Didn't we have a luvverly day...

January 21st 

Today was annual trip day with the pre-school and as last year we went to Peryair park (Big park) next to the fort in Vellore. We had a brilliant day with the children and their mums and grannies and one dad, and Joseph as our RUHSA man, plus Morgan the boy-racer lunatic RUHSA driver. It was a sticky humid day which had us worn out before we started, but our teachers  and our husbands seemed to manage to find tremendous energy from somewhere. Highlights of the day were the rides on the car roundabout and the train and the fun and games with the parachute. The very best moment which had us hysterical was when Brian, in full sports teacher mode, made Padmini the teacher do five press-ups as a forfeit for having run round the parachute instead of walking. She is such a great sport, game for anything, and in their culture such behaviour by women in particular is pretty much unheard of. But all of the  mums and grannies and children absolutely loved it, and none more so than Rani, the other teacher. What lovely lovely people they are and how fortunate are we to have found staff like this and to have the chance to mix in this community. 

 We're on our way in the RUHSA bus!

Passing a typical vendor with a serious load on his motorbike

 

Taken of BTC, for Carolyn, as we whizzed by- (more will be taken tomorrow). Very Sleeping Beauty, the lovely grounds and tailoring factory.

 ha ha, 'Two wheeler is for two'! ha ha

 

Rabbits in a cage at the park, looking better fed and plumper than most animals you see in India

 So  you thought you'd get away without flowers today did you, Pam and Sally? Slightly on the side Sue Pascoe? Does it help make us look any less ridiculous? We get lots of staring and giggles from Indian women as we walk past them. I wonder why?

Family group

 

This year we were able to buy a ride on the cars, instead of having to push it manually! One little boy cried for ages afterwards as he just wanted to stay on it.

Naturally our three staff had been up early this morning to make just a small picnic lunch for us!! Padmini then started to interrogate Andy about which rice he preferred until I nudged him into saying 'Ooh, all are very lovely'!

 

Just look how much those children are enjoying the parachute. Heaven knows how Andy, Brian, the teachers and parents coped with standing in full sun at 2 o'clock, let alone the running and press-ups that came later!

 

 Unfortunately I only have Joseph doing his forfeit press-ups on photo. Andy, Brian and Padmini are on video. See Brian here being the stern sports teacher!

 

We had such a great day but I will say that all four of the '5 on a bus pass in India' were asleep within twenty minutes of our return to RUHSA, under the whirring fans for a good couple of hours!

Spring cleaning at Pachaikili

January 19^th and 20^th

 

We have had a busy couple of days mostly in the Pachaikili Centre, as we wanted to look at all the play materials to see what needed to be repaired, what thrown out, and what needed to re-stocked. When we went in yesterday we found that Sekar was there, with a young girl student from a Business Management course in Vellore. Sekar had her observing and recording all that Rani (who is care-taker for the elderly) did during the morning, as some sort of task management exercise (sorry, not my area of expertise, can’t be more specific!)

Playing with a new basket ball hoop

I was able to give the teachers the photo book which I made last March of our day at the park, last January. Unfortunately it had never arrived at Padmini’s address so I had another one made and sent to Ruth’s address in England and she had brought it out with her. The teachers and then the children were all absolutely delighted with the book and I’m hoping it will become a favourite for them to browse.

Beautiful Pongal pot and sugar cane decoration on the floor of the centre

Children enjoying the book of their outing and calling out 'Tata' to grandad Andy as he arrived to see them

Just after this a rather loud woman appeared and the children were lined up to see her. She turned out to be the local balwadi teacher and she comes at this time each year (Jan 17^th is the official date) to see all the children in the village and to give them their anti-polio drops. Once done, she marks their small finger nail with an indelible marker pen! Some children had been absent and missed their Vitamin A drops on September 9^th, so she caught up with them. 

 

In the afternoon after a lunch which  they had to stretch to feed us, because Padmini had never received my text saying that we would be coming to the centre that day, Sekar returned with Joseph on his pillion, and we were able to have a meeting in the small room whilst the children and teachers used the larger room. As always Sekar was reassuring about tasks that needed still to be done and with which he would give us a hand, e.g ordering toys and a camera ( to be used to record children’s progress);  making sure that a hand rail is fitted for access to the centre for the elderly;  trying to do something about Rani, who doesn’t  really do much to occupy the elderly, but instead is always helping with cooking and getting them to help also. He is going to talk to Rakesh about organising a training day for all the caretakers for the elderly and I asked if he could tell Rakesh about the success of the parachute and about the possibilities of art actitivities. 

