Partying Kalkaji Style!

During the week, the kids at Kalkaji slum had been creating all sorts of amazing decorations and cards for our party to celebrate 25 years of Asha. This afternoon we had a party! About 50 children attended and we all had loads of fun! Games, singing, dancing, and of course a party tea...and a cake!

Getting ready before the children arrived...

Some of the cards made by the children...

You need to read the inside of this one...

Festivities in full swing...

The Hokey Cokey...

An onlooker...

Teaching Asha Staff

While the rest of the team were at Kalkaji being creative with the kids, Clare, Janet T and I were at Asha HQ where we had a day of teaching.  We had morning and afternoon sessions with different audiences but the same content.  The audiences were made up of the Asha staff along with Community Health Volunteers from various slums.

I started off - talking about diabetic lifestyle advice: Exercise, weight loss and diet.  I had a "good" table and a "bad" table where I asked them to sort out various foods I had bought. It was good fun - and I hope we got an important message across!

Clare then went on to talk about backs, knees and pregnancy, giving good advice about looking after ourselves, and then some simple exercises that we can do when various bits are aching!  The audiences were very receptive.  Clare was clearly talking about problems that they all experienced!

Janet then introduced them to issues of deaf awareness.  Most of them knew people with hearing loss but clearly had limited understanding of how to help or what services were available.  Janet shared her own experience to help them understand how deafness can be isolating and can be a barrier to education etc. We needed to explain why people born deaf cannot develop spoken language, and showed them some basic Indian Sign Language.

Clare's impromptu Physio session for Sunni, with one happy patient afterwards!

Thursday,

Visit to Kalkaji slum today, to enjoy crafts, and games with the children,   much hilarity, in preparation, as well as keen work to make displays to use at our planned party for tomorrow.

Our first full day in Kalkaji slum has been exhausting but great. The minibus dropped us outside the centre. 25 Boys already lined the 2 rooms upstairs ready to start. A quick divide up of the team and we started. We had 10 boys from about 11-14 years. We had a short session on introductions, saying a bit about themselves then on to craft.

They enjoyed making bird mobiles and decorated them carefully.Some stayed to play Jenga. Unfortunately as the others left, so did our scissors and pens!

During lunch time Lilly took Margaret and I along the road to a market to replenish stocks of 9 pairs of scissors, 2 Pritt sticks and 2 sellotape for the princely sum of 378 rupees. less than £5.

Dick, Julie and Janet's room seemed like an oasis of calm. They worked with 3 deaf children, serenely teaching Indian signing and craft. Everyone was smiling.

In the afternoon the girls arrived.They were a delight. They introduced themselves and told us about the Bal Mandal- their children's group. They give health education to families, encourage others to school, collect money for the poor and chase officials if the lanes need cleaning. And this is the 11-14 year olds!

But they still know how to have fun. After they had made Eleanor's amazing bunting

and paper chains and our birds they started teaching Clare and Steph their dances. Soon they were were all dancing together, doing the Hokey Cokey, skipping and playing. The Asha staff joined in skipping too.

Now all we need is a cuppa and a long shower!

 

Orientation day yesterday for Kalkaji Slum, First half of Tuesday was spent in Asha HQ.  After lunch we were taken over to Kalkaji Slum.   After meeting the Womens Group we set off on a walk around the lanes.  Much narrower than other slums we have been in!  Buildings were often two or three stories high, which could easily block out the sunlight. 

We were shown some of the medical cards, which showed the progress of the children under three, all the cards that we saw, showed the children making good progress.

Another day to relax...

Today we have a day off - because all the Asha staff have been given a day off after all their hard work last week!  Much deserved!

Julie and I have opted for a quiet day.  We enjoyed wandering around the Garden of the Five Senses quite close to the hotel this morning.  It has some beautiful flowers and sculptures.  By a pond there is a large wind chime structure - which had a kingfisher sitting on it!  Wow!

A Journey of Hope

I think we need to show you this book in a bit more detail:  Every home needs one on the coffee table!  It is a pictorial essay on Asha with some absolutely beautiful photos.

Sunita and Rani looking through it:

There is an exhibition of some of the photos - which will hopefully coming to the UK in November:

You will be able to buy the book in the UK very soon and all proceeds go to Asha!

Market Adventures

On Sunday we went to a new market, arriving as the stalls set up so it was lovely and quiet to start with.  We had fun on the fruit stall, buying a mix of fruits to try later-oranges, pomegranate,chickoo and an unknown fruit. Clare decided to name it so it became 'Papplenip' as it tastes like a cross between pear, apple and turnip! Great name!

Clare was quite tempted by a pair of trousers.

Once we had exhausted the market we tried a new cafe 'Chatime', all pink, chrome and glass. We were tempted in to trying strange drinks- QQ, fruit syrup with lumps of jelly floating in the bottom which you drank up a wide straw. Mine was cold, milky tea with jelly. I tried to be polite but just couldn't hack it! Switched to qumquat juice instead.Here in India all things seem possible!

Back at the hotel the 'Fruit cleansing' started. Method: First wash the fruit with soap and water. Next wipe it with antiseptic. Then peel it. Finally-enjoy! Ripe chickoo was delicious, but then we tried an unripe one. Instantantly our mouth dried and lips seemed to stick to our teeth. Just the weirdest sensation.

By evening all the team for our second week have safely arrived. Clare from England, Colin and Margaret back from visiting friends in the Himalayas, Janet, Eleanor, Janet, Mel and Steph from a Taj trip and Andy, Julie, Dick, Nigel and I from exploring Delhi markets.

The taxi drivers are loving us! We all troop out of the hotel gate. Not a driver in site. Then one pops his head out from under a tarpaulin tent and we wave fingers across the busy road to show how many taxis we want. They insist you can get 4 in the back of these little green and black Ambassador taxis. Well you can, but only by more of less sitting on each others knees.Still, they usually get you there in the end. ('If you are not there, then it isn't the end'. My adaption from Exotic Marigold Hotel!) We have arrived at all kinds of smart destinations in a scruffy dented taxi, amid the Audis and white embassy cars. Great fun,

Can you sing??

Here is the Video of the Seelumpur children joining in the singing.

Thursday, Seelumpur Visit

Slum Visit to Seelumpur today, a slum which we are told has a reputation for theft, but we also find has a reputation for a very good welcome.  We arrive after a long drive across Delhi in an Asha Jeep, and are welcomed by the local Asha worker, Subodh ( pronounced suboard), the children showering us with flower petals, and marking us all with a Bindi, in the traditional manner.  The children and women all explained what they do, and introduced the health volunteers, as well as the children explaining which classes they were in.  We were very generously provided with some snacks for lunch, and then shown around the slum area.

Really tight for space, as you see in the pictures below, with new rooms and walls on existing buildings, blocking out the sun in many places.

The young girl (17) on the left, has been making these small dresses to sell.

Water is still hand drawn in many places

Just outside the slum, a waste area, where rag pickers work.

Sometimes the tall buildings will block out the light.

Daughter and mother, in their home.

Getting electricity is not a problem

Stock was bought with an Asha Loan, now repaid, and she has applied for another loan to increase the stock.

the "lanes" can be very narrow.

Wherever you go, someone is watching.

Fantastic to then be treated to singing and dancing by the children, which was quickly followed by a request that we all sing for them.  Now, what was that to be?  Well, they had just completed an excellent rendition of the chorus "Praise Ye The Lord".  Not bad for a predominately Muslim Slum.  So we all repeated, the chorus but complete with signing (for the deaf).  They learn quickly, it was immediately repeated back, very accurately.