got two of his dentist buddies to sign on with him. Thanks go to David, Scott McGavin, Steve Aste and John VandenBerghe, and family members who are working as assistants.   On Friday, they will visit a colony or two with help for some of the leprosy affected people.  The full story will follow in the next post!    

Pictures:  Children, finale; Katie Winder; Rhadika Kannan; Katie, Becky and Rhadika; Reagan VandenBerghe with Satish; Lance McGavin and Dr. Scott McGavin, Dr. Steve Aste

...whereas I was blind, now I see. (John 9:25)

What a month we have had, including a wonderful report from our Dr. Senthil Kumar and his success with a man called Mr. Karuppiah from Bethel Nagar Colony.  Mr. Karuppiah has been blind for 20 years--he had never laid eyes on his grandchildren, age 16 and 18.  He had never seen the many volunteers over the years who had come to wash his feet and hands and redo the bandages.  He never saw Lucy Williams who spent a whole day with him at Ramachandra Hospital where the surgery was done, escorting him from one office to another, sitting and waiting, and singing.  He had never seen Dr. Senthil Kumar who has come every two weeks to his colony to serve those who need him. They had done a major screening in the two biggest colonies for glaucoma and cataracts.  Six were taken for surgery out of about 25 found needing help.  The ophthalmologist didn't want to operate on Mr. Karuppiah, saying he was too old--why bother, he'll die soon anyway.   Dr. Kumar convinced the ophthalmologist with 2 hours of reasoning, " yes he's old, but why not give it a try:  nothing to lose!"  Finally, the ophthalmologist agreed.  The result was stunning.  He now has one good eye, to see with after 20 years!  Dr Kumar wrote, "he wanted to thank the unseen and unknown American volunteers who washed his feet, and who took pictures with him."  He had help in making a couple of signs expressing his feelings for those who had helped him.

Last Saturday, Ron and I were in Bethel Nagar Colony to see the computer teaching that is now taking place for young people in that Colony, thanks to Dell Computer Company.  They have provided laptops, money for a teacher, transportation to cover trips to and from the colonies. It was so inspiring to see many young adults and high school age youth so excited about this program being offered to them.  While we were there we met with Mr. Karuppiah outside the community center.  He was praising God, in all directions--all by himself.  I went out to talk to him, and had blessings placed upon my head, and "hallelujahs" in all directions. He speaks just enough English that there was no misunderstanding what he was talking about. What a thrill for him and for us, to be a part of this small (big to Mr. Karuppiah) Indian miracle.

Lazy, days of Summer -School!

Education is our most important mission here at Rising Star Outreach.  In the Peery Matriculation School for Rising Stars, our principal, teachers, and volunteers are working hard to help the children achieve their potential--not  just in the basic subjects, but most especially in English.  We're working in a language that is REALLY foreign to them, just as their language Tamil, is REALLY foreign to us.  They are being taught and tutored in this very foreign language (English)--even the words of Shakespeare! They go home to their families--the children from the village, every night, and no one speaks this English that they are working so hard to become fluent in. How can you read Shakespeare when you can hardly read a basic primer that our American students might read in 1st grade? 

India does not have a national language. The official language of the Republic of India is Hindi, and its subsidiary official language is English.  India has gone through some dramatic periods with language:  trying to make Hindi the compulsory language for the country caused a near civil war:  knocking out all the local languages such as Tamil and the Urdu language where much of the beautiful poetry is found, as well as the other 22 regional languages now recognized with official status was not well accepted.  After the British left, there was also a feeling to rid the country of all things that reminded them of the hundreds of years that they were one of the great British Empire colonies.  Speaking English seemed all wrong.  In the 21st century, however, English is the language of business in a global world.  Those who will get successful jobs and be successful in the university arena, will not only speak Tamil, Hindi, Urdu or many of the other state languages, but will also speak English.  English is now a required subject in every government and non-government school.  Those who learn it best come from an English Matriculation school, where every subject is taught in English!  

Our little kindergarten children will have no problems--we know that the younger they begin to face the daunting task of learning a new language the more successful they will be.  We have several students in the older grades who are doing very well, but many who struggle to master complicated subjects in a complicated language are failing.  Our volunteers, this summer, are spending part of every day in the mango grove, where one on one, they work on the subject where a student is falling behind and do it in English. These volunteers come in all shapes and sizes--Charlie Googh is in "our age" category:  he's here with his cute granddaughter Tessa Barton, a good friend of our granddaughter Hannah.  We have the son of our driver, Mani, who just graduated from 12th standard and will be entering the university here for the summer. The director of the tutoring program (pictured with David and Ragu) is Ashley Erekson.  What a job she is doing.   It looks like the Lazy Days of Summer, but actually it is a very intense and vital part of the learning process. 

One area of near total success is the computer program.  Children, the world over, seem to understand what some of us feel so challenged by.  One of our volunteers today made the comment that the 10 year olds were learning to do spread sheets!  I put my name in to sign up for that class.

Shoes and Helpers!

