October 15th: The work gets harder but the rewards are greater

It's Wednesday night and still no word from our fearless leader and the rest of the team in the States regarding their visas. We're feeling badly for them and wish that they were here. Furthermore we feel bad as they're missing out on all of these wonderful experiences. We're crossing our fingers that they'll be here by the weekend.

Rest assured however, as the (hard) work continues. We may be small in number, but we are mighty! Teamwork continued in earnest today and significant progress is being made. When we started on the first day, the trench was approximately 3 meters deep and by the time we departed today the rock foundation was about half a meter from ground level. The work seems to get more and more difficult. Today Bob and David were heaving huge boulders with a number of the local men. If the Ministry of Labour showed up on site, they'd surely have a heyday. Men in flip-flops were rolling boulders UP hill no less. Another hot day and another honest days worth of work. We should all sleep like logs tonight.

After work we headed to a 'historic temple' as a friend of one of our host partners was throwing a celebration. We learned that the celebration was in honour of his friend purchasing a bus and starting a touring company. We arrived at the temple and were greeted warmly by the community. They were eager to serve us food and have us partake in the celebrations. David, Kim and Bob were brave and enjoyed the lunch and sweets that were provided. I won't lie, if my gluten allergy wasn't enough to deter me from partaking, the paper plates with full on advertisements for Purina Dog Chow would have done it - ha! I'll let you know tomorrow if I'm the only one from our crew who heads off to work.

We came back to our hotel to find that the princess had brought in an aesthetician to provide services to her mother and aunt. She was kind enough to ask if Kim and I would like anything done. We both jumped at the opportunity. I'll only say this, it's the best $3 manicure I've ever received and will likely be the only time that I ever tip 150% for a spa service.

Before dinner we were able to join the Royal children on a visit to their family farm about 10 minutes drive from Bhindar. What a polar opposite from the chaos of this small city. The peace and tranquility of the countryside left us all feeling perfectly zen.

A peaceful end to the day was welcome as we all reflected upon a few aspects of the trip that have caught up with us today. Since our arrival we have been so warmly welcomed and treated to fantastic hospitality as any guest would be in this part of the world. However, we have noticed that we regularly draw a lot of attention. This has been highlighted during our brief excursion alone through the streets of Bhindar as well as our visit to the temple today. We gained a few followers as we moved through the temple and then drew a crowd while we sat and ate. The interest was so high that we were being photographed by complete strangers, although Bob and David made the most of it by posing for anyone who wanted a photo with them. It allows you too see the world through a different perspective when you realize that you are the minority for once.

Plus, the language barrier can still be an obstacle to overcome on the job site. Despite knowing a few basic words in Hindi, there is only so much that you can communicate through body and sign language. We are slowly getting used to the subtle differences in hand gestures and the common words. Although there are still moments when good intentions are lost in translation, it is these minor misunderstandings that show how far our worlds are apart. It will take a little more time to prove our abilities to the hard working and experienced villagers this just adds to our volunteering journey in a developing county.

Anya Malda and Dave Hood
DWC Volunteer Participants
Udaipur, India: October 2014

PS. Thanks to Dave for co-authoring today's blog. I may just pass the torch ;)

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...

October 12th: Project orientation & exploring Bhinder

Suffering from a bit of jet lag, we were all awake during the wee hours of the morning. It definitely ensured that we were all at breakfast on time. Well, save and except for David who's survival skills were put to the test first thing this morning. As Kim, Bob, and I sat enjoying our morning coffee and chai tea, unbeknownst to us David was fighting for his life as he was locked in his room. As it turns out Bob "inadvertently" locked the door to their room on the way out to breakfast not realizing that he was leaving behind a teammate. Unfortunately this will mean some slight deductions in "team leader points" for Bob. ;) No doubt Tommy will be pleased to hear this. Thankfully David is quite resourceful and his cries for help were answered by hotel reception.

Heera and his trusty driver picked us up from the hotel at 10:00am and we made the hour and a half drive out to the rural village of Bhinder. It being Holy Day today, traffic was surprisingly light, though somehow no less death defying. Driving through the countryside we were able to see some of the current crops; maise, sorghum, and soy beans.

The four of us were welcomed by the lovely Barthvi, who is the 20th generation owner and operator of the Rajmahal Bhindar Hotel. We were not welcomed as guests but as family, complete with marigold leis and bindis.

The hotel is adorned with marble flooring and detailed architecture. It's not difficult to imagine its opulence and grand celebrations it has held over the four hundred and some odd years of its existence.

This afternoon we met with Heera and five other gentlemen involved in the development of the water irrigation project we will be working on. We reviewed the work to be done and outlined a general work itinerary for the week ahead. In summary, the intention of the project revolves around the better usage of the monsoon rain water that typically falls during the months of July and August. The focus is on engaging the local community people in the development of harvesting, retaining, and more effective usage of the water. The plan is to start early morning and end early afternoon so as to avoid working under the hottest hours of the day.

