Up on the Roof

Our last day at Hope of Hope was a super busy one for the orphanage. Two big projects got under way that day on the roof of the main building--the installation of a water purifying system and construction of a big outdoor shed. The shed provides more sheltered space for hanging laundry; a vital need during the rainy season, when the girls sometimes end up wearing damp clothing. A more complete description of the day is pasted below, from Paul Wilkes' 2007 Hope of Hope report.
The following shots look out over Hope of Hope's neighborhood and grounds. Note the waterway in the distance, about 3 blocks away, in the final picture.





From Paul's report: "I wish all of you could have been with me at Home of Hope on that one Saturday, October 13, 2007. On the roof, near the huge water tank, local workmen peered into four huge
boxes and began a project unlike any they had ever attempted before.

Nearby, the blistering heat of a welder's torch attached pieces of steel to frame the new shed on the roof. In the assembly area of the school, which is still the sleeping area for the girls, there was the rustle of newspapers as they excitedly unwrapped trumpets and bugles and drums. Soon, there was a joyful bellowing and drumbeats -- yet unpracticed but thoroughly enthusiastic.

At the back of the property, a freshly dug hole held a stone, a cross upon it.

It was such a wonderful day, with so much activity, so many good things happening for the girls. I had arrived a few days before for an extended stay, to implement what your generosity has provided. But it was this particular Saturday that crystallized what our work together is doing to transform the lives of the 70 adorable, bright-eyed girls who live at Home of Hope."

[The full report can be viewed at Home of Hope's website: www.homeofhopeindia.org]

Last Day

Just having some fun with the camera on our last day at Home of Hope. The colorful cross-stitching is an example of some of the work that the girls did with Sarah's initial help.

Around the Neighborhood

Here are some scenes from the small back streets around Home of Hope, including the always busy arrival of students at Auxilium school each morning.
In general, though, the shots paint a quieter--and less-common, I think--picture of Indian life compared to Sarah's following of-the-moment impressions:
"India is full of fantastic sights and experiences, if you don't mind dirty and chaotic. Kerala is very rural, different from the more Westernized big Indian cities I am sure. It is so much more foreign than any other place I have ever visited. In a lot of places we were the only white people.

In the countryside, people generally speak no more than a smattering of English at most. Even people that speak "well" usually speak pidgin English. People are very laid back, generous, polite, peaceable and easygoing. Though the place is very chaotic and dirty, and it takes a lot of effort to get things done due to the crowds, traffic, chaos and heat, it's a situation that people just deal with, with aplomb. It is so different from the West - very spiritual, life revolves around religion and ritual. Where we were about half the population are Christian, the rest mostly Hindu with some Muslim. We went to a big festival at a 1500 year old Catholic church. We saw men in dhotis and body paint sitting in a dank overgrown temple shredding flowers into colorful piles for worship. We were there during Ramadan, and each morning and evening could hear the call to prayer from the mosque, a very haunting sound. Of course the down side to a non materialistic focus for life is the fact that lots of things don't get done properly or at all. But it makes for a great view into a totally different kind of life.

What I have been thinking about is that the places we stayed in India all have solar hot water heaters, but they don't have them here. It's a waste not to. While we were there the convent installed a solar water purifier too. We even saw a dairy in India where the kitchen stove was powered with methane from the cow dung. Yes, it is possible! Also, the convent neighborhood in India banned thin plastic bags (like grocery bags) so everything was wrapped in bags made out of newspaper and glue. The bags had been clogging all the drains and streets.

Most streets are as wide as a NYC sidewalk and there are no traffic guides or lights in most places. You constantly have to duck aside but make sure you don't fall into the open sewer. Most shops are shacks. There is no garbage pickup, no maps or addresses of things, no phones in most shops, etc.

The people in this neighborhood are so nice. They are not used to tourists so they don't beg from you. We did encounter that at the last place we stayed. But most places people are entirely friendly and dignified and generous and interested though most people speak Malayalam and only a few speak English - also, most who do have a very heavy accent and a pidgin way of expressing themselves that is hard to understand. People here don't even speak Hindi. The nuns and some others we have met speak very good, heavily accented English but it is surprisingly hard to find people that do.

