WInter coats - the photos!

For those of you not on Facebook (and yes, I know there are at least two of you!), here is the final stage of the Winter Coat saga.

I must say it has been a wonderful act to be part of - and so beautiful to see how quickly the word spread in so many directions, as people got behind the need that I only actually voiced one week ago.

In summary - I heard about the need for 3000 winter coats on Saturday, Facebook and blogged it that night, mentioned it at church on the Sunday, and from that day coats started coming in. On Monday 5 local schools were told about the need, and by the end of the week we had a lot of bags of donations from them. We also had bags of coats from various other quarters, and it all resulted in me driving down to Kids Company on Friday with a car absolutely packed full of coats for all ages.

It was a privilege to be the person able to take the coats down, and so see the delight on the faces of the staff as I showed them the car. With lots of help, we got all the coats indoors, and the staff started telling me more about the work that they do.

Kids Company in Bristol work with disadvantaged children, young people and young families in a number of ways. They provide social support, practical help, family input, parenting support and mentoring, as well as a range of alternative education services for children age 7 - 16 who have been excluded from school and pupil referral units. They are soon to be starting providing alternative education for children age 5 upwards as well, as they have already seen a need for this - yes, children age 5 and 6 already excluded from school.

Its so sad to think that families and individuals just down the road from us are in so much need, and live such dysfunctional and disengaged lives, but that is the reality, and its great to think that we have been able to do even just a tiny bit to help them.

So thank you to everyone who helped with this impromptu appeal - may you be blessed as you have blessed others.

PS - there are many other ways that Kids Company can be helped - contact me if you want to know more.

Update on the winter coat shout-out

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to update you on the blog I posted the other day about Kids Company and their need for 3000 winter coats to meet the number of children and young people on their books who currently don't have such an item. Some of those 3000 are in Bristol, and I'm hoping to take a car-load, or more, down to their centre on Friday.

Well, since mentioning it in a blog, and posting it on Facebook and Twitter, and mentioning it at church on Sunday, the winter coat shout-out has gone excitingly crazy!

Word is out, and is going around various schools in the area, as well as being mentioned further afield. I don't know that we'll reach 3,000 (although I'm very happy to be surprised), but we'll certainly make a dent in the number, and each coat means a child or young person is able to be warmer this winter.

So, this is to say thank you so much to everyone who has donated already, and to all those of you who are still planning to do so.

Feel free to drop me a text, or Facebook message, or give me a call if you need me to collect coats; alternatively you can drop them in to Thornbury Baptist Church who are graciously acting as a pick-up point.

And if you want to get involved but don't have a coat to give, then they also need hats, scarves, gloves and warm socks, for ages 5 - 20 (special shout out for the teenage years as they tend to get less donations for this age-group). And of course charity shops are a good source of coats if you don't have one to give away (and then the charity shop benefits as well - double win!)

Thanks again, and feel free to tell others about the extra winter items that can be included in the donations.

You are all brilliant, and making a big difference to people that need it just down the road.

Blessings:-)

bikes for africa

OK so this is a total shout-out / promo for an amazing organisation based in Tetbury, who are quietly doing some brilliant recycling and making a massive difference to the lives of kids in the Gambia at the same time.

They are called Jole Rider (www.jolerider.org), and are a combination of a bike shop, and bike recycling facility. plus other add-ons that make them even more impressive!

We came across them when trying to find a place to get rid of an unloved but still-in-good-condition bike owned by Natalie, who has flown all the way to India to avoid having to ride it this year (not really true, she equally managed to avoid riding it whilst living in UK!). Anyway, after some googling, Tim found Jole Rider, made some enquiries, and we took the bike there on Saturday.

Basically, what they do is take in good condition second-hand bikes (there is a certain spec that they have), and then ship out a container load to a project in The Gambia that they are partners with. Once in The Gambia, the local project staff distribute the bikes to children who are unable to realistically travel the distance to school on foot.

So, having been given a bike, the child can cycle to school, get there on time, be in a much better state to learn, and achieve so much more at school as a result. Brilliant!!

The partners also teach local people about bike maintenance, so that the bikes don't become discarded at the first puncture or chain breakage, and in so doing encourage and equip these people to develop their own small businesses. To that end Jole Rider also take in less-happy bikes to be stripped down and used for spares that are sent out as well, so that the newly-trained bike maintenance people have some stock to use for doing the repairs.

That programme in itself sold Jole Rider to me, but then I look on their wbesite and see that they also do Books for Africa, a Learning Development Project in The Gambia, and here in the UK they run bike maintenance courses as a stream of alternative education for young people who just don't get on very well with school.

So, three cheers for Jole Rider! and please remember them if you know anyone who is getting a new bike for Christmas and therefore will have an old one to get rid of. Definitely a better place to take the bike than to the tip!

Winter coat waiting list for UK children

I was listening to the BBC Radio 4 programme Saturday Live this morning. Not a programme I listen to very often, as I'm usually out on my bike at that time; but today was an exception, and I'm glad it was.

One of the guests on the programme was a lady called Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder of an organisation called Kids Company (http://www.kidsco.org.uk if you want to know more). Kids Company was set up in 1996 to provide emotional, practical and educational support to vulnerable inner-city children, and it now 36,000 children from its centres in London and Bristol.

There were two things that really hit me about what Camila was saying:
1. the inability that so many of the children have to dream or hope about the future. They are so trapped in excruciatingly dysfunctional and chaotic lives, so focussed on just getting through each day, so consumed with just trying to find food and shelter for the next 24 hours, that there is no capacity left to dream, or imagine, or hope.

2. the waiting list that they have for winter coats. Over 3000 children on their books don't have a winter coat. And that's just on the books of Kids company, who only works in London and Bristol - how many more children are there without a coat living in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow, Newcastle etc? Quite apart from children living in rural poverty?

These are the sort of things you expect to hear about in a developing country, one which is known for its poverty-related problems. Not issues you expect to hear about in an apparently 'developed' country. Yes we have a pretty good set of infrastructure - roads, rail, sanitation, power, access to internet etc. Yes we have a health system accessible to all. Yes we have education accessible to all. And yes I know this is a lot more than many countries.

But as was pointed out today we also have far too many children who are without even such basic items as a winter coat, and who don't have the space in their lives to hope or dream

It's sad to say that the plight of these children won't make the headlines, this is just an ongoing problem that has been there for many years, and sadly will continue for many more years, given the current financial trends and growing gap between rich and poor.

But, that doesn't mean we can't do anything about it. For me, my immediate response is that there are some winter coats in this house that will be taken to the Bristol centre this week (and if any Thornbury folk want to add a coat to the pile I'll take those as well), and I'll be praying about what other response I could make over a longer term. For you it could be a very different response - please just take time to remember these children for a moment, and consider what that response could be. 

Another cyclone due to hit India

When we were in India a couple of weeks ago, one of the things that struck me most was the massive upheaval caused by Cyclone Phailin that had hit the coast a few weeks earlier. 

Crops were ruined, roads flooded and buckled, houses damaged, and many more people were living in poverty as they struggled to make ends meet. When you live a subsistence lifestyle, there is no nest egg to fall back on when disaster strikes.

At St Josephs School, where we worked for the week, the impact was that many parents were coming in saying they had no money to pay for school fees, and this had been the case for October and again in November. The school, which also runs on a very minimal amount of reserves, had used up its savings and was living on good will from the banks, plus prayers that things would improve next month, and there would be a good injection of cash.

So, imagine the despair being felt with the information from the met office that there is a new cyclone heading their way, due to reach the coast-line of Andhra Pradesh tonight.

Below, is the report about it from the BBC website, (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-25047158), and all I would ask is that if you are into praying, then please pray for Janaki and co, as they endure the storm, assist with humanitarian aid afterwards, and find a way to keep going financially.

Thousands of people have been evacuated from coastal areas in eastern India, as a strong cyclone approaches.

Cyclone Helen, which is generating wind speeds of up to 120km h (75mph), is expected to make landfall in Andhra Pradesh state later on Friday.

India's weather office says the cyclone is expected to be accompanied by storm surges of up to 1.5m (5ft).

At least 27 people died when a stronger cyclone, Phailin, hit India's eastern coast last month.

The Indian Meteorological Department has classed Cyclone Helen as "severe" and has warned of "extensive damage to thatched roofs and huts".

Evacuation

It says there will be "minor damage to power and communication lines due to uprooting of large avenue trees".

Twenty rescue teams had been deployed in the flood zone, a spokeswoman for the National Disaster Management Agency, Tripti Parule, told the AFP news agency.

"Evacuations of thousands has already taken place and provision for food, water and shelter are also on track," she said, adding that the aim was for "zero casualties".

Last month Cyclone Phailin destroyed tens of thousands of homes, uprooted trees and blocked roads in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states.

Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated ahead of Phailin, which was classified as a "very severe" cyclone.

Feedback from the Rwanda team

At the weekend we had a reunion for the Rwanda team. It was the first time the team had been together since saying good bye to each other at the airport on the way home, and there was a lot of catching up to be done!

But as well as the catching up, there was also the first draft of the Rwanda CRED video to be seen, which reduced some of the team to tears as all the memories came flooding back - I'll let you know when it is uploaded to you-tube.

The third main component of the reunion was the time of reflection on the impact of the trip on the team members. It is this part that makes a reunion for me. I am in the privileged position of reading all the evaluation forms that the team members fill in immediately post-trip, and of course as a team leader I also see transformations taking place within the team members throughout the trip. But one area that I am always interested in is seeing how much of that impact remains, and how much just dies away on returning to the UK and getting sucked back into normal life.

So I was delighted to hear some really good accounts of the longer-term impact of the rwanda trip on team members.

Two of them reported that they have received promotions at work since coming back, and in both cases the reason given was that the employer had noticed a very positive change in their work ethic, and was acknowledging this through the promotion. According to the girls in question, one said that the improved work ethic was due to realising how lucky she is just to have a home, food, education, job etc; and the other said she came back realising how much she just took everything for granted, but how actually her responsibility as a person was to play her part in life with more enthusiasm and care for others.

One of the lads said how he now watches the news on the TV and is interested in world affairs. And when the Philippines hurricane struck, he was so much more impacted by it and did something to help, because he had seen the reality of living with nothing when we visited the street kids.

One of the team spoke of how she has more direction with her chosen career now, and sees it as a chance to help others, and not just as a means of earning money.

Others spoke of being less fussy with food, more grateful for education, more grateful for family, home, clothes, even just having a bed to sleep in! And how they are sharing those feelings with friends and family and so making others think about their own attitudes as well.

It was a lovely evening, and a reminder, if ever I needed one, of part of the reason why we do these trips. Of course it is always important to know that the main beneficiaries are the project themselves, and evidence of that has been given to us in several ways during and since the trip, so there are no worries on that front. But it was lovely to hear how the impact of the trip is living on in the young people that we took to Rwanda as well. Long may it last, for them, and for similar participants on the other trips!

Sentayahu's story - from Ethiopia

Thanks to Georgia, one of the team who went to work with CRED partner Women at Risk in the summer, for writing up Sentayahu's story so sensitively.

Here it is:

 “My Little Man”

 Sentayahu’s Story – Told by his mother,Ababa, and me.

Sentayahu is a 10yr old little boy with the most beautiful big brown chocolate drop eyes and a smile that would brighten up even your worst day. He lives with his mum and her friend so they can share to rent in a small town two bus rides away from Addis. He attends the Light of the World school and is a grade 5 student. He has health problems in that he gets constant bouts of tonsillitis and mum worries that he has not yet been circumcised.

Ababa was born in the country side and was forced to marry at a very young age. She ran away to Gondar City where she took refuge with a relative. Her relative got her a job in a cafeteria but because the pay was small her relative gave her to a broker in Addis Ababa. She was forced to work in many houses as a maid cleaning, cooking and waiting on the families. 

Whilst working in one of the houses she met her son’s father who worked for the family in a kiosk that they owned. She fell in love with him and he pestered her for sex. She didn’t want to have sex before they married so he promised he would marry her so she gave into him. When she found out she was pregnant he didn’t want to know and he disappeared. She tried to abort the pregnancy by taking malaria meds and traditional meds which made her very sick many times throughout the pregnancy. 

Ababa worked right through her pregnancy and then when she had Sentayahu nobody would employ her. So she had to turn to prostitution to get food and rent money. She would leave him in the house, lock the door and go out at night to work the streets.

Ababa is a good mother who loves her son dearly. She describes him as a kind, thoughtful boy who acts beyond his age and likes to ask lots of questions! He thinks worries and cares a lot for her and she said he gets along with whomever very well. Ababa worries about Sentayahu and she said that she doesn’t want him to get any addictions and be in wrong places. She keeps a close eye on him and tries to help him with school work but this is difficult as she is not educated. Ababa gives Sentayahu advice and love so he will be a decent child, she said. Ababa would love help with his schooling as she tries hard to raise him on her own.