We've had such a nice week--including an overdue visit from our architect and the structural engineer.  There were parts of the building that could go no further without an onsite visit and we actually had them both show up together on Friday.  Many questions were asked and suggestions made by our very fine architect, and approvals given on structural dilemmas by the engineer.  We will continue to move forward, with a bit more knowledge.  None of this, however, makes us feel like we will be ready to move volunteers into the new quarters by the middle of July--one month from today!  We keep reminding everyone, This Is India, and we move at a different pace.

The first group of volunteers left at the crack of dawn today for Delhi and Agra, before returning to their homes.  A few will return to Rising Star for another two weeks with us.  They have been an outstanding group of young people--qualified in such a variety of areas.  The coordinators made the comment that when they read their resumes they wondered why they should feel qualified to be their directors.  The coordinators are fantastic and did a wonderful job, and the volunteers worked so hard in tasks that were often menial, difficult, hot and miserable, and heart-rending, without missing a beat.  It was pure service at it's best. 

Our children, as mentioned before, are now wearing shoes and socks to school.  They look so darling and are uncomplaining, although I know that having gone barefoot all their lives these new stiff shoes and hot black socks cannot be very much fun.  The little ones invariably have them on the wrong feet.  I often see one of the older children changing the shoes around on the feet of the little ones.  Bad enough to have them on the right feet!  It feels like a new era: a city school, sophistication in our program, 21st century at Rising Star to see them in their shoes and socks. When they come home they quickly put them away for the day, and become once again little country Indian kids, with the toughest feet you can imagine.  I think I like it best that way.

From the pictures, it looks like we need to work on the zippers, next!  Also note one boy who may have lost?? his shoes.

We're Back!

Doubt there are many left out there to read this after a long absence of writing. Got a note of reminder/chastisement from Elizabeth this morning letting me know the last entry was April 23. Oh well--no excuse, except my month spent at home was probably not what anyone wanted to hear about.  Ron returned on May 16 (we were both scheduled to return), but I was delayed until May 31.  It was hard--he was miserable in the heat, no children yet returned, and concern for me. I knew it was difficult for him to be here alone, but he is the best foreman around in regards to our building projects, and he had to come back. Jenny allayed some of his concerns that I too was miserable when she said I was eating out every day at Neiman Marcus, Rothchilds, Javiers, Pascals etc. with family and friends.  It was also 70 degrees in Laguna, versus 100+ in India. However, we have been happy to be back together, and I'm just happy to be here.

The children returned on Sunday, for a return to school on Monday, June 1. We were so happy to see them back. They have returned with a variety of illnesses, wounds, and a few young children with a lot of tears. (How we are missing Dr. Karl Kirby and "nurse" Vickie Gibb.)  Life in the colonies may be fraught with conditions that are less than ideal, but mom or dad, or a loving grandparent or aunt or uncle, are hard to leave.  The children are very brave, as are the parents who seem so stoic, but are often seen out in the mango grove after leaving their child, sobbing all alone. It's touching, to say the least.  I will write more about the children next week and include a picture of them with their new black shoes and socks, which are now a requirement as part of the uniform. They look sharp!

The volunteers also arrived.  We have 14 here--4 men and 10 women.  They are darling, and working hard in this incredible heat.  The program, as designed by Amy Antonelli, and now being implemented by five coordinators is running so smoothly.  We feel lucky to be a part of the action with them.  More to come on this outstanding group of young people.

Today was an exciting day for the building process.  With an early morning puja and a huge increase in the numbers of workers, they began the around the clock task of pouring the 2nd story of the school floor.  It's so incredible to watch--like toys I remember where you wind them and everything begins to move.  The concrete is mixed on the ground--1 bag cement, 3 buckets of gravel and 2 of sand--in the big mixer.  A large bucket goes up and down which receives the newly mixed concrete and rises up to the top where the mixture is put into the dishes the women carry on their heads to be dumped at the appropriate spot. It's round and round--for 24 hours or more it will continue until the entire floor is poured.  They are all walking on tied rebar so they watch carefully not to fall as they carry their heavy loads.  The contractor told me there were about 80 people working on that job.  There are still others working on the guest hostel and the dining/kitchen block.  Progress is being made. 

Our new Reverse Osmosis  (RO) Plant is nearly completed, and the equipment will arrive this next week.  The  plant sits between the two hostels on a concrete platform that houses the pumps for the water tanks.  A small structure has been completed for the RO.  It got painted a couple of days ago--like everything in India, the yellows don't quite match but they are close.  We will be so happy to have clean water, and be able to do away with these big plastic bottles that clutter us up everywhere.  We did get a lot of painting done in the hallways and rooms, with some vivid new Indian colors on the walls!

More soon--hope somebody is still out there checking to see if the Hansons are still "Walking in the Sand."

Pictures:  1) Making concrete, 2) Parade of workers (mostly women) carrying concrete to dump, 3) Getting ready, 4) Guest hostel-entrance, 5) Dining block, 6) New RO plant between hostels