This month:
Comment
Chickens
Bleu'
Panawar
Comments from Kris including Warm Aid 2016
Goats in Udaipur
Robin Hood Army
First Tomato Plants
Also, sorry this is late but we have had very poor internet gecause of monsoon storms for the last few days.
Also, sorry this is late but we have had very poor internet gecause of monsoon storms for the last few days.
Comment.
We visited Panawar boys hostel this month to catch up on the fantastic work they do there.
As ever we had a great welcome from the boys who are so genuine in their smiles and pleasure at seeing us again. We delivered basic food stuffs to help with the cost of feeding all the boys. It really is a wonderful feeling to know that these boys will have a far better chance of a meaningful life because of the education and upbringing they get at Panawar. One of our neighbours kindly donated about 10Kg of biscuits for the boys, this is a treat they will rarely get and we will deliver the biscuits next month when we again visit.
I had the opportunity to speak on Sunday in their church. I took Luke 10:25-37 as my theme, (The good Samaritan). In this age when so many just don’t seem to care and just ‘pass by’ it is easy to give up and join the majority of people who don’t seem to care one way or the other for their neighbour. I spoke in my usual style which included acting out the poor victim being beaten and stripped and thrown to the side of the road. This all went down very well as the congregation is used to a far more traditional delivery. Aniket (the house parent) really got into the translation and really enjoyed it.
I know that I am not a natural preacher however since I have been teaching Indian students I have developed a style that seems to work very well and suits my personality. What really matters is that the story was told in a way the congregation could relate to and the message of brotherly love and caring about your neighbour was understood by all.
It is very sad that in today’s society be it here, the UK or its seems anywhere else in the world the message of the good Samaritan is being lost. Greed and selfism seems to be the norm. When I was young this used to be described as “stuff you, I’m alright Jack” then we moved into the Thatcher years where greed became God to so many. I don’t know where this world is going now but here in India the cult of monetarism and possessions seems to be taking over from spiritualism amongst the young. To succeed financially is seen as a life’s aim. Where this will lead I don’t know. Corruption starts with the individual and goes all the way to government. I look at the UK from here the corrupt politics, the homelessness, the hungry, the rise of right wing politics and I wonder have we learned nothing from history.
We are all in the hands of God, but man has a choice to follow His commandments or to live disregarding the harm we do others, the choice is ours. How we treat our fellow man matters. Do we rob and cheat each other or do we try to be better than we have been? One man can change, a country can change, the world can change, but only if we start to care for each other as fellow human beings, as neighbors on this very small planet. Where is this world going? Perhaps these really could be ‘the end times’ the bible speaks of. I guess its up to us isnt it.
Chickens, well as you know we have ten chickens and 5 cockerels, the chickens are now pretty much laying well with between 6 to 10 eggs daily. Our neighbours are pretty happy to get Anda (eggs) from us as these are the tasty brown local eggs, and organic, yummy. Kris is selling eggs to the neighbors to cover food costs so they are becoming a 'no cost operation'. what is nice is being able to bless someone with a gift of the best eggs money can buy here, full of goodness, free range eggs.
Bleu’
Continues to grow but never seems to get fat, she is well fed but so very active. She tries to scare the chickens but they just ignore her. We took her to Arambagh Resort in the jeep this month where they have a natural waterfall, Bleu’ was fascinated but a little unsure at first about going into the water. Once she got her confidence she seemed to really enjoy trying to catch the fish in the water, she did not succeed they were too quick for her.
Although monsoon is now at an end we are getting the odd shower but the weather remains hot and humid, winter will be upon us soon and then we will have the advantage of using our homemade wood burner to keep us warm.
Panawar
The ride to Panawar was awesome it was the first real test of the jeep we have taken. Thanks to the new tyres and a lot of hard work by both of us over the last eight months we managed to traverse 180km of some very difficult and at times non-existent roads that had been damaged due to the monsoon.
 |
| There was a road here 2 weeks ago |
 |
| Road still wet from the monsoon, very slippy where the tarmac used to be. |
 |
| looking good |
 |
| Water buffalo trying to cool down |
Having the brakes converted to power discs as well was a huge life saver but we had a very enjoyable journey and the sat nav didn’t let us down, it told us several times we weren’t on any road or were actually driving in the river but other than that it behaved perfectly.
We did not take Bleu’ with us as its between three and four hours to get there and she has not travelled for that length of time yet, maybe as we increase her journey times we will be able to take her in the future.
We set off at 5.30am so we could get to Panawar for the church service so it was dark when we set off, but it was amazing seeing the sun come up over the hills. Chris drove the jeep and did an amazing job on some of the roughest and windiest roads in the area, his shoulders were really hurting when we got home and we were both shattered, the jeep does not have power steering. Next time we take the longer route which will add a further 60 Km to a round trip journey but the roads are better and the drive will hopefully be less physical.