From the moment Sentayahu entered my classroom on that very first day I knew we would form a special bond. His enthusiasm to learn was extremely humbling and it was a real pleasure to witness his thirst for learning. He made me smile everyday and warmed my heart as did many of the other children in the class. His manners were impeccable and through his broken English and funny gestures we managed to communicate. 

When I met with Sentayhau and Birikte (the Women at Risk staff member who was interpreting for us) he told me that he loves his mother dearly and her name Ababa means flower/Rose. When I asked him what his name means he told me it means “God why have you given me this life” which brought a tear to my and Birikte’s eyes. 

He told me he loves school and that he wants to go all the way to University and he promised me he would work hard so he could get a job with the WAR project helping other children like the WAR project had helped him and his mum. I asked Sentayahu if he had enjoyed the summer school and he said he was having a fun time and liked the maths session best. He was a very smart boy with his mental maths and always wanted to participate with the writing of the answers’ on the board. 

I asked Sentayahu how he had travelled into summer school from his home. He replied that he had to get two buses and leave at 5.30am to be in on time. He explained that he didn’t get the first bus and walked each day to save his mum some money. Sentayahu turned up every day in the same thread bare jumper and ripped trousers. On the third day his trousers split right across the crotch but he never complained. The WAR staff sorted him out with a pair of jeans which made him very happy.

Sentayahu was not an overbearing or overpowering boy who seeked attention but just quietly got on with his work, and was always willing to join in all the activities. I think this is why I warmed to this child and I felt very honoured that he trusted me to share his story.

On the last day I had the privilege to meet his mum Ababa who had travelled in for the celebration day. Sentayahu’s parting words to me were “I love you Georgia, Thank you and I will work hard at school” and I believe every word this little man said to me. And with God’s help I will endeavour to help him achieve his goal.

celebrating the impact of ethiopia

One of the trips that went out for CRED this autumn was to Ethiopia where the team worked with our partner AHISDO. The project is based in a very poor community and the team worked in the kindergarten and the youth club, running activities for both age groups.

The post-trip evaluation forms from the team are starting to come in now, and it is great to read what an impact the trip has had on them.

One of the questions the form asks is: 'How have your attitudes and opinions to your home life changed as a result of the issues you faced on the trip?'

Here are some of the responses:  

• Seeing that the people in Addis were so happy for what they have, it taught me to not take what I do have for granted and also there are people in a worse situation in the world than me.
• 
  
• I waste as little as possible, whether it be water, clothes or food or anything else. I am much more grateful for all I have at home. I think twice about spending money on unimportant things. I treasure those around me more and important possessions as I know how much it'd mean to some to have that.
• 
  
• i have more respect for what people do for me and i appreciate everything i have a bit more. even the simple things make a massive difference like having running water.
• 
  
• I think my attitudes and opinions at home ha changed alot. I was eating pizza and i only got to eat 2 and explained to my parents that i felt bad for it. I appreciate the roof i have over my head, the bed i sleep in, i appreciate the food my mum goes out and buys. I appreciate my parents a lot more and i have realised everything they do is for my benefit and will somehow help me in the future.
• 
  
• I feel more grateful towards what I have, especially towards my mum who provides for me and often buys me things I don't always need. I also notice the poverty back home now, although it does not look the same or as in your face, it is still there. Also, now I have noticed it I feel like I want to help more.
• 
  
• Addis is a place that is full of happiness, yet should be miserable. The people that live there have nothing, yet they can hardly wait to show you it. People that should be closed, yet greet you with open arms, minds and hearts. A place wrought with contradiction yet shows me in no uncertain terms exactly what I have, and shows me exactly what I take for granted. To them I have everything, and when I think about it now it makes me sick that I could ever think I need anything more. Addis is a place that touches your heart and your mind and becomes a part of you forever, and I couldn't be more appreciative that I've had the opportunity to realise how privileged I really am.
• 
  
• My attitude has gone and I appreciate everything More than I did
• 
  
• I have realised that I need to stop taking things for granted and appreciate everyone and everything i have.

And that's just a few of them! Not bad huh!!!

King of the birds

On Friday night Tim and I went to a concert by a Scottish folk-singer, Karine Polwart. She was very good, even though I listened to more than I saw, and Tim seems to have heard a couple more songs than I heard - curses jet lag!!!!

Anyway, the final song she sang came with an introductory story and it was about a contest way back when between all the birds to find out which bird was king of all.

