Wow. I am sitting here making plans to meet up with Denise and Martin again (a week on my own by the pool.. a complete self indulgance but I loved the R&R, zoned out and had a mini escape from India). Anyway, I realize I have less than two weeks here before we fly to Africa and we are almost at the half way point for our trip! Time flies when you are having fun and I'm going to be home soon before I know it.
When I left a lot of you mentioned that you would be interested in donating to the orphange in Mwanza in one way or another! Please email me personally if you want to donate cash (we can figure out something) or if you want to put together a package the address for postage is Hands of Mercy Outreach International, PO Box 10024, Mwanza, Tanzania. If you need ideas let me know, I can certainly ask our contact if there is anything they need.
My personal opinion is that a cash donation is more effective (and you don't waste money that could have gone to the kids on postage!). Cash is a double hit.. on the local economy and then I can go shopping and buy them what they need when I get there and we can fully assess the situation. The money will not be given to the orphanage but Denise and I will choose to spend it as necessary! We will of course give full information on what the money was used for and I have a few ideas for some other things we will do.. but enough about that ;)
Importantly, here is some information pieced together from a newletter that our contact sent out. I do realize that being my friends / family doesn't mean you will automatically want to hand out money or 'stuff' so maybe this will help. Last time I checked I was not able to get tax receipts because the orphanage is not an internationally registered charity. With that said, they are working on it. Remember, even $5 will go a long way..
AND one more thing ... a friend of Denise's family - I should mention he is five years old - took the initiative to raise money for the kids at the orphanage and instead of asking for birthday presents from his friends he asked for money. He donated his birthday to these kids.. and he is five and it was entirely his idea. That is amazing and inspiring :)
Hands of Mercy Outreach International, Tanzania
Hands of Mercy begun the new year with a new start by moving into a new home. The old home was very cramped and unsuitable for the number of people living in it. Thanks to a donation from Unatrac (UK), we have been able to rent a bigger compound for the children. The new house has plenty of room inside for all the children to sleep, eat and play. In addition, we also have a section for classrooms where we run extra classes for our own children and a nursery school for local community kids. The compound also has a huge area outside where the children can play, and where we have planted crops.
At present we have four volunteers at Hands of Mercy, who are officially our first volunteers at this project. We have a couple from New Zealand with us now who have decided to uproot lives back home, and move here to help the children. They intend to be with us for quite some time, and are like a grandmother and grandfather to the children.
Recent volunteers from Watoto wa Africa also used some of their fundraising to help at Hands of Mercy. Volunteers over the last few months have provided Hands of Mercy with bed sheets, mosquito nets, ground sheets for the children to sit on, seeds for vegetables and fruits to plant at our farm, shoes for each child, and special food for Christmas and New Years days. Hands of Mercy also organized a special Christmas concert and church service for four of the local orphanages, which our volunteers also contributed towards for the food and hiring of equipment.
Recently, Bridge to Aid, a local Tanzanian charity, came to visit Hands of Mercy. They sent us a dentist and nurse who gave the children some education about dental care and brushing their teeth. They checked all the children’s teeth for any problems and wrote reports on all the children. I’ve never seen children so excited at the thought of having their teeth checked by a dentist. But all things that are new are exciting to these kids. Each child received a sticker afterwards for their bravery, and a brand new toothbrush to practice their newly learnt brushing techniques.
The orphanage has recently been donated a generator, water pump, and two large water tanks thanks to Stanley Mining Tanzania. The boys from Stanley have been out at the orphanage in the scorching sun for the past two weekends bringing out all the equipment for us, and setting it up. Now the children can see at night, and we have running water inside the house. People from Stanley Mining also make up part of a group of people who are undertaking the challenging Kilimanjaro Marathon with the intention of raising money for Hands of Mercy. The money raised by our marathon runners will go toward some new beds and mattresses for the children, as currently the children are sleeping 4 to a bed.
Any questions, let me know. I gots to go back and swim.
4.16.2007
4.12.2007
Pawan Kumar
I decided to take Pawan for breakfast this morning. I've noticed him hanging around the temples and my hotel for the past few days and this morning he asked me for money from my country for his "coin collection". I didn't have any Canadian change but he was pretty happy with the Vietnamese money I scrounged up (I had to explain where Vietnam was because he had never heard of it!).
He followed me around talking to me about Pushkar and helped me find a place that would do a cash advance on my Visa. I knew he was probably pretty hungry (his mother doesn't make breakfast, there is only food enough for dinner) so I invited him to eat with me at a tourist cafe. The owners wouldn't let us sit upstairs, but rather to the side so nobody could see us!
He's only 12 years old and he spends his mornings begging from the tourists..spare change, chapati, biscuits... today he is trying to get a new pair of shoes. In the afternoons he goes to school because a family from Spain paid to send him for the next five years. His father works sewing clothes for tourist shops but drinks away his income. His mother doesn't do anything. The family relies on the money that Pawan can bring in so they can eat, pay rent (about $18CND per month) and buy other necessities. Today was his first chocolate ice cream shake ever and I practically had to twist his arm that I didn't mind.
Pawan has two younger brothers, which he won't allow to work. He thinks they are to young (although he was younger when he started begging at seven years old) and wants to keep them away from this type of work. He doesn't have a glimmer of childhood in his eyes and it's not that easy to get him to laugh. He told me that his biggest dreams are to be a pilot (he did laugh when I thought he said Pirate) and to live in Europe. He says that they won't come true, dreams like that won't be possible for him, so he prays to God every day that he will be reborn a European in his next life. He doesn't like living in India at all. I asked him what he does for fun, does he play football or games? He actually looked confused and asked me what I meant!
The story is the same for all of the kids we've interacted with over the last few months. It really teaches you a lot about compassion and tolerance and I struggle with it everyday. Some days I get so annoyed with these children! Not a day goes by where I don't get harassed for spare change or food constantly and it begins to wear at you. Sometimes I pretend they don't exist, sometimes I tell them no and to leave me alone and other times I melt and buy them food or drink. Every once and a while I feel like screaming and stomping like a five year old because I want to help every single child and ignoring them feels so wrong and it is so frustrating to be faced with it and be totally useless. I know I shouldn't even buy them food because it doesn't teach them anything. It doesn't make them work harder to go to school and try and get a job. Pawan said it is not possible for him to get a job in a shop and he tries to work for the tourist authority as an official guide, but obviously he is too young and they can't hire him. He has friends from Australia and a week ago he received a letter from them. They had sent him photos and 1000 rupee which is about $30 bucks. The postman opened the letter and stole the money! I asked him if he got mad at the postman for stealing and he said no, that the Gods watch the postman and when he dies the Gods will get him in trouble for stealing from a poor boy and his family.
Everyday that he goes to town to beg he prays on his way in that the Gods will be happy with him today and the tourists will give him money. He doesn't have a favorite God because he is too worried that he will anger the others if he favours one. I asked him if he ever gets mad at God that he is poor but he says no, only sometimes he gets irritated but he would never be officially mad at God.
He wishes he could learn to swim, and I would happily teach him but they won't let him in the pool at my hotel. The sign says Indians 9am-11am, Tourists 11am-6pm. Imagine?
The hardest part about travelling like this is learning how to face how real the world is outside of our cozy lives and deal with the guilt of having just about everything and not having very much appreciation for it!
On a much brighter note, we had dinner the other night in a hotel restaurant. The tables were low to the ground and you sit on cushions around the perimeter of a sandy garden. There was a cow in one corner that the staff kept chasing out of the kitchen, a giant German Shepherd tried to cozy up in our laps and then a cat took a huge poop in the middle of the restaurant!! UM! Can someone call the health authorities please :)
AND the guy with the cow with five legs put a curse on me this morning because I wouldn't give him money. Dammit!
He followed me around talking to me about Pushkar and helped me find a place that would do a cash advance on my Visa. I knew he was probably pretty hungry (his mother doesn't make breakfast, there is only food enough for dinner) so I invited him to eat with me at a tourist cafe. The owners wouldn't let us sit upstairs, but rather to the side so nobody could see us!
He's only 12 years old and he spends his mornings begging from the tourists..spare change, chapati, biscuits... today he is trying to get a new pair of shoes. In the afternoons he goes to school because a family from Spain paid to send him for the next five years. His father works sewing clothes for tourist shops but drinks away his income. His mother doesn't do anything. The family relies on the money that Pawan can bring in so they can eat, pay rent (about $18CND per month) and buy other necessities. Today was his first chocolate ice cream shake ever and I practically had to twist his arm that I didn't mind.
Pawan has two younger brothers, which he won't allow to work. He thinks they are to young (although he was younger when he started begging at seven years old) and wants to keep them away from this type of work. He doesn't have a glimmer of childhood in his eyes and it's not that easy to get him to laugh. He told me that his biggest dreams are to be a pilot (he did laugh when I thought he said Pirate) and to live in Europe. He says that they won't come true, dreams like that won't be possible for him, so he prays to God every day that he will be reborn a European in his next life. He doesn't like living in India at all. I asked him what he does for fun, does he play football or games? He actually looked confused and asked me what I meant!
The story is the same for all of the kids we've interacted with over the last few months. It really teaches you a lot about compassion and tolerance and I struggle with it everyday. Some days I get so annoyed with these children! Not a day goes by where I don't get harassed for spare change or food constantly and it begins to wear at you. Sometimes I pretend they don't exist, sometimes I tell them no and to leave me alone and other times I melt and buy them food or drink. Every once and a while I feel like screaming and stomping like a five year old because I want to help every single child and ignoring them feels so wrong and it is so frustrating to be faced with it and be totally useless. I know I shouldn't even buy them food because it doesn't teach them anything. It doesn't make them work harder to go to school and try and get a job. Pawan said it is not possible for him to get a job in a shop and he tries to work for the tourist authority as an official guide, but obviously he is too young and they can't hire him. He has friends from Australia and a week ago he received a letter from them. They had sent him photos and 1000 rupee which is about $30 bucks. The postman opened the letter and stole the money! I asked him if he got mad at the postman for stealing and he said no, that the Gods watch the postman and when he dies the Gods will get him in trouble for stealing from a poor boy and his family.
Everyday that he goes to town to beg he prays on his way in that the Gods will be happy with him today and the tourists will give him money. He doesn't have a favorite God because he is too worried that he will anger the others if he favours one. I asked him if he ever gets mad at God that he is poor but he says no, only sometimes he gets irritated but he would never be officially mad at God.
He wishes he could learn to swim, and I would happily teach him but they won't let him in the pool at my hotel. The sign says Indians 9am-11am, Tourists 11am-6pm. Imagine?
The hardest part about travelling like this is learning how to face how real the world is outside of our cozy lives and deal with the guilt of having just about everything and not having very much appreciation for it!
On a much brighter note, we had dinner the other night in a hotel restaurant. The tables were low to the ground and you sit on cushions around the perimeter of a sandy garden. There was a cow in one corner that the staff kept chasing out of the kitchen, a giant German Shepherd tried to cozy up in our laps and then a cat took a huge poop in the middle of the restaurant!! UM! Can someone call the health authorities please :)
AND the guy with the cow with five legs put a curse on me this morning because I wouldn't give him money. Dammit!
4.11.2007
Hindu Gods and Painted Cows
There is always something happening in India. It is a land of hilarious contrast and contradictions of which you can't even begin to imagine. As I type this there is an ornately decorated cow peering in at me. He has five legs and his owner is trying to convince me to come out and take a picture of them for good luck. Um, yeah been there done that. (Besides, I've previously explained my new fear of cows made stronger last night when a baby cow suddenly ran straight at Martin and head butted him from behind). A lady in a purple sari is screaming at someone at the top of her lungs and some man just walked by and farted, burped and horked all at the same time. Impressive.
Walking down the street is kind of like being in the middle of a circus. You are trying to avoid fresh cow paddies and mysterious wet patches, dodge motorbikes that zoom around the small zig zagged streets at full speed, painfully ignore the children begging for rupees or milk who endlessly yank on your arm all the while trying to not breath when you pass the outdoor urinals (which they encourage the men to use, instead of a wall or the gutter). I'm still to discover where the woman go. The men who stand outside of their shops constantly leer at you and try and convince you that you need to buy something as you wander past. Dogs with three legs run around chasing cows and tourists before curling up in a cozy pothole smack in the middle of the street, despite the zooming rickshaws and motorbikes whirring past. It's a bit exhausting sometimes. Add the intense heat and your day ends with your head spinning as you try and take in everything you saw, the people you met and the new experiences you had that constantly blow your mind. I absolutely love it!.
I am chilling for a few days in a small town called Pushkar in Rajisthan. It's semi desert so it's freaking hot, but dry heat so it's manageable. I have a room with a view (about 200 white temples, a lake and mountains) for the exorbitant price of $9 Canadian dollars and I have a big pool to laze around. I'm planning on doing yoga and swimming and reading for a week. There is no way to ever truly escape India (perhaps a 10 day meditation course in the mountains where I am sure I would officially lose it so I think I will pass). This is my best effort for calm. It's quite hilarious that a country known for yoga and meditation is so mental and full of activity. Actually, it's no wonder because I don't know how they would survive without it.
Pushkar is a strange place full of backpackers and the tackiness they bring with them such as Internet shops, Falafal stalls, kids selling hash and colourful shops filled with baggy clothing and silver jewellery. Mix that with 400 temples, families in colourful saris on holiday to worship at the temples and bathe in the lake to wash away their bad karma and Sadhu's who are making the pilgrimage here to worship Shiva or their god of choice. It certainly makes for interesting.
Pushkar is a sacred holy city for Hindu's. It's one of many pilgrimage spots in India, and the only place in the world that has a Brahma temple. (It's supposed to be the only one because his wife, Saraswati, put a curse on him when she realized that he married another woman; the curse being that he could not be worshipped anywhere else in the world; anyway, we hear a rumour there is also a Brahma temple in Bangkok. I don't think anyone should tell Saraswati and I certainly hope she doesn't read my blog, because I wouldn't want to anger Hindu Gods). To further give you the Coles Notes (or Bill and Ted) version Brahma is the tubular dude who created the universe. There are about 450 million gods who are technically just a representation of him since he is off doing meditation somewhere more peaceful. The most important Gods are Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. There is also a God with an Elephant head, Shiva's son, by the name of Ganesh and he seems high on the cool scale.
If I understand correctly the main principles of Hinduism are Karma, Reincarnation and Moksha. The idea being that you are want to live your life so that you can eventually escape the cycle of rebirth by being borne into higher castes and so on. One huge objection I have is that women can generally not be liberated but only hope that they are reborn as a man and will be liberated in the next life. Being a woman in India is never easy. The caste system basically defines who you can marry and what jobs you can do (is completely illegal but still prevalent) and has India completely backwards and inside out.
Anyway, the pool and a book are calling me so I suppose I should get back to it ;)
Walking down the street is kind of like being in the middle of a circus. You are trying to avoid fresh cow paddies and mysterious wet patches, dodge motorbikes that zoom around the small zig zagged streets at full speed, painfully ignore the children begging for rupees or milk who endlessly yank on your arm all the while trying to not breath when you pass the outdoor urinals (which they encourage the men to use, instead of a wall or the gutter). I'm still to discover where the woman go. The men who stand outside of their shops constantly leer at you and try and convince you that you need to buy something as you wander past. Dogs with three legs run around chasing cows and tourists before curling up in a cozy pothole smack in the middle of the street, despite the zooming rickshaws and motorbikes whirring past. It's a bit exhausting sometimes. Add the intense heat and your day ends with your head spinning as you try and take in everything you saw, the people you met and the new experiences you had that constantly blow your mind. I absolutely love it!.
I am chilling for a few days in a small town called Pushkar in Rajisthan. It's semi desert so it's freaking hot, but dry heat so it's manageable. I have a room with a view (about 200 white temples, a lake and mountains) for the exorbitant price of $9 Canadian dollars and I have a big pool to laze around. I'm planning on doing yoga and swimming and reading for a week. There is no way to ever truly escape India (perhaps a 10 day meditation course in the mountains where I am sure I would officially lose it so I think I will pass). This is my best effort for calm. It's quite hilarious that a country known for yoga and meditation is so mental and full of activity. Actually, it's no wonder because I don't know how they would survive without it.
Pushkar is a strange place full of backpackers and the tackiness they bring with them such as Internet shops, Falafal stalls, kids selling hash and colourful shops filled with baggy clothing and silver jewellery. Mix that with 400 temples, families in colourful saris on holiday to worship at the temples and bathe in the lake to wash away their bad karma and Sadhu's who are making the pilgrimage here to worship Shiva or their god of choice. It certainly makes for interesting.
Pushkar is a sacred holy city for Hindu's. It's one of many pilgrimage spots in India, and the only place in the world that has a Brahma temple. (It's supposed to be the only one because his wife, Saraswati, put a curse on him when she realized that he married another woman; the curse being that he could not be worshipped anywhere else in the world; anyway, we hear a rumour there is also a Brahma temple in Bangkok. I don't think anyone should tell Saraswati and I certainly hope she doesn't read my blog, because I wouldn't want to anger Hindu Gods). To further give you the Coles Notes (or Bill and Ted) version Brahma is the tubular dude who created the universe. There are about 450 million gods who are technically just a representation of him since he is off doing meditation somewhere more peaceful. The most important Gods are Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. There is also a God with an Elephant head, Shiva's son, by the name of Ganesh and he seems high on the cool scale.
If I understand correctly the main principles of Hinduism are Karma, Reincarnation and Moksha. The idea being that you are want to live your life so that you can eventually escape the cycle of rebirth by being borne into higher castes and so on. One huge objection I have is that women can generally not be liberated but only hope that they are reborn as a man and will be liberated in the next life. Being a woman in India is never easy. The caste system basically defines who you can marry and what jobs you can do (is completely illegal but still prevalent) and has India completely backwards and inside out.
Anyway, the pool and a book are calling me so I suppose I should get back to it ;)
4.02.2007
Tibetan Radio??
First of all, I thought I should let you all know that my massage this morning was fantastic. I lay there while Denise had needles inserted in her leg and we could hear Tibetan chanting in the background (which was amazing and relaxing)... I had to fill the time somehow! I might marry my Tibetan massage therapist and bring him back to Canada with me. I am totally in love with him. :)
So. They have this dude who stands at the town centre with a megaphone and a few times a day he shouts out the news to the town. Information on town meetings, the weather, political situation in Tibet. I don't really know. I guess it's their version of a radio. It's really hilarious :)
So. They have this dude who stands at the town centre with a megaphone and a few times a day he shouts out the news to the town. Information on town meetings, the weather, political situation in Tibet. I don't really know. I guess it's their version of a radio. It's really hilarious :)
4.01.2007
I got butted by a cow!
Denise and I are currently in McLeod Ganj (A lot of Tibetan refugees fled here after the Chinese occupation of their country fifty years ago.. remember Brad Pitt in Seven Years In Tibet ? Yup, this is one of the places they came.. I can't find *him* anywhere though..?.).
It's a much needed break from the heat and we wanted to do some trekking; which we did yesterday and the day before! We climbed to 2900m and played in the snow in the Himalayas!! It was four hours (straight up) and about three back down..we were hobbling like we were 300 years old by the end.
I'm not sure if it is the altitude, a lack of protein and veg, wonky food or just overall exhaustion from travelling but we were both deliriously sick last night and can barely move today. Perhaps we are just officially tired :) Good thing we are planning on spending a week here to recover and started our day off with a healing Tibetan massage ($6) and then lazed around drinking tea and reading books at a cafe. Denise just had some acupuncture done and we booked more massages for the morning. Just in case.
The last (days, weeks?) have been sooooooooooooooo busy. I've been on a search to find my grandmother's past which was really exciting! She was born in Belgaum and also lived and went to school in Mumbai (Bombay). A lot of the buildings from the British occupation are still evident (mind you they are quite decrepit). Being in Belgaum was a taste of 'real' India - minus the tourists and the Pizza Huts and the western dressed locals. There were no other tourists. The children literally mobbed us if we took out our camera. We felt like celebrities, it was crazy. Everyone was inviting us to their homes, they wanted us to take picture of their pets.. crazy!
Next we were on to Mumbai where we found ourselves working on the set of a commercial as extras (paid!) and then being Peroni Angels (paid!) for the opening of fashion week at the best night club in town (they checked our taxi for bombs and we had to walk in through metal detectors!). We basically had to take pictures on the red carpet with all of the Bollywood stars and models. We constantly had six photographers shooting us at all times. It was maybe the most bizarre experience of my life. :)
Oh yeah, and I got head butted by a cow. With horns. Yooouch!!!
It's a much needed break from the heat and we wanted to do some trekking; which we did yesterday and the day before! We climbed to 2900m and played in the snow in the Himalayas!! It was four hours (straight up) and about three back down..we were hobbling like we were 300 years old by the end.
I'm not sure if it is the altitude, a lack of protein and veg, wonky food or just overall exhaustion from travelling but we were both deliriously sick last night and can barely move today. Perhaps we are just officially tired :) Good thing we are planning on spending a week here to recover and started our day off with a healing Tibetan massage ($6) and then lazed around drinking tea and reading books at a cafe. Denise just had some acupuncture done and we booked more massages for the morning. Just in case.
The last (days, weeks?) have been sooooooooooooooo busy. I've been on a search to find my grandmother's past which was really exciting! She was born in Belgaum and also lived and went to school in Mumbai (Bombay). A lot of the buildings from the British occupation are still evident (mind you they are quite decrepit). Being in Belgaum was a taste of 'real' India - minus the tourists and the Pizza Huts and the western dressed locals. There were no other tourists. The children literally mobbed us if we took out our camera. We felt like celebrities, it was crazy. Everyone was inviting us to their homes, they wanted us to take picture of their pets.. crazy!
Next we were on to Mumbai where we found ourselves working on the set of a commercial as extras (paid!) and then being Peroni Angels (paid!) for the opening of fashion week at the best night club in town (they checked our taxi for bombs and we had to walk in through metal detectors!). We basically had to take pictures on the red carpet with all of the Bollywood stars and models. We constantly had six photographers shooting us at all times. It was maybe the most bizarre experience of my life. :)
Oh yeah, and I got head butted by a cow. With horns. Yooouch!!!
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