We have been spending time touching up the bodywork on the jeep and Chris has done the filling in and I have done most of the painting. It is still a work in progress but at least with the hot dry weather it is quicker than trying to do a similar job in UK with the rain affecting play. has it been worth all the time and money? most certainly, the look on the boys faces when we arrived was worth every rupee.
Comments from Kris
When I think about what a difficult life some of our society have it really distresses me, as we in the west will have food and clothing. Even now however as I write this there are literally thousands homeless and hungry in the so called developed countries but for a different reason. The injustice between rich and poor in this world disgusts me.
Here in India the hungry and homeless don’t even have food banks, they rely entirely on the generosity of their family, the individual or organisations such as Robin Hood Army and the Red Cross, without them even more children would die from malnutrition and the cold.
There have been over 100 children identified by Robin Hood Army who need clothing for keeping warm this winter, and we will hopefully be able to make a difference with the clothes we are hoping to collect through Warm Aid 2016.
Warm Aid 2016
We are continuing to spread the word, we are updating our Warm Aid 2016 Facebook page with up to date information please check it out.
Some clothes have started to come in but not as quickly as we would like. Today we are visiting some of our supporters to get photographs, and an update on their progress.
 |
| Students at Buddha Group of Institutions who are supporting Warm Aid 2016 |
 |
| Jackie, rickshaw owner and driver |
 |
| Est. 60 years for timber, plywood and laminates |
 |
| Mr Hemant Lodha |
 |
| Mr Jatin Gandhi of Voyage Motors, Royal Enfield Motorcycles |
 |
| Voyage Motors for Sales, Service, Spares and Accessories |
 |
| Mrs Sahiba Gandhi of Voyage Motors |
 |
| Voyage Motors for Royal Enfield Motorcycles Est 2011 |
 |
| Est 1993 for Yamaha Sales, Service, Spares and accessories |
 |
| Mr Jasbir Gandhi |
 |
| Gandhi Motors showroom |
 |
| Rajasthan Associates Est 2015 |
 |
| Mr Manchirag Singh Soni, Rajasthan Associates Exide Authorised Distributor for inverters, inverter batteries and automotive batteries |
 |
| Mr Sumeet Khaturia |
 |
| Note the block behind front wheel, this is the brake because Indian jeeps don't have handbrakes |
I had the opportunity to talk to first and third year students at Janardhan Ray Vidhyapeeth (Udaipur School of Social Work) about Warm Aid 2016. Their response was very positive to what we are doing. Also Chris shared our initiative with the whole of Buddha Group of Institutions where we teach, again very positive response from the students. In a way the younger people in society are setting the pace of things we should be socially aware of and do something about. Not sure if I was that proactive of social issues at their age.
 |
| Students at Buddha Group of Institutions |
 |
| 3rd Year Social Work Students |
 |
| Final Year Social Work Students |
 |
| 1st Year Social Work Students |
Goats in Udaipur
Traditionally every year there is a goat fair in Udaipur, this occurs around the time of the Muslim Festival of Eid, which is traditionally where a goat is bought then slaughtered humanely. The family then give one third to the poor, give another third to friends and the family keeps the remaining third. It is traditional to visit family and friends during this festival and eat a simple meal with them. Eid marks the end of Ramadan (which is the holy month of fasting) and is an important Festival for Muslims. It is a time of joy and celebration.
Robin Hood Army
This month I am going to tell you about Robin Hood Army, it is a volunteer based organisation that works to get surplus food from restaurants to the less fortunate sections of society in cities across Pakistan and India and was founded in 2014.
At the beginning of the month I had the pleasure of going out with them on Sunday to distribute food to children; they are all young people who volunteer their time to help the less fortunate. The food was supplied by Spicysigali who have sponsored this initiative locally in Udaipur. I understand from one of the organisers that Spicysigali cook the food fresh for this food distribution drive. I noticed it was of good quality and it smelt very good, I could have eaten it myself.
The easiest way for them to ensure the children all get food is to sit them on the ground usually in a street and give them each a plate, the volunteers then serve the food direct to the children food is transported in cars. At 3 of the locations once the children were fed they fed the adults.
The children are vulnerable and underfed, had minimal poor clothing and in many cases were uneducated, Robin Hood Army ensure that those children they have identified get at least one good meal a week. Saying that I did notice that some of the children were wearing their best clothes for the occasion, they are really trying to make something better with their lives in their limited way. Robin Hood Army also has an education drive before the food distribution at the first location. It appeared well attended and included writing, reading and art type projects. The volunteers are enthusiastic and committed to making a difference in society, but they are not patronising.
First Tomato Plants
The seeds germinated well and these are our first tomato plants being transplanted into the kitchen garden. There are cherry tomatoes and ordinary tomatoes so can’t wait for them to grow and start producing fruit. In our experience they taste so much better than those you buy from market as we allow them to ripen on the vine and they are purely organic. We have netted off the area so that the chickens won’t eat our plants and they can grow and fruit unhindered by curious chickens pecking at them. 
That’s all for this month’s blog, hope you enjoyed it
God Bless
Chris and Kris in Udaipur
No comments:
Post a Comment