The story goes that the birds were all arguing over who should be king, and eventually it was decided to hold a contest, and the winner would take the crown. The contest was to see which bird could fly the highest, and the one that flew higher than all others would be the winner.

So, the birds all set off flying upwards - first to give up were the pheasants and partridges, but the others flew on. Next to fall away were some of the littler birds who just didn't have the strength to keep climbing. Gradually more and more birds dropped off the climb, as the remaining ones flew higher and higher.

Eventually there was just one bird left - the eagle. Certain that he had won, he decided to keep going until he reached his limit - just showing off really! And as he got to the top, and could go no further, he turned to descend to the expected applause of all, and his moment of crowning glory.

But, at that point, as he reached his limit, and turned to descend, a little head popped out from the feathers of the eagle and started flying upwards! It was the wren, one of the smallest of birds, who had hitched a ride on the eagle's back, and was now able to fly higher than the eagle.

The eagle returned to the earth, in second place. The wren, returned moments later, having gone higher than any other bird, and claimed the crown as king of the birds!

Such a lovely story of how little people can triumph, and how it isn't all about might and strength and power. It made me think of the CRED partners we support, and the people I've been with these past few weeks. None of them are big players in the international scene, none of them have lots of power and influence, but what they do have is quiet determination to make a difference in the lives of those they are wanting to help. And what they also have is the greatest source of strength that they could possibly hitch a ride with: their Christian faith, and their trust in the one true God.
Each of the projects has grown out of a calling placed on the founders, and the project staff, by God. And each of the projects lives each day dedicated to following that calling, and following what they believe God is asking them to do.

Being with those projects, it is abundantly clear that God is right in there, and that all the staff need to do is hitch a ride on Him, and He will give them the strength to climb as high as is needed. And that is what they do, and that is what He gives them.

May you be blessed as you hitch a ride to the greatest source of strength of all, and draw on Him today.

And the winner is.......

Home again, and as well as the obvious delights of being home (ie being with Tim again), there are also some other benefits eg fast internet allowing browsing of the web rather than just bare minimum usage!

And so, I once again have access to the BBC website and all its wonderful pages of diverse news, comment and information, including this one: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24730361

Check it out for some amazingly simple but brilliant inventions that are changing the lives of people in many different ways. Next step - can I access any of them to benefit those whom the CRED Partners work with?!

Final thoughts from India

I'm sitting in a hotel in Hyderabad trying to decide if it is worth going to bed tonight as I have to get up at 3.15am to catch the bus to the airport to be there for 4am. So, during my time of indecision, here are some final thoughts about this wild and whacky country, a small corner of which has been the focus of my attention for the past 12 days or so.

Since Sunday afternoon, having waved goodbye to the team at the airport, I have been staying with Janaki, at the home she shares with her parents. Her parents are so lovely and welcoming and generous, despite having relatively little, and not a word of English between them. But its a beautiful insight into real life staying with them, rather than being shut away in a hotel room, and I love being able to join in the cooking (a dab hand at rolling out chapattis now!), as well as waking to the sound of thwack thwack as all around are ladies doing the washing which involves not only scrubbing the clothes, but whacking them time and again against a washing rock (and that's at 6 in the morning - no chance of a lie in!)

One of the other special things about staying with Janaki was that it meant I was staying in the town of Nallajerla where St Joseph's school is, and where many of the children live. As a result, when I went out for a walk around and about, I would inevitably be greeted by children calling out my name and saying hello, or doing actions from one of the songs they've learnt, or telling me with delight about the names of team members, and what activities they enjoyed last week. Very special moments, and amusing to see the looks on the adults faces as the various children chatted away with a strange white person!

However, it was on an early morning walk that I really understood the long-term impact that the trips can have on the children at the school. I was walking along the side of a massive pond, which was covered with lily pads, with the sun rising - all very beautiful; and then a teenage girl ran up to me calling my name! She was too old to be at St Josephs school so I knew she didn't know me from last week, but on chatting to her it turns out she was there last year and remembered me from that trip, even my name! I was blown away - my role on teams is to do all the background logistics and so I tend to be relatively invisible, or so I had always thought - but maybe not after all! Anyway, I was invited to her home to meet her parents, and drink milk with them - and felt very humbled by their warmth and generosity, given that the home was mud walls and palm leaf roof.
A true reminder just what these trips mean to the young people we work with - and how significant they are as windows shining a different light in the lives that are otherwise so similar day after day.

