October 14th: Day 2 of hard work by villagers & volunteers!

We woke to another beautiful morning here in Bhinder so Bob and I took the opportunity to squeeze in some light yoga before breakfast.

The mattresses here aren't exactly what you'd call pillow top. Following a "non-spicy" breakfast we headed off to the job site.

 
You know that saying, "actions speak louder than words"? This absolutely rang true when we arrived at the job site. Not only were the villagers already hard at work, but they had reconstructed our shade covering to 'better suit our needs'. It is now complete with a double cot and blankets.

As if that wasn't bad enough, when we went to start work on the water structure it was very apparent that after our departure yesterday they all worked their tails off. Overnight the work had progressed significantly. We were beginning to feel as though we might be slowing down progress rather than boosting it. However, we are quick to remind ourselves that it's simply their eagerness to please that's shining through.

We must have proved some of our abilities yesterday though, because today was filled with a few more challenges in terms of work. For example, David graduated to carrying the large boulders by using the handmade "stretcher," or horizontal ladder as it has come to be known. This is a step up considering that yesterday David and Bob were barely permitted to lift more than one stone at a time. I also was able to try something new, carrying water on my head! While I've got the balance bit down, I think it's going to take a few more days to boost my confidence enough to attempt it hands free.

We continue to marvel at the ingenuity and hard work displayed by the villagers. They have a system for all aspects of the project. Sand is mixed with cement and water in free standing piles before it is transported via big bowls to the masons waiting down in the trench. They lay the foundation as rocks are passed down by other workers. Even the collection of smaller rocks and bigger boulders has a process. They work together like a well oiled machine. Sometimes we feel like the extra parts that they're trying to make use of - ha! Okay, to be fair, it is only day two and we're still finding our groove.

It was super hot today and we quickly realized that we were spoiled yesterday with a refreshing breeze. Unsurprisingly, we all jumped at the opportunity to leave the job site a little early in order to visit the village primary school. They have 61 students to just the one teacher... unfathomable. The kids were so excited to see us, all save except one little one who started crying at the sight of Kim. The older children introduced themselves in English and then a few of them sang us some traditional welcome songs in Hindi.

We toured the teacher's office and the classroom before heading back to the palace for a nice refreshing cold shower.

We spent the afternoon recharging our batteries (not just our electronics but our bodies as well) and continued to get to know one another a little better over a light lunch and good conversation.

Anya Malda
DWC Volunteer Participant
Udaipur, India: October 2014 

October 13th: A warm welcome to the job site

Wow, what a day! There are so many things to share that I'm not even sure where to start. We all woke feeling relatively rested and eager to start the day. Sunda picked us up in his jeep and we headed off to the job site with a sense of something comparable to the nerves one would experience on the first day of school.

We were greeted by a group of about 30 villagers and a hoard of children, complete with a full ceremony of drums, and an exchange of bindis, bracelets, and traditional sweets. The respected leaders of the village welcomed us and Heera reiterated the goals of the self-help community; liberty, equality and fraternity. It was interesting to see the stark contrast; here we were sitting in the middle of an open field being formally welcomed through traditional ceremony and from time to time we'd be interrupted by the occasional unique ring tones from cell phones. The modern world rearing it's ugly head. Apparently 10:30am is an auspicious time in India and we marked this moment this morning by laying the foundational stones of our water basin, complete with an Indian rupee, symbolic string, and traditional sugar cane sweets. It was an exciting moment to be a part of.

Without further delay work began in earnest. I have to say, everything was so organized. The systems for mixing mortar, moving rocks, and carrying water were quite impressive. It was very obvious that this was not the first water harvesting project the community has worked on. Despite the fact that our Hindi is a little rusty, we were able to manage with universal hand signals and followed the direction of those in charge. It is difficult work. Lifting heavy stone and mortar under the midday sun proved to be somewhat challenging for us volunteers. Clearly we were no match for the locals. To see women who appeared to be much older than us and much more frail transporting massive rocks or cauldrons of water on their heads was beyond impressive. It felt like it kind of put us to shame.