The markets are filled with piles of nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, vanilla and all the spices are grown here. The men all wear pieces of fabric, wrapped towel style around the waist and when working, pulled up between the legs. It is considered more dignified to wear no shirt or shoes! Even the king (we went to an incredible palace and museum yesterday) is pictured with no shirt or shoes. But men wear shirts and only seem to take them off only at home, in a Hindu temple or when working.

There are Muslims, Hindu and Christian here. They have different ways of dressing but the Sari is the most common for women, then Churidar which is the long dress like top with short sleeves and slits up the sides over long baggy pants. Many Christian women here wear a long dress that looks exactly like a Lanz of Salzburg night gown.

I really enjoy wearing the Churidar. It is from N. India but has spread throughout as a more modern dress for women (vs sari) because it is pretty, good in the heat and very practical for doing things, covers you up well. I bought a blue-gray and pumpkin colored one for about $7 and you can get them for cheaper. I wish we could wear them in the US. Life would be so much prettier. The colors and fabrics are amazing. The saris and churidars are breathtakingly beautiful, deep pink, turquoise, black, gold, green. It is so squalid and poor and yet the women all look so beautiful."

Self-help shop

The sisters and the local Catholic diocese have recently underwritten a small variety store a couple of blocks from the orphanage. It was built earlier this year and is operated by 8 women from the neighborhood. The money came from an Italian non-governmental organization, perhaps following up on the successes of the Grameen Bank. Sister Anna said it took 40,000 rupees to build and another 40,000 to stock (40 rupees to the dollar, so about $2,000 total). The women are paying back the loan at at a rate of $500 per month, they get paid for their work, and profits are rolled back into the program to help start up other business ventures in the neighborhood. Sarah bought some fruit, a package of cotton swabs, and a packet of soup mix, if I remember correctly. On a previous visit I bought a pack of "Scissors" cigarettes to send to give to a friend back home. (Funny name for cigarettes ... "Scissors cuts your health", etc.)

Here's an item describing the program, from the Home of Hope 2008 List of Needs ... "Micro-loan fund for neighborhood outreach groups. The sisters have 15 “empowerment” groups in the neighborhood and many more applications than they can fund. Repayable loans from $100-$2,000 can launch a business. Stalls that sell food, and sewing machines so that piece work can be done at home, are just two of many options."

The TV Room

We've only watched television once, with a gang of the younger girls. The sisters flipped back and forth between the Twenty/20 cricket match between India and Australia, what looked to be a childrens' program featuring real actors, one of whom was an Ali Baba-type character, and a really wacky mystery/comedy/drama/horror soap, with Ghostbuster special effects and Abbott and Costello-like cut-ups who played mental institution patients. Nick says there was also an evil ghost who seemed more like a witch. Much more time has been spent in the TV room playing Chinese checkers, chess, reading the daily Hindu Times and doing cross-stitching with the girls. That's Sarah's big project.

(Sister Anna--the head nun's--keen interest in cricket, reminded me of 4th grade at my elementary school, St. Sylvester's, in Pittsburgh. Our teacher, Sister Tarsicia, let us to watch the baseball World Series during class time in 1971, when the Pirates played the Baltimore Orioles. I clearly remember watching Pirates first baseman Bob Robertson take his swings on the black and white television perched about six feet off the ground, atop a bi-level, rolling TV cart. If I remember correctly, Sister Tarsicia said she knew Pirates All-Star Roberto Clemente personally, probably through his humanitarian work.)

Below, Smitha plays referee for Nick and Pete. Smitha appeared to be the "office manager" for the orphanage, running all over the building answering the phone (located in a booth on the ground floor of the sprawling three-story building), tracking down sisters and girls, receiving packages at the front door, etc.

The Sisters

From left to right: Sr. Lawrencia, Sr. Annie John, Sr. Rita, Sr. Sophie (standing at my left), Sr. Elizabeth, Sr. Theresa, and Sr. Annie Joseph. Not pictured: Sr. Anna (she's taking the photo), and Sr. Annie Kottaram.

Here are some of Sarah's impressions of Home of Hope, from emails that she sent to friends and family while we were traveling:

"India was really amazing; especially living and working in the convent/orphanage. The nuns were really interesting, nice, straightforward, laid back, and kind and loving to the children. Actions speak louder than words and I am really impressed by the way they are devoting their lives to helping children to live out the meaning of what it is to be a true Christian. Looking for a deeper meaning in life has become really important to me and it doesn't get more meaningful than helping abused and damaged children have happiness.

