It's the Little Things

Today our group traveled to a Leprosy Rehabilitation Centre, Missions of Charity Orphanage, and an Ayurvedic Hospital, and it was probably the hardest day that I have had in India so far. Not because I was tired, sleep deprived, or crabby, but because I met people who changed my outlook on almost every aspect of life.

We began our morning at the Leprosy Centre. I know what you’re thinking why would you go there and rick contracting the disease? Which were my thoughts exactly upon arriving? After standing around and awkwardly avoiding interaction with the Lepers, we were invited to sit down and learn about the disease from doctor who works daily with all of the patients at the facility. The doctor told us that there is a large stigma surrounding Leprosy, the disease cannot be spread through physical touch and interaction, it can only be spread through nasal secretions or droplets. Every case of Leprosy is 100% curable.

After listening to the doctor speak, we were invited to walk around and explore the centre grounds. I was led around by a 90 year old Christian woman named, Hulhamna, who was more than willing to welcome us into her home. Although Leprosy had taken everything from her, including most of her toes and fingers, she was more than willing to share her home, faith, and her story with us. It was a truly an experience that I will never forget, and it changed the way I view my life. Most of the patients at the centre, live in little one bedroom apartment like rooms that consist of no electricity, no running water, cement floors, and most of the time no bed besides a woven mat. Hulhamna was so proud of her little apartment, fully decorated with crucifixes, sarees, and hand crafted pots. She smiled and invited us inside of her quaint little home, she pointed out all of her expired Jesus calendars and I realized that I have never felt so connected to someone as I did her. Hulhamna spoke only Tamil, and I speak only English, but somehow we found a way to communicate, mostly through smiles and giggles.

The next part of the day that truly hit me hard was when we headed to the orphanage. But this orphanage was not like other orphanages, this one was for special needs women, some of who had grown up there after being pulled off of the street. All of the women have nowhere else to go besides the orphanage because they were abandoned and dumped on the streets by their families. In India, having a child with special needs of some sort is often looked at as a curse, and it is believed that if you have a child with special needs you committed a grave sin, and are being punished for your wrong doing. When being led into the first building of the orphanage, I couldn’t help but cringe, all of the patients were sitting on the floor in a room filled with nothing but cots in mismatched clothing. Once inside the room, we were not given any directions and blankly stared at all of the patients. It was the most awkward encounter I have ever experienced, I felt as though I was observing animals in a zoo.

Finally the nun led us into the next room, which was slightly bigger and filled with twice the patients. After we all stood there for a couple of minutes, I finally asked the nun if it would be okay to interact with them, and she said yes. All my life I’ve worked with children and adults in America with special needs, I’m certified in Respite care, and am always looking for new opportunities to help out. I decided to make the first move, I stepped away from the group, crouched down at the first person, looked into her eyes and wished her a happy new year. She smiled, and said Happy Pongal. I continued to move down the row of patients greeting each one just as the last, and when I turned around to look at the group, everyone began to start interacting as well, I couldn’t believe it. Each woman was ecstatic to not only receive the attention of visitors, but also to hold your hand, play with your hair, or touch your face. This was one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever had, these woman were so excited by our presence. It’s the simple things in life like saying hello and holding a hand, that really matter in the end.

-Ashley

A Packed Day

Today we visited a facility that cured patients with leprosy. It was an eye opening experience. It was interesting to me because the facility was outdoors and not as well kept as I would have expected. In the US, our hospitals and rehab facilities are indoors, air conditioned, and very well kept. We had an hour to interact with the patients and get to know them a little, and tour the facility.  We also went to visit the orphanage which was founded by Mother Theresa in 1971. My idea of an orphanage is a facility that houses kids under the age of 18 who were abandoned by their family. However, this orphanage was different, it housed adults and children with disabilities. Most people look at the women and feel sad for them, but I look at the positive side. It's sad that these girls have been neglected by their family members, but I'm also thankful that these girls were rescued and brought to this orphanage where they are well taken care of. Although our time there was limited, I enjoyed visiting the orphanage. It was a nice day overall.

-Cameisha

Wise Words from Divyanshu

Today was much like any other day at Aravind except we finally got the “okay” on our project from Dr. Satiya and Dr. Vaji. Our purpose of our project is to develop health education material for the pediatric eye care clinic.  We had been working constantly this week trying to come up with materials that both of our doctors would like. So when we received the final “okay” from them to put the final touches on our project it was such a huge relief.  After we completed our workday we got to listen to an inspirational speech from Divyanshu Ganatra, the blind pilot.