We worked steadily throughout the day, making sure to take water breaks and pace ourselves. We finished at 2pm after which we were served fire roasted corn and sweet chai tea. It was delicious!

 It was very apparent that the villagers wanted us to feel welcomed and sharing food and drink was an important way to express this. We were invited to stay for a dinner celebration, but for those among us with weaker stomachs, we decided it was probably best to skip the meal. However, we did agree to join them after dinner for the party.

We headed back to the village tonight for a cultural celebration of song and dance. Kim and I showed up in sandals; Kim even dressed up for the occasion and was wearing this beautiful dress. Poor decision on both our parts. Who knew the party would be held in the out door temple and we'd be forced to take our shoes off and sit on the ground - duh! There was no specific wrap up time for the festivities, apparently the locals party till they drop. Us foreigners lasted an hour and a half before our bums were numb and our legs fell asleep. Hopefully, we can build up our tolerance for sitting in the lotus position and we're curious to see how many of the villagers show up to work on time tomorrow morning.

As a side note, happy thanksgiving to our Canadian family and friends!! Nothing like a volunteer to a developing country to make you feel beyond grateful. We are truly so richly blessed.

Anya Malda
DWC Volunteer Participant
Udaipur, India: October 2014

PS. Sorry for the limited photos. I didn't bring my cell phone to the job site. I will today!

PSS. Kelly, why aren't you here?! The spelling, grammar, and humour in this blog is lacking...

May 7th: Starting work on the women's washroom project

We left early for the Jatan office in Railmagra, where we had breakfast of corn flakes (in hot milk), poha (rice flakes), and bananas. Then we visited our project site for the first time. This is where we are to construct a community washroom for women over the next several weeks. However, as of now, all that is present is a plot of dirt with few linked narrow canals dug in.

We dug in the morning in 40+degree weather, took a chai break after 15 minutes and went back to work before lunch. After lunch we rested and resumed clearing the canals of dirt. Tomorrow we will be laying bricks and cement to construct walls.

While we were working some local children came to watch us. They are on summer break from May until July. When we took a rest under a large tree, we made some new friends and taught them how to play Stella Stella Ola and then they sang ABC for us.

We waved goodbye as we walked to a nearby house in the village of Morra to sit in on a youth meeting, a project sponsored by Jatan. The meeting happens once a month for children as co-curricular learning and a chance for them to learn social and personal responsibility. These kids are told to look up to leaders such as Gandhi to stand up against injustices they may experiences in their families and villages. They attend government schools where some teachers do not show up or teach according to the curriculum because they are paid either way. The youth group aims to let children know that they deserve a proper education and that they can speak up if their teachers are not teaching.

On the road today, we picked up a small turtle and saved him from getting run over. We named him "uger" like the Jatan initiative because we gave him/her a "new beginning". We also saw part of Indian wedding as village women paraded down the streets singing and later there was load music and celebrations. Our guide Chirag G tells us it is wedding season in Rajasthan. Fun!

Later in the evening, we rested and snacked on chai and Parle G glucose cookies. They taste like baby cookies only more tasty, especially with chai.

Vita Sackville-Hii
DWC Team Leader
Railmagra, India: May 2014

May 5th: Visiting Jatan's office

Today's breakfast menu: Nutella crepes and grilled cheese with peanut butter that we brought. Delicious!

Today we visited the Jatan Sansthan office. It was a short 10 minute drive from our hotel. Chirag, our trusty guide, picked us up. He is our new best friend who is friendly, knowledgeable and answers every question we throw his way. Fun fact: he is in post graduate studies in English literature and he enjoys reading Shakespeare.

