Projects with the Volunteers - #2

Rochelle Cronquist from Atlanta Georgia, is a small, but very powerful (personality, body strength, and determination) young woman. She is a Junior this year at BYU majoring in Public Health with a minor in International Development. She has run a marathon, spent several months in her favorite country, France, on a Study Abroad program, and counts this summer as her third trip to Rising Star. She has been in charge of all special projects, including after school activities, projects in the colonies, evening devotionals and assorted other things that fall under the category of "special projects." The other coordinators finally came to the conclusion she had way too many jobs to survive the summer. There was, of course, a lot of help from the others, but basically Rochelle handled many tough jobs on her own. She is lovely in a sari, but never afraid of getting dirty--she did a lot of that!

When I think of her, my favorite picture will always be handling the workers and the volunteers as they began in July to build three toilets in the Bharatapuram Colony, with the large group that came with Sally Reed from New Caanan, CT. Getting the contractor to understand that the three workers with him were not to do all the work, but rather teach the volunteers how to set bricks, mortar, plaster, build a roof, and paint the three "squatters" as we dubbed them was almost impossible. The contractor would fail to have the materials, they couldn't figure out why a group with materials and one mason should be at each site, and they would start at 7:00 when we would not arrive until 9:30 and a good portion of the work would be done. In the end, because of Rochelle's perseverance and determination the volunteers completed the project and felt satisfied, and the job turned out great. (note the pictures.) One man told us that he had to carry his wife everywhere, and he was so happy now that he had a toilet right by his home and he no longer had to carry her all the way up the hill where it was private. Always sweet stories of sacrifice and perhaps making a life a little easier.

She also led a group of volunteers in August to redo the walls of the barber's shop and put on a new roof. He was thrilled--small project, but great rewards. They completed this project the last day before they were leaving to go home. Rochelle had announced to me that she would stay as late as necessary to make sure the last of the painting, etc., was completed. She did!

Rochelle was outstanding in all that she did--tough as nails, and always a lady even when climbing on the top of the roof to paint under the eves. There was no job that was too daunting for this incredible young lady! Thank you Rochelle for being an inspiration to us all.

Pictures: Rochelle with Joyce and Ron at our farewell thank you at the Marriott; Rochelle and Kelsey Holloway putting the finishing touches on the barber shop; Rochelle and the happy barber; finished toilets (two of them--they completed three); and building the toilets with the volunteers. Rochelle carried a lot of bricks!

Projects with the Volunteers - #1

I thought you'd enjoy knowing a little bit about our projects that the coordinators have guided our volunteers in this summer. There have been several smaller ones that were not for the full summer, but there have been some that have followed through the last three months. We have had close to 100 volunteers who have spent up to four weeks with us. The volunteer program is under the direction of Amy Antonelli, and she was here for part of the time in early August. She had invited 5 very talented and dedicated women to run the program for the summer--she trained and taught them, and they came in May prepared to handle anything and everything! In the next few blogs, I will share with you their portions of the program and tell you a bit about these great leaders.

Kaity Gale is from Seattle, Washington. She will be a senior in Anthropology this fall at BYU. Next year she plans to start a Masters program in Public Health. The first week in October she will marry Peter... Kaity's program was unique, as she designed her own program and presented it to Amy a year ago. She was a volunteer herself in August of 2008, and after working with the people in the colonies, felt it would be a great thing to set up interviewing and story gathering in the colonies, with translators to assist with the language barrier. Her goal for the summer was to get the stories of these people, whose lives have been so different; they have been shunned and removed from the mainstream of Indian life. Within 20 years, the colonies may be a thing of the past, as leprosy is on the decline with proper medical help more available to prevent the horrible disfiguring which so easily identifies them as leprosy affected. The curse of leprosy hopefully will be gone, just as it has disappeared from the island of Molokai in Hawaii.

Kaity's work had the approval of Padma Venkataraman, who laid the groundwork for Kaity in the colonies. Kaity was amazed at how quickly the residents in the colonies accepted her, and with her the stream of volunteers who accompanied her and visited with the people. She opened doors with games (Jenga and Badmitton were two particular favorites), picking up garbage, singing songs and dancing, and just laughing and having fun. Her most joyful experience was getting to know the individuals so closely, and making so many good friends. She loved hearing their stories--some happy and content with life, even with all their problems, many so unhappy with the struggles they've been faced with. Her project was one of building trust--with the people of the colonies, and with Padma as her project developed. Padma was not sure how the people would accept so many coming to ask questions.

Kaity plans to compile her material (she has over 150 single spaced pages) into a book with individual stories or as a history of the colonies. A portion of the material will be used for her senior thesis and academic articles. As she has spent her time with these people her own knowledge of the Tamil language has increased greatly. There were also several wonderful translators helping, including Esther and Rhadika who are both here at Rising Star from the US and speak Tamil. We had several darling young men from Chennai, who spent a good portion of their summer back and forth on the train to be with Kaity and her group. The volunteers loved going out with her, and many were exceptionally good at the interviewing and making friends. Our smallest grandsons who were here in July, Jack and Match Hanson, were really loved by the people--and they in turn loved the experience. There were several of the residents who wanted to adopt them into the colony!

This program provided a unique opportunity for our volunteers this year. It will not be repeated next year, but something else will be available to give the volunteers a wonderful experience with the colony people. We feel so lucky that Kaity was able to be here with us, and with her training lead this outstanding endeavor. She has been incredible.

Pictures: Padma and Kaity (note picture of Padma's Dad behind); Sammy Stapley (volunteer), Raja (translator) and one of the residents; a game of jenga with Paramasivan; beautiful Kaity; Esther dancing with Maria. With the exception of the first picture of Padma and Kaity, all photos by Mark Olson and family.

Back to India

We have returned to the land of color (and heat!) A few problems were here to greet us, mainly having to do with the construction. We can't seem to leave and have everything move forward in a straight line.

We had two wonderful weeks at home with the wedding of our granddaughter, Katie, to Chance Krainik, being the highlight. The family gathered and celebrated for many days, which also was wonderful. We really loved having the opportunity to connect with the whole family at once. We have missed our August in Laguna and February in Huntsville trips with everyone. Katie was such a beautiful bride, and we liked her new husband very much. The evening celebration was colorful and a lot of fun! Cotton candy, popcorn, photo booth, candy table, ice cream stand and cupcakes and small hamburgers and hotdogs, made it all so festive. We all stayed and danced and enjoyed a remarkably warm Laguna evening for many hours. Our daughter-in-law Natalie had directed the creation of all the flower arrangements, along with her twin sister Monica Sedgwick, and Elizabeth Tempest, Katie Hanson, and Amy Curtis assisting. They were spectacular. We were grateful to be able to be there participating. Jenny and Chris and Katie Wilson did a fantastic job with all the planning and arrangements.

We returned to another volunteer session already in progress with about 20 super volunteers doing all the great things they do: work in the colonies with the medical program, the ongoing anthropology work also in the colonies, tutoring the children and painting in all kinds of places: houses, toilets (built by the last group), and the murals in the children's rooms and now up the stairwells. The groups also have switched off digging for all the pipes that connect the various buildings. On finding them, they have painted markers so we don't lose them again! Luckily, we had two nights of rain, so the ground was a bit softer than normal. It was a huge job, no matter.

Happy to be back--more of India and our experiences in the next entry.

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.