Ganatra woke up blind at the age of 19 and had to relearn all the basic things he used to do everyday such as putting the toothpaste on the toothbrush.  Despite all this he said, “The day I lost my sight is the day I gained my vision.”  I thought this statement was really moving because not many people could look at a sudden life change such as going blind with such optimism.  He continued to tell us how he overcame many obstacles that many people said he could not and he continues to challenge the stigma people have when it comes to the abilities of someone with a disability such as blindness.  Listening to Ganatra’s speech made me understand how important determination and a positive outlook is to contributing to your success.  

-Maya 

Little Adventures in India

By this time next week we will be back in the United States. Coming off the plane in our sandals and elephant pants we would have ended our time in India.  Although it is a sad thing to think about I think we ended our last weekend trip with a day full of wonderful little adventures in Kerala.

Our day began with a sudden switch of plans.  Although everyone had been told that we would need to meet for breakfast at 9:30 am our plans got pushed up an hour and all of a sudden we were scrambling to eat breakfast and get our things packed so we can check out quickly when we returned.

Some may have found this sudden change in plan frustrating or annoying but what I have learned when it comes to traveling is always be flexible. You can plan for weeks and nothing may come together like you thought it would but it is important to take everything in stride and just enjoy the journey.  I think learning to be adaptable is an important thing to take with you at school, work and in life and I think my adaptability in this trip   has definitely increased.

Our first trip of the day was on a boat tour.  The boat tour was serene and scenic but what really captivated me was the pathway to the docks.  The pathway to the docks was swarming with monkeys.  I’ve seen monkeys in zoos and sanctuaries but I had never seen monkeys in the wild and to walk among them was something I’ll never forget. They seemed so at ease with people walking around them it somehow reminded me of the fearless squirrels in Iowa City.  The monkeys were definitely one of the highlights of my day.

Following the boat tour we had lunch and moved on to the next part in our trip, the spice farm. The spice farm could easily be passed by if you were just driving along the road; there was a small stand that sold all their spices and a path that led to their many acres of spices and tea plants.

Honestly, the tour didn’t seem that interesting to me and I was hesitant to spend 45 minutes looking at plants but lucky for me, Swati felt the same way.  We paid for the tour but had one thing in mind, the paddle boats.  Only ten minutes in to the tour we saw the sign that led to the boats and made a dash toward them.  Turns out the paddle boats turned out to be paddle boat, singular.  It was an old boat with a dingy draping tarp, debris lined the floor, and it was docked with only a thin straw like rope.  There was no attendant and so we took our chances and leaped in. It was a blast! We had a bit of difficulty making it back to the dock but it was nice to do something off the itinerary.  About thirty minutes after our boat ride everyone was rounded up and we headed back to our host city.

Our return trip was going well.  We had a good driver, minimal traffic, and good movies to watch.  A great combination for a road trip but this all took a turn for the worse when we felt a sudden swerve. All I could think was I do not want to know what it was and then somebody called out “Oh my goodness, it was a cow!” Now cows are considered very holy animals in India and to hit one is sacrilege.  I felt a sudden pain of guilt and worry for the poor cow. I was reassured that the cow was only side swiped and fell down but the people near the cow were not happy they began to chase our van and our driver took off.

All in all today was another good day in India.  It was a mixture of a little miscommunication, adventure, and mishaps but also a lot of laughter, good memories, and great company.

-Maya

Social Movement Day

We started off the day by visiting BaBa school system, which has four schools with classes ranging from kindergarten to twelfth, totaling two thousand kids. We met with handful of 9^th and 11^th graders from each school, which totaled to 400 students.  We divided into seven groups. Each group had around sixty kids. The purpose was to create a viral video to eliminate waste in India. We each had to create a dance routine with each group of kids. I myself am a die-hard Michael Jackson fan. I showed my kids the twist, leg-kick, moonwalk move. Let’s just say my group was by far the most entertaining. The staff as well as the children were incredibly welcoming, and are an incredible group
of people.

After visiting the school, we attended a Women’s Entrepreneurship seminar. The keynote speaker was Dr. M.I.M Nehruzii. It was very informative, and was worth listening to. We were told that women in India have to work twice as hard to receive half of what a man makes. It was a great experience seeing all the women making a difference by creating a better India for tomorrow.

Our last visit for the day was visiting a Gandhi museum. I myself didn’t know much about this brilliant individual. It was very informative walking around the museum and reading the history of India, and the movement Gandhi made to create freedom for all in India. -Luke