After our meeting, we meandered through the narrow winding streets of Bhinder. The locals were friendly and seemingly intrigued by our presence. It's strange how when you subtract the "safety" of a car you suddenly need to be a million times more alert to the motorbikes, cars, cows, and people. Add in the element of cow dung and you feel like you're in a state of constant high alert.

We ended our day with a candlelight dinner in the palace courtyard. The food is delicious and is in no way lacking in flavour or spice. We've been informed that the chef has toned down the spice and made it 'average' for us. I hate to think of what the level of spiciness is for the locals. It's fair to say the food has a bit of a "bite" and I think we're all silently hoping that it doesn't bite back. To be continued...

Anya Malda
DWC Volunteer Participant
Udaipur, India: October 2014 

October 11th: Our first day in Udaipur

Hello everyone!

I'm happy to report that we've arrived safely at the Jaiwana Haveli Hotel, Udaipur, India. Well, four of us have anyway. Four of our Californian friends have been experiencing some frustrations in obtaining their visas and the unfortunate result is that one had to postpone her DWC trip for another time and the remaining three won't be able to join us until later next week. Ironically, this includes our fearless team leader, Tommy. Leaving the rest of us to do double duty I see, well played my friends, well played. Jokes aside, we hope you guys are able to get things sorted out and join us soon!

Just a heads up to all of you back home who might be taking in our daily blogs over your morning coffee, I'm not exactly what you'd call a gifted writer so feel free to set your judgements aside. Having said that, I'll do my best to report on our daily experiences without boring you too badly.

Today was a great day. After what at times felt like seemingly endless hours of travel Bob, Kim, and I met up in Delhi airport and embarked on the final leg of our journey together. Upon landing at Udaipur airport we were met by our driver, Jamil, who with skill and ease, zigzagged along single lane streets, narrowly missing overloaded motorbikes, trucks, cars, and more than the odd cow or two.

After enjoying breakfast with a view from our rooftop terrace we wandered the streets a little, taking in the local vibe. However, the moment our rooms were ready the three of us were all too happy to catch a few hours of shuteye and recharge our batteries. The three of us regrouped this afternoon, some of us more energetically than others, and met with Mr. Heera our host partner. He welcomed us warmly and arrangements for travel to Bhinder tomorrow morning were made. As we were flying in over Udaipur the floods from the heavy monsoon rains last month were very evident.

It's cool to think that we're going to be assisting in building irrigation systems that will aid in collecting the water and put it good use.

Following our meeting Bob, Kim, and I headed off to tour the Monsoon Palace and take in its infamous sunset. The Palace is situated upon a high hill and overlooks the city of Udaipur. We were able to wander around, learn some some of the history, much of which did not stick due to lack of sleep. But thankfully the view and sunset did not disappoint.

Arriving back at the Jaiwana Haveli Hotel, we were excited to meet up with our Australian teammate, David. Despite exhaustion the four of us enjoyed our first authentic Indian meal together. The conversation was full and lively and the energy and excitement palpable. We even captured a "group selfie," the first of many to come I'm sure.

There's no question that we've all been eagerly anticipating this trip and are excited about this experience with DWC. For some of us this is our first time on such a volunteer trip and for others we're repeat DWCers. There's no question that this is going to be a dynamic team and a memorable experience for all of us.

Tommy, Denise, and Chris, looking forward to your safe arrivals! Until then, rest assured that Bob's holding down the fort.

Anya Malda
DWC Volunteer Participant
Udaipur, India: October 2014

June 7th: Final thoughts and a return to Nepal

Shortly after leaving India, we found out about an incident that happened in a village where three women were raped while trying to find privacy to go to the bathroom in the desert. It put our whole project into a better perspective and made us grateful that the village of Morra where we worked will have a safe, clean and private bathrooms for women. It's not exactly a project that you think of as being important right off the bat, but we realized just how important it will be.

Jatan is a wonderful organization and they do so much in so many different villages - it's remarkable. I'd also like to point out that Kailash. Jatan's director, is the nicest and calmest man in the world. He has set up Jatan with a good philosophy and strong foundation. I really liked how when we were at the office for lunch and chai breaks, we were treated as any other employee or volunteer was, and were not given "celebrity status" as they would call it. We had meals cooked for us, but after meals, everyone washed their own dishes by hand. The office workers continued their work while we were there and we often had to be quiet while they were on the phone or working. I just appreciated how they welcomed us kindly, but then took us seriously and treated us the same they treat all their employees. It stood out to me because the work they do is to promote gender equality and fairness, so it's great that this philosophy starts within the organization itself.