We are back at the orphanage and will leave tomorrow night. The nuns are great fun to talk to and wonderful hosts. One nun spent 3 years in Turin at a convent there, teaching, and said she could hardly stand it because the food was so bland (in the 1970's). Now she says, at least, they put pepper on the table. Another nun took us shopping for souvenirs and supplies and helped me pick out a sari.

Paul Wilkes is here and he is busy getting them supplies like a solar water purifier. He has been spending the past 2 years raising money for them and they have improved the place. So far he has been able to help them get a vehicle, a washer, a computer, a water purifier, bicycles, beds and various other things. They are working on building another building now. Everything has to be on pylons because the water table is about 5 inches below the surface. It floods during the monsoon. And there are open sewers.

India so far is absolutely amazing. We have had a great experience staying at the convent because it is a peaceful refuge from the squalor and noise and because the nuns host many visitors and know a local man who has showed us around - you cannot imagine how hard it would be to get around without a guide.

The nuns are fun and joke a lot, laid back and very interesting to talk to, know a lot about the world. They are taking care of 58 girls with no parents or else with mentally ill or prostitute single mothers. A couple of girls are tribal girls who were found abandoned living in the woods. They can survive there by climbing trees to get jack fruit, etc. Most come from the streets of the town where they are picked up by the police. Some have been through all kinds of abuse, but amazingly they are kind, good hearted, older ones look after the little ones, full of singing and like to dance, etc. This is how they entertain themselves. They are not shy, like to touch you and ask questions (most don't speak much English) but very polite, clean, etc. Very little arguing or teasing at least in front of us. It is absolutely incredible to see. They want us to sing American songs. They asked me to dance. They did some Keralan dances for us.

We left this morning after the older schoolgirls did a performance of classical dance for us which was so entertaining. We are learning a lot of traditional mythology with the aid of comic books Chris bought that portray the life of Krishna etc. The nuns explained a lot of it too. It helps in understanding the temple art."

First Days, Home of Hope

The first two days in India have been a bit overwhelming, but we're holding up well. The sisters at Home of Hope orphanage in Pallaruthy, a neighborhood in Kochi, Kerala, did up our room very nicely, although no shower for a week will be a challenge, as will washing in big plastic buckets. Of course, the girls are adorable. Nicholas and Peter and I played with them all day. I brought four good tennis balls, which kept us all occupied making up games outside through the afternoon of our first day here, a Sunday. Sarah bought them all tiny koala bears carrying Australian flags and wearing I Love Australia t-shirts. They are clip-on bears, so all the girls were wearing them on their ears, in their hair, etc. [That's Shency, Selvi and Vineetha in the picture with Sarah, Nicholas and Peter.]
They sang us a welcome song and we told them a bit about ourselves. Nicholas said he felt uncomfortable being the center of attention. Peter had a couple of small meltdowns today--the girls were literally pulling him in different directions and he got frustrated with not being able to ward them off or communicate with them. But all's well. After 18 hours of flying yesterday, we got here at 11PM (3AM Australia time) and by dinner time (about 7:30) after our first full day, Nick and Pete were out cold. Sarah took some fruit up to the room for them. [Priyanka, Priyanka's Mom, and Megha are pictured in the left-hand photo. Jyothi is in the next shot, and Reena is below.]

We are being served royally meal-wise (in fact, the bell just rang for 4 o'clock tea as I write). We also attended mass this morning. What a crowded affair! Shoulder-to-shoulder and only about a dozen pews on one side of the church, so most of the people just sat and knelt on the floor, with the men and women segregated. And the saris were gorgeous. A riot of color and beautiful patterns. I'm sort of embarrassed to say that we Americans appeared to be the worst-dressed congregants. [The next photos feature Reena, Athira, Ammu, Varsha and Shency; and Chithra, Vineetha and Viji.]

After mass we ate breakfast with Fr. George (I think that's his name) then walked over to his Don Bosco center, site of the boys' orphanage. He showed us around, then drove us over to another Don Bosco facility, but Peter couldn't handle anymore building tours, so he drove us back to Home of Hope.