We met Kailash, the head of the office, and other executive of Jatan Sansthan, who were all so welcoming! They gave us care packages filled with hats, notebooks, pens, first aid kits, biscuits, water bottles, working gloves and info packets. They are worried about how we are handling the heat as May and June are the hottest months in Rajasthan with temperatures reaching up to 45 degrees. We are taking it slow and drinking litres upon litres of paani (water) every day.

We went out for lunch which consisted of chana (chickpeas), daal (lentils), rice, roti, naan and lassis (sweet yogurt drinks). At lunch, we learned how to properly pronounce "lassi" and eat the traditional Indian way with one hand.

After lunch we had a presentation about UGER which means "new beginnings". It is one of Jatan's programs that empowers women and supports their menstrual health. They make reusable sanitary pads out of cotton for women as a micro finance project . They also aim to increase the discussion around menstrual health and "put the 'men' in menstruation" as it is taboo here in India and also all over the world, including in Canada. Menstruation is often something hidden and not talked about even though it is an essential and natural part of human reproduction.

In the evening, Chirag took us to buy long sleeve shirts at a tailor shop with any colour or pattern you wanted and each for about 300 rupees, which is $6.

We went to bed early again and packed our bags to leave in the morning for Railmagra, the village where our building project will take place.

Vita Sackville-Hii
DWC Team Leader
Udaipur, India: May 2014

May 4th: Introducing the team

And we're off! Today we spent about 27 hours in transit including flights, layovers and bus rides and we are still not at our final destination of Udaipur!! We still can't believe we are in Delhi feasting at the airport McDonald's on wait for it...mcpaneers! Yes, ladies and gents, India has mcpaneers.

We thought we would take the time in this first post to not only rave about the mcpaneer (which we'll be lobbying for back in Canada), but also introduce you to our team, who is getting close already. Our lovely team consists of 5 girls and one guy who is either err very lucky or...very unlucky, though we definitely think he is very lucky. Everyone, meet our dream team...

The team (from left to right): Vita, Ana, Vienna, Mariana, Eunice, and Vikas

1. Vikas: the sole bachelor of the trip and of Indian descent, this guy exudes cool strolling down the streets. Ladies, he looks like a local! All the way from Prince Rupert, he is bound to be a future MD reading casual lit on Harvard's healthy food and drink research as we board the plane. Our translator and cultural encyclopedia, the ladies are lucky to have Vikas!

2. Vienna: a Toronto native, this gal is THE most talented packer by far, weighing under any of our luggage with just two pairs of pants in addition to other needs. She is fearless launching for the spicy mcpaneer at McDonald's. A rowing superstar, we know she'll be laying down the most bricks this trip! Fun fact, her uncle works with Jackie Chan. No joke, this gal is one cool cat.

3. Ana: world traveller, this gal is visiting Eastern Canada followed by parts of Europe and then Mexico before heading back to U.B.C... and all after India!!! Crazy!!! Nothing fazes her, even when her shampoo explodes through half her luggage, she is calm. We're lucky to have this travel savvy gal.

4. Mariana: growing up in Mexico, this gal moved to Vancouver about ten years ago. Fluent en espanol, Mariana, is ready for anything and most excited to see the wondrous Taj Mahal. We will be keeping a record of the many sounds that she uses to communicate ideas, along with their translations.

5. Eunice: a talented writer, Eunice may very well be our resident blogger for our trip, beginning with her debut post: this one! Her wide smiles and wide camera lens will serve us well. Fun fact: Eunice went to preschool in Malaysia so she is well accustomed to the heat.

6. Vita: Last, but not least, our fearless leader Vita is responsible for guiding us through the entirety of the trip. First aid kit in hand, Aladdin pants on, this leader is ready for an adventure. After a trip with DWC to Nepal, she is a veteran to volunteering with DWC and keeping up team spirits! We're in such good hands.


So there you have it, a little intro to the team that will be spending the next month near Udaipur looking to help construct a women's washroom.

Until our next post. Namaste.
Much love from Delhi.

Eunice Hii

DWC U30 Participants

Udaipur, India: May 2014