We were made to write a daily report for Jatan every day about what we did and what we learned. Every day a different person wrote the report. We would often meet at the dinner table before eating, for a sort of reflection on the day, and finish our daily report then and there. At this time we might also write the blog post for the day. It gave us a chance to talk about what we were doing and check in every day. It was so great, and it is something that other team leaders may find helpful. If I ever lead a trip again, I will for sure do this because it helped everyone (the NGO and ourselves).

So from India, I came straight to Nepal. That was about 2 days ago now. When I arrived in Nepal, I met my mom here and we met Dinesh and Nura from Creating Possibilities Nepal, as well as their families and they had us for dinner. We met Michelle from IWEN which is another Canadian partner organization supporting CP Nepal along with Developing World Connections. It was really special to see Nura and Dinesh after one year after my first DWC volunteer trip, and share stories! I may even be going back to Dang and visiting the classroom that I helped build last year!

Vita Sackville-Hii
DWC U30 Team Leader
May 2014

June 1st: A final namaste in poetic form

A final namaste (a poem for my team and for our new friends):

4 weeks ago our team left Canada
Vienna, Vikas, Eunice, Vita, Ana and Mariana.
We met Jatan and our guide Chirag-Ji,
who introduced us to India - the culture and biscuits called Parle-G.
Chirag rapped to Akon.
Our car had air-con.
Many carries were shared, and cows and camels scared,
as we ventured through the Rajasthani desert.

One day we visited a temple.
We went to a health centre and women's empowerment meetings.
We embraced new situations with patience,
and gave children and villagers namaste greetings.

Our team's flexibility was admired by all.
We worked in the 40 degree heat and thankfully no one had a fall.

One weekend we took a bus and a train.
We made it inside just before the rain.

We played Stella Stella ola with our new friends.
It really felt like our routine would never come to an end.

Many funny things happened every day.
Encounters with wildlife, public transportation, and just funny things people say.

Despite a language barrier in communication,
We managed to finish a bathroom's foundation.

We never imagined to become so attached
to people and places as we travel.
But with an exceptional group, brought together by fate,
We will not soon forget India and the warm dusty gravel.

Taking part in women's empowerment meetings and gatherings in small villages around the district of Rajsamand

Pooja, our good friend who came to the worksite every day and even helped carry rocks and cement.

Uur young friends at the worksite

A woman who worked at a laundry shop in Udaipur with her grandson.

Saying goodbyes and giving thanks to Jatan for this experience.

Vita Sackville-Hii
DWC U30 Team Leader
Udaipur, India May 2014

May 30th: Visiting Jaisamand Lake

Today we went to Jaisamand Lake, leaving at 8:30 am from the city. We drove through the countryside past fruit stands and motorcycles everywhere. The lake was so beautiful! It is the second largest man made lake in Asia. There were cobblestone steps that led down to the lake shore where we hopped on a boat for a half-hour ride.

On the lake we noticed boats the same size of ours, full of 30 or 40 Indian tourists, and we had our boat to the three of us!

We headed back to Udaipur for lunch and up to sunset point in the evening - riding a cable car to the top of a mountain. We ate rose ice cream and watched the sun set in pink and orange streaks of colour over the lake and the blue mountain layers. The perfect end to the perfect day.

Vita Sackville-Hii
DWC U30 Team Leader
Udaipur, India: May 2014

May 29th: Dinner out wearing saris!

The highlight of today was buying saris and going out for one final dinner with Kailash and Om, two directors at Jatan Sansthan. It was a struggle, but we managed to tie the saris ourselves, and they didn't fall apart!

Vita Sackville-Hii
DWC U30 Team Leader
Udaipur, India: May 2014

May 28th: Saying goodbye to our host family & Vikas

We packed our bags last night and said goodbye to our host family early this morning. They have been so hospitable and accommodating during our entire stay and we were so glad to stay with them and experience village life! We are going to miss waking up to a cup of chai brought to our bedside, made with spices and fresh milk from our family's cows. We are going to miss the rooftop with the most incredible view of the stars on a clear night. We are going to miss the food and our new Indian little brother who always wanted to play games on our phones. Most of all, I think we will miss the warmth of family that we got to watch and also be a part of for a short while.

Our final dinner with our host family!

When we got back to Udaipur we went for a tuk tuk ride in search of a restaurant to eat lunch at. We found one, and fittingly, it was the same one that we had our very first lunch of the trip, one month ago! We came back to the hotel and finished a Bollywood movie on Vikas' laptop that we started last week. 

 In the afternoon, Vikas' cousin came to pick him up as he continues his travels in India to visit family. Our little group became even little-er, with just Vita, Mariana and Ana left. Eunice, Vienna, Chirag and Vikas - we miss you! Wherever you are right now... 

Vita, Ana and Mariana
DWC U30 Team Leader and Volunteer Participants
Railmagra, India: May 2014