Last night I met with the trustees of FIAM, and heard from them their passions about the ministry, and what they love about it. Although it took a while for them to open up and start talking, once they got going the depth of their desire to see positive changes for the downtrodden and hurting was very evident, even when they were talking in Telugu and I couldn't understand a word!
Until then I had only heard from Janaki about FIAM, and it was good to hear the trustees giving their thoughts, which totally reinforced all that Janaki had been saying. The focus for them is about showing God's love through faith as much as through words, and showing to the downtrodden across society, and not just to one particular age group. So the projects with the young are as important as those with the elderly as those with the lepers as those with the tribal villages. As all groups are equally deserving of respect, love, and having their basic needs being met. Definitely what Jesus would be thinking!

One area that they would like to expand in particular is providing training opportunities for middle-age widows. Apparently this group of ladies are particularly vulnerable to abuse by others in the community as the people are always suspicious of why a husband should die when in his prime of life, and make up rumours to slander the woman. As a result, the widows don't go out except when absolutely necessary, and thus can't work, or have an income. I was fascinated and appalled in equal measure by this, and encouraged to hear the plans the trustees have for developing training programmes for the ladies so that they can do home-based work and earn money, and a status in the community again, and start to go out. Beautiful, if they can just raise the funds to help with setting it up.

The evening with the trustees ended with us chatting about the various facets of CRED's partnership with FIAM, and rejoicing in what has been achieved already, as well as looking forward with delight to the future. The prayer that followed was wonderful; even the quiet trustees got very vocal as they raised their voices heavenwards, and it was one of those moments when language barriers are totally transcended as we all praised God together, knowing that He understood us all equally.

So, now its time to leave the warmth of India and return to the UK which I understand is a lot damper, windier and colder than when I left it 3 weeks ago. But I can't finish my blogs from India without mentioning the driving and the cricket.

I reckon this is one of the few corners of the globe where the kids are more interested in playing cricket than football, and where they are more likely to know about Alistair Cook, Stuart Broad, Kevin Pieterson and Graeme Swann than David Beckham or Wayne Rooney!

And the driving, and the roads - well, they have to be seen to be believed! The horn is a significant part of the armoury of a vehicle over here; and the first part of any manoeuvre, be it braking, turning, swerving, accelerating, going forwards, backwards or sideways is to sound the horn several times. It is also used to persuade cows to get out of the way, to warn bikes that they are in the way, and to try and win in the games of chicken they seem to play with oncoming vehicles! The potholes just add an extra dimension of 'fun' to the whole thing, and I have to confess that the orderliness, and quietness, of the English roads does have an appeal!

Time to sign off, and try to get a bit of sleep. Thanks for all your support and prayers over the past few weeks especially, and if anyone wants to meet up for a coffee and catch up let me know and I'll make time for it!

Blessings to you

The final day for the India team, and a bit of background on FIAM

Ordinarily on the last full day of a CRED trip we try to have a relaxing, slightly more ‘touristy’ day for the team who have been working so hard all week. When sorting the programme for the India trip, that was certainly the plan.

But then the week got going, and our various evening activities and visits couldn’t happen due to transport issues, and so we got to the end of the week and the team still hadn’t visited the leper community, or the stone-breaker community.

These are two other programmes that contribute to the overall portfolio of projects that Faith In Action Ministries (FIAM) carries out. FIAM is a partner of CRED, and is founded by the lovely and incredibly inspirational Janaki Menni. She has an amazing testimony of how she came to Christ, from a Hindu background, through miraculous healing of a very serious illness, and as a gift of thanks to God she has devoted her life (now early 30’s I’d say) to serving the poor in the community (both materially and spiritually) in various ways.

Thus there is St Joseph’s school where the team have been working all week, which is fee-paying for those who can afford it, but offers subsidized, or even free, schooling for those who can’t. There is also the leper community project, the elderly support project, the orphanage, the rural villages project, and she has planted about 55 churches and trained up a similar number of church leaders to run them, with 5 senior pastors to oversee the new members of church leadership.

Some would say that such a disparate group of programmes means that FIAM is a jack of all trades and master of none, and that specializing might be a better way. That is certainly a point of discussion for me to have with Janaki whilst out here these next couple of days. But for now Janaki and her team are reaching out to the community and its most marginalized groups, through a number of means, and everyone that I’ve come across who knows Janaki and the work that she heads up, speaks of her with great admiration.

Anyway, back to yesterday – so the team still hadn’t been to the leper community or the stone-breaker community, and when given the option to go yesterday, rather than having a more leisurely day, the vote was unanimous for visiting. Given the week that was, I’d say all credit to the young people for taking this decision, as they knew that it would be emotionally hard, and not the easy option.

And indeed it was hard – visiting a community where the main source of income is from breaking up rocks with a hammer, to be used for road-fill etc, and where they earn at best £2.50 a day if very fit and healthy. Most of the workers were women and children, and some of our young people had a go at breaking the rocks themselves to discover just how hard it is.  We then walked around the community where they live to see the poor level of housing – this was a chance for our team to see close up the sort of lifestyles that some of the children they’ve been teaching all week come from, and to help give background to the week’s experience

After the stone-breakers we went for a bit of chill out time at a nearby Catholic church set in lovely grounds, and at the bottom of a hill. The church was very big, with no chairs, lovely polished stone floor, and a place of cooling sanctuary from the heat of the day. Scattered around the interior were families, couples, friends, just sitting in small groups and quietly chatting, or praying, or just being still.

Most of this team are not church-goers, and there were several comments about how they don’t go inside churches normally, but this one felt really peaceful and calming. We stayed for a while and then went back outside to go up the hill and have lunch at the top. Unfortunately, the top was a series of pilgrimage-type ‘booths’ and statues etc, and so there were lots of visitors all wanting to get photos of everything that moved, especially us! There were also a lot of mosquitos, and so after a quick lunch the general consensus was to return to our island of sanctuary in the church. I found it very touching that this team of young people, who have no relationship with God, wanted to spend their day off either with the poor and marginalized, or in church.

The day ended with a visit to the leper community that FIAM supports. There are 46 leprosy sufferers who leave in the community, in small homes built by the government. They get a monthly allowance of 200 rupees (£2), and as they are lepers they can’t get work, so the only other form of income available to them is begging. There is a waiting list, as the only other place lepers can live around here is on the streets as an outcast.

When we arrived the team were somewhat anxious about what they would see, but after a quick briefing from me reassuring them they can’t catch leprosy, and that despite some disfigurements all of us have the same colour blood running through, and a heart that beats in the same way, and the capacity to love and be loved, the team got on and greeted, hugged and ‘chatted with’ (despite language barriers) the members of the community.

They sang for us, we sang for them, the pastor gave some words, I gave some words, we served them the bananas we had bought with us, and it was a very moving time. It certainly put any aches and pains that our team had into perspective when shaking hands with a fingerless stump, or seeing someone hobble on toe-less feet.

The team flew home today, having completed an incredible week. Many of them have changed – in their attitudes, their behavior, their perspectives – and on the way back to the hotel last night the general consensus was that the visits of the day were definitely the right choice and the way to round off an incredible week.

May the changes continue to develop as they return home and carry on processing the week, telling the stories, and picking up life, but not as the same person that they were 10 days ago. Do pray for them – re-entry isn’t easy!

Stone-breakers, slums and leprosy to finish

The activity week at St Josephs school finished with a flourish yesterday – final lessons taught, final games of cricket/ rounders / volleyball, final arts and crafts sessions, and then a grand finale of a concert in which every child had a moment on the stage, and all the parents who came to watch got the chance to see their child perform something.

The team also treated the school to our best yet rendition of ‘Lean on Me’, and we were treated to some beautiful Indian dancing.

Once back at the hotel, had fed and watered on good wholesome food, we treated the young people to a visit to the local ice-cream parlour – a place some of the adults have been sneaking off to during the week, but have kept secret until last night, for obvious reasons!

So, despite flight and transport hassles galore, relentless heat, the occasional minor medical issue, and an unreal number of flies hanging over life at the school, the team has achieved what it set out to achieve.

Our young people have been stretched, have risen to the challenges, and found new depths of resilience and inner strength. Some are now reviewing plans for the future based on new-found skills, whilst others are returning with revised perspectives on life.

But today is more possibility for change, as we visit a very poor rural community who earn money breaking up stones, and then go on to a slum-dwelling community and leprosy community, all of whom Janaki spends time ministering to. These three locations will add extra layers of insight for our team into life as a poor and marginalized member of society, and it won’t be comfortable.

So, please keep praying as we embark on the last full day, before I wave goodbye to them and they fly home whilst I stay on here for a few more days.