Elders lending a hand with the children in the sandpit

We asked for clarification about how the account for the centre is managed. The women from the SHG put in a request to RUHSA for what is needed for the following month, according to how many working days in that month. The money goes into their account in the bank and they withdraw it weekly. The three Pachaikili paid staff ie two teachers and ayah had at last yesterday received their Christmas annual bonus of one month’s salary. This is a good month late, due to inefficient systems in RUHSA. Immediately of course the other staff members ie the care-taker for elderly, Rani, and the two SHG women who cook for the elderly, knew about these bonuses (which we had negotiated during our last visit in Jan 2015, after the difficult business of the sari gifting problem). Rani was asking us straight away why they should not get a bonus. This is a difficult matter because Rani is employed under exactly the same terms as the other care-takers for the elderly and the SHG women volunteers similarly. All that they earn is their daily payment for doing the cooking, but Joseph pointed out that they also have to budget for the food and that in recent years the cost of food has rocketed. Nonetheless the women in our group have never lowered the standard of food on offer and our elders receive egg twice a week and chicken once a week, which is much more than at the other centres and therefore probably means that our women are subsidising the meals out of their own daily payment. How we would love to give them something as a thank you, if not a proper bonus, but we know after last year’s problems with thank-you gifts that we just cannot do this. 

Today, 20^th Jan we arrived early at the centre as the task of investigating materials and equipment had barely been started yesterday and I was anxious to get it done asap. The team were brilliant and we got every cupboard sorted and cleaned out by lunch time. I think that in this culture people do not have pristine homes, but tend to live with a level of dust and of disorder, because they don’t have much space and they are usually quite crowded in their homes. Thus, although I know our teachers are very careful with the play materials, the cupboards were in quite a muddle and certainly needed the spring (Pongal) clean which we gave them this morning. When I said to Pam that I think I need to talk to them on Saturday at the training day about setting aside a regular time to tidy and clean equipment, Pam suggested that perhaps the elderly might help with this. 

Rani was working on her own today- or with only Boona to help- because Padmini has had to go to hospital because her father has been taken ill with a fever and very low blood pressure. When it came to doing her small group (who were using the modelling clay we brought over) she just set the other group, whom Padmini would have been supervising, to play in the sandpit. As I walked by I realised that they had no toys to play with in the sand, so I gave them all rakes and spades and cups and then started to fetch them water in a jug from the kitchen, so that they could make the sand wetter. It was hilarious because one little girl then wanted more, so asked me for ‘ kunjum tannee, Ayah’ ie a small amount of water Ayah!’ Since I was performing an ayah’s role, I must be called ayah! Yesterday we had all been called ‘Partee’ and ‘Tata’ as we arrived, ie Granny and Grandad! Then as I was supposed still to be involved in the big clean-up going on next door, I asked two of the elderly women if they would play with the children and they came happily to sit in the sand with them and one took over fetching the water. Ooh I thought, if I was here for a few weeks more I could get these elders involved daily doing different things with the children and of course both age groups would love it. 

 One of the elderly women pouring water for the children in the sandpit

Meanwhile Balaji had appeared to see us because he has to leave tonight to go to Chennai for a month’s working. He is very sad that he won’t see us again now before we leave and Pam set him to helping us to try to stop him from being upset. We had realised we needed more plastic trays for the toys and Balaji offered to take Pam on his motorbike to buy them and some new items for water play such as jugs, funnels and sieves. We are probably (definitely) breaking RUHSA rules doing this, but I decided that since RUHSA rules can mean that things just don’t get done (e.g new wheels for the wooden vehicles, asked for last Jan, still not obtained!) we were going to go ahead and be damned. Well, hopefully not... Off went Pam, delighted, as many decades ago she was a biker girl! She returned an hour later triumphant with all that we needed and having had a few adventures along the way (of course!) She had had ‘two small coffees’ at one person’s shop and at other places been given free diaries (one of which featured a full colour page of Donald Trump!!) She said they was precious little chance of her expedition being kept quiet since the whole of KVK must now know where she’d been and what she’d bought- of course!

Weighing and measuring the elderly!

Just after lunch someone arrived – from RUHSA I presume- with some weighing scales and Rani (teacher) proceeded to weigh each of the elderly people and then to measure their height. These checks are done six monthly she told me. Mind you Andy stood against the  mark which is supposed to indicate on the wall where 6ft is, and he was several inches below it, so I fear the measurements are fairly approximate. 

We left after a hard morning of work but a very satisfying one and the play centre now feels much better organised already. On the way home we called in to say our farewells to Balaji and to wish him well for his work in Chennai and for when the baby is born in May. I have given him strict instructions about informing us immediately the baby arrives and bless him, he checked what time would be ok to phone me, ie when it would not be the middle of the night in France.

A whirlwind meeting with FOV visitors

January 18^th

 

Today we met with Ruth and Gareth Tuckwell, from FOV UK, who are staying in Vellore for a week at CMC. Ruth has just taken over from Richard Smith as administrator of FOV UK and she is visiting for the first time, being given a whistle-stop induction of many of the places and projects currently being supported by FOV. They only flew into Chennai yesterday morning and I must say Ruth did have that rather starry look people have during their first encounter with the reality of India. They have a very tight schedule so are doing everything at the gallop, which isn’t quite how things work in India! 

