May 13th: More delicious food and trip to the Technical Resource Centre

Today was a bit of a frustrating day. We worked on building the last part of the foundation, which is a very technical process. We had to align rocks like a puzzle and then use cement to make the wall as flat as possible. However, because it was very technical work, it was hard for everyone to be useful and we constantly found ourselves doing nothing. We helped bringing rocks, mixing cement and bringing it to whoever was building, but it wasn't a very active day.

After a delicious lunch of cantaloupe, papaya, daal, chapati, rice and some type of curry, we went to the Technical Resource Center with Om. They showed us the tools they rent (for a maximum of 20 rupees per day!!) or sell to women in the village; these tools help them be more efficient in their work and therefore give them more economic opportunities, as well as time to spend with their children. After the demonstrations, we went to a field and used a sickle to cut food for cows and goats. We realized how much the new tools helped the process!

Later, we went back to the house and took much-needed showers before another (you guessed it) delicious dinner. We talked for a while about our frustrations of the day and decided to come up with a plan for tomorrow in order to be more proactive and productive.

Ana Gargollo
DWC Volunteer Participant
Railmagra, India: May 2014

May 11-12th: Visiting a health centre & experiencing an Indian wedding

Hi everyone!

We are able to access wifi on our lunch breaks at the Jatan office in Railmagra, so I'll give you some quick updates!

This past weekend we visited Mt. Abu, a four hour drive from our village. There is a beautiful lake called Nakki Lake and lots of Indian tourists. On Sunday, we went peddle boating on the lake.

Yesterday, we worked in the morning and then visited a health centre in the afternoon. The health centre serves as a hospital for over 50 villages around Railmagra and there are only 4 doctors! We were shocked when they invited us on a tour through the maternal delivery room and the infant and mother's care centre when we were covered in dust and dirt from construction. Some of the babies were so tiny and some of the mothers were 18 years old or younger.

In the evening we were invited to an Indian wedding. For some of our group, it was their first time seeing one! We got so many stares, especially while dancing, but it was a lot of fun!

Today we worked in the morning and we are currently having lunch that consists of cantaloupes, papaya, chapati, rice, daal and potatoes. We are also planning this weekend's trip to Jaipur and Agra to see the Taj Mahal!

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

May 9th: Women's empowerment meeting

Today, we sat in on a women's empowerment meeting in a rural village in Rajasthan. Women here are under the ownership of men for their whole lives. When they're young they report to their father, when they're married they report to their husband and when their husband dies they report to their sons. In the village, married women are not allowed to show their faces in public or when there is a presence of a male so they cover themselves in sarees. The violence women experience here is economical, social and emotional. We compared this violence against women to ways in which women are discriminated around the world and living in Canada does not protect us from this. As a protest, we joined the NGO Jatan in writing slogans on the walls of buildings around the village. There is still so much to be done to give for women's rights all over the world.

Vienna Lam
DWC Volunteer Participant
Dhaneriyagadh, India: May 2014

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 6th: Our new home in Railmagra

We had our bags on for the roof of a car heading to Railmagra. Thankfully, there was air conditioning!

We are staying with a family in their small house equipped with a television and electricity which often shuts off, cows which our house mother Snarha milks twice a day, a pet parrot which our house father GS loves, an open air kitchen and one indoor washroom. Vienna, Mariana and Ana sleep in GS's brother's house next door, and Eunice,Vikas, and myself have rooms in GS and Snarha's home.

Today we visited Jatan's office in Railmagra and had lunch of rice, daal, chapati, bananas and cucumber. After that, we met 6 girls that Jatan had adopted and given a scholarship to go to school. All were under 20 years old, and two were married. We made arts and crafts with them. A girl named Reeka discovered one of our cameras and took a bunch of pictures and videos. The girls also did beautiful heena designs on our arms and palms. Vikas and Chirag were brave enough in join in the heena party too.

We headed back to our house, and after a late dinner, we had a wonderful sleep.

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: Visiting the Royal City Palace of Udaipur

May the 4th be with you! Happy International Star Wars Day!

Today we visited the Royal City Palace of Udaipur. It is the second largest palace in India and is filled with beautiful designs, windows and views of the lake. Udaipur, also known as the Venice of the East, is a city with two lakes and a royal palace where the royal family still lives.

Later in the day we rode tuktuk which is 3 wheeled vehicle-half motorcycle, half smart car. We weaved around cows, stray dogs, pedestrians, cars, donkeys, horses and anything you can imagine - all sharing a 3 metre wide street.

We were all exhausted by the end of the day and happy to finally sleep at around 8pm. As we fell asleep we could hear the echoing sound of prayers from a nearby mosque.

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

Nov 2nd: Thank you and Goodbye

Who knew when we boarded the plane 2 weeks ago full of anticipation and excitement of the unknown what a truly rewarding and unforgettable experience we would have. We were welcomed into this amazing community with open arms, friendly greetings, smiling faces, and stares of curiosity. Over the 2 weeks we shared many laughs, communication breakdowns and breakthrough’s, cups of masala tea, rest times, lots and lots of photos, learned from each other, celebrated with each other, shared each others culture and built friendships that will last with us forever. Through everything we were able to work together hauling rocks, passing and lifting cement to build a dam that will help the community of Akola for years to come. We are forever grateful to everyone for making us feel so at home. We started our journey as strangers here and we are parting ways as friends and family looking forward to the next time we meet again. We will carry India in our hearts with us long after we have left this magical country. Thank you to my amazing, compassionate, hard working, funny, patient team. It was an absolute pleasure working with you and sharing this experience with; thank you for your commitment to this project and inspiring me. Thank you to Sahyog, the community of Akola, Mithu, Rajmahal Hotel, Parthvi, Jaiwana Havali, DWC, our friends and family for supporting us and everyone who made our experience in India so memorable.

Jen Baillie
Team Leader

India, October 2013

Nov 1st: Reflections on our Team

Halloween in Akola was a great day. We hauled large stones in our rock taxi for 2. Very very large stones take four people. We have made many friends now and everyone sat quietly as we handed out stickers candy and trail mix. Our hosts supplied the chia tea.

Each member of our team has worked very hard. Jen, Ashley and Justin have really bonded with the kids. Duck duck goose, photos and card games of go fish keeps everyone; adults and kids laughing. Victor and Lonnie have left but our hosts still ask about them. Rebecca and Wray compete to carry the largest stones, Freda and her new friend Laxmi, both daadis, grandmas, never stop and without a doubt have carried the most rocks. Bill and I take turns with Parbhu on the rock taxi. We all have fun with our hosts on the ‘conga line’ passing ‘C’ment person to person sometimes as far as 50’. We have been so graciously been accepted by our hosts and have taken tea in many of the villagers homes.   

The dam is almost done but our friendships will last forever.

Freda teaching the kids origami. 

                                            Jen with the kids.

Russ Carmichael 

DWC Participant 

India, October 2013