Day 27

Day 27

June 20, 2011

What a night/day it was. Let’s start with the night. I don’t think any of us slept but maybe 2 or 3 hours at the most. I hate to complain about having no AC, but seriously as soon as you lay in bed without any covers on and you just got out of the shower and feel drops of sweat just trickling down you leg… that’s when you know you are not going to sleep well. I have been trying to put myself in this mindset that I am in a hot yoga room or sauna and just going through a deep relaxation phase… not working. It was so hot and I think I sweated out half my water weight last night. Ahh oh well… im just blessed to have a place to sleep… although if there were not so many mosquitoes and I didn’t already have so many bites then I would happily sleep on the roof where there is at least a breeze.

            I don’t think the lack of sleep last night helped at all, but today was such a long day. Very good… just long. We had arranged a visit to another Good Sheppard School called Uddamarry which is about an hour drive from base. We will be going here for the next few days mainly to work with the heatlth care worker as well as see the success of this school that opened in 2003. I felt like royalty there. The people totally out did themselves in welcoming us. In a way it made me feel uncomfortable. First off there are about 600 children in this school over 60% Dalit. Every morning they start their day with assembly. The kids march out to the sound of a drum in perfect lines according to class level. The stand facing this stage where on a normal day selected students will read a bible verse, pray, sing a song or two, and rehearse the national anthem. Today was a special day for them… the brought two chairs out and made us sit in the center of this stage while they went though the normal drills. One thing I hate the most is being the center of attention, and that is exactly what we were. One girl gave a welcoming speech directly to us and the they brought us out bouquets of flowers! First off I was not expecting this, but it was so sweet… just way over the top. They then asked each of us to say something to the kids and pray. That was kind of nice, although I wonder how much they truly understood what we were saying. It is an English medium school, so for their age and background almost all of their English was very good! After assembly was over we got a tour of the whole school. We went into each individual class room where the kids all stood up and greeted us respectfully and then sang a song or recited a bible verse. They were so excited to show off their newly learned skills. Heck they knew more verses by heart then me! After this we got to meet with the manager of the school where they fed us mango juice and cookie like biscuits… After hearing all about the school, its background, and its ambitions we were able to go sit in on a class where I learned to write the vowels in Telugu as well as my name! I was pretty excited! The rest of the day we played on the playground and learned new games and songs as well as tried to teach a class for 45 minutes. Shout out to all the teachers out there… I have no idea how you do it… one thing I know for certain is that I do not have a calling in me ever to be a teacher. SO much respect for all of you for having to put up with us.

            The day was really nice and exciting and I felt like I learned so much. The school serves 14 tribal villages and started out in a cow shed. They have made huge progress in the community and is probably one of the nicest schools I have seen so far. I think what is difficult for me is the desire to raise support for so many different portion of this ministry, because they are all equally important. The medical side of things takes my attention most readily, but if I seriously could dedicate maybe $10.00/ month and sponsor just one of the kids at this school it would do wonders! There is so much need in every aspect and I truly wish I could help them all. I will get some more information about the child sponsoring program here and if anyone is interested please let me know! Just meeting so many of the kids I want to sponsor all of them, but one in particular grabbed my heart. She was this super shy girl who always stood behind the “popular” girls if you will, just being a friend to her younger sister. She had the kindest soul and you could tell alls she wanted was a little love and attention. I’m glad I will be spending a few more days at this school where I can get to know the community even better!

            One of the things that really got to me today though was this news paper article I found on the bullion board. There are over 39 suicides per day in the state that Hyderabad is located in. 22.3% of the suicides are driven by health issues. Many people in these areas one do not have access to proper medical care, and even if they did they do not have much money to pay for it. Instead of being a burden to their family members, many see that suicide is the only way out. Most hang themselves while the next highest percent intentionally immobilize themselves. This was really sad to me… all because they don’t have a doctor who truly cares for them. This goes to show just how much prevention work is possible in the tribal societies. There is so much I need to pray for on this trip. I wish I had the money to sponsor of support so many aspects of this mission, but for right now I think the biggest thing I can do is learn as much as I can and then use my own skills to focus on one specific issue. Of course I want to tell everyone about ALL the issues, but like me, its about quality not quantity. That is if I really do want to make an impact later on.