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 24th: Camel and boat rides in Udaipur

Today was the first day of a wonderful weekend spent in Udaipur to relax, recharge, and enjoy each other's company. We began the day with some much needed sleep! At noon, we left the hotel to find a quaint rooftop restaurant where we had lunch and enjoyed a view of Pichola Lake. The hike up 7 flights of narrow winding stairs was so worth it.

After lunch we decided to go to Fateh Sagar Lake for a camel ride and boat ride! The camel rides were bumpier than expected which made the ride even more fun as we laughed atop these massive mammals.

After that we zoomed around on a speedboat while the late afternoon sun glittered on top of the lake, pinkish orange.

To end off the day, we went out for a fancy dinner at a 5 star hotel in Udaipur. Poor Vikas must have been exhausted because he fell asleep at the dinner table. All of us enjoyed paneer butter masala, naan, and other assorted curries and gravies - topping it off with rose ice cream. Yummmm!

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

May 23rd: Week #3 in photos

Here we are hanging out in front of Jatan's office in Railmagra. We are sitting with Jatan staff member, Om (far left), our driver, Azad (second from right) and our translator, Chirag (far right).

On Tuesday night, we watched a Bollywood movie with a group of school kids that attend programs run by Jatan.

 The foundation of the women's washroom is coming along quickly!

Time for a chai break!

The construction crew in front of our complete wall on Wednesday.

 Mango break!

 Hanging around at the work site and enjoying the shade.

We were interviewed for the local paper!

Vienna poses with a giant bag of Parle G cookies, our new favourite to eat while drinkin chai.

 Visiting a temple.

Vita Sackville-Hii

DWC U30 Team Leader
Railmagra, India: May 2014

May 16th: Women's help line & police station in Rajsamand

Today we had a day off work to visit the Jatan office in a different village called Rajsamand. We learned about a women's help line that Jatan runs for all of India. Women can call at any time of day for anything, whether they need help or have questions or want resources.

The team sitting in on a women's meeting in Rajsamand.

We visited the Rajsamand police station and got a tour. In the police station, there are two women counsellors trained to specifically deal with family conflict in cases of dowry arguments, and they were brought there because of Jatan.

In some rural village,s a women's family must give a dowry in the form of money, animals and possessions to the man she is marrying. If the woman is from a poor family, it is difficult for them to find a husband who is willing to accept a small dowry, and so there is conflict around this issue.

Later in the afternoon we visited the beautiful Rajsamand lake. It was the perfect end to a day off work.

Vita Sackville-Hii
DWC U30 Team Leader
Rajsamand, 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