We had just an hour for them to discuss with Dr Rita those projects which she has proposed to FOV for support this year. More detail was required by the committee on some aspects, before they could feel quite satisfied with giving support. The first project was providing housing for poor elderly (attenders at the Elderly Day centres) who have nowhere, or who need repairs done on their accommodation. In discussion it became clear that the housing would be very simple, just one room and a toilet, and that it would be on the land where the elders currently live (perhaps near to family or on family land). It would not be a CMC building and would be simple and cheap. RUHSA would work with local leaders to ensure that once the building was erected for the elderly person they would be able to remain there and there would be no suggestion of family members purloining it for themselves. (See previous blog re the story of Elamma at Kavanur). Gareth seemed happy with these explanations and I think FOV will take this project on. Of course we have seen during our visits that because of the terrible floods in December in Tamil Nadu there is even more need of this for people who have lost their homes or whose homes have been badly flood -damaged. Gareth thought that if Rita could get an estimated price for the type of building they envisage, then in future fund-raising it might be the sort of thing which would attract donors, ie to give a donation to build one simple home for an elderly person. 

The second project under discussion was the suggestion by Richard Rajamanickam, who is a retired audiologist and who lives part of the year in England and part in Vellore.He, like us, is on the VRCT sub-committee of FOV. ( Don't worry if you are confused by all the intials; you can still get the gist!)  Richard has obtained lots of hearing aids very cheaply and has been testing the elderly in our centres and fitting them with aids, if necessary. He is now suggesting two new age-groups for hearing-screening and intervention: firstly screening all babies born at RUHSA hospital (some 1300 per year); and secondly screening school-aged children in the schools in the block (approx. 1,000 up to the age of 13. There was some discussion about this but eventually Gareth suggested that Richard and Dr Rita need to work up this proposal in more detail than time allows us today and to put it to the committee when we meet in October. 

Thirdly we talked about the proposal re eye care, for those affected due to diabetes. Rita was able to make clear that this is aimed at one specific group, those who have diabetes and are in danger of developing retinopathy – ie damage to the retina which can happen with diabetes. The project would be to screen and test at-risk patients and to give treatment at an early stage, so preventing  serious damage. Once she had explained this Gareth felt sure that FOV would be happy to support it. 

Gareth asked if there was anything else to discuss, but with the hurried air of a man who hoped the answer was no. I felt I needed to mention our plan for a counselling group for young women, to be held fortnightly in early evening at Pachaikili centre. I gabbled as fast as I could and Dr Rita and others around the table made sympathetic noises of support; but in the end the time schedule won and Gareth said we must wind up now but I must put the proposal to the committee for and support next year. This is a downside of being under the auspices of FOV, I suppose. Previously we might have had this idea during a visit and told RUHSA to go ahead and implement it, confident that back home in the UK the Bishopston Kuppam Link would give the support. It is a pity that, given the very small cost involved (Dr Rita has said only travel expenses for the staff running the group), we cannot just go ahead and make a start. Patience Sally, patience! But this is a potential life-saver, so it is important; and I am sure that it will be supported eventually. 

We then went to the canteen for a specially-prepared and quite delicious lunch, also attended by Matthew, Sekar and a couple of other senior RUHSA staff, before poor Ruth and Gareth disappeared rapidly to their next meeting in Vellore.  

A brief blog...

January 17th

Finding myself having spent (wasted) much time writing a blog for today which has vanished into the ether, I am just going to precis the day's happenings very briefly and add a few photos, since it is time for bed here in hot and sticky India.

We went to Padmini's ( Pachaikili teacher) house for lunch and a third consecutive day of Pongal face-stuffing. Delicious meal, as always, and good fun here too because Padmini gets by with her English well and has a very ready wit. Her husband Ramesh is also a nice chap; and today we met Padmini's mother for the first time. She had come specially from Katpadi to help Padmini prepare the feast and to meet us. After lunch we had the compulsory looking at photo albums, followed by the equally compulsory dressing us up (well, Pam and I anyway) in saris, with stickers, flowers and gold jewellery. All this horror then to be recorded in photos and then paraded through the street to Raghu's house, where we were expected for coffee at four (second visit) and of course one coffee never going to be sufficient, so another dish or two of payasam to be consumed. This  is a very sweet milky dessert made with vermicelli and the odd cashew nut and raisin and seems to feature specially at Pongal. More ghastly photos to be taken as Raghu in Thailand has to see the full awfulness on Whatsapp!

Whilst we were being dressed up, Andy and Brian enjoyed playing keepy-uppy with some village lads, who were greatly amused!

There was a real air of holiday in the village and as we have often seen before, a group of young men, this time including Suresh who was trying not to laugh too much at us, were sitting on the ground in the middle of the street playing a chalked out traditional game. As we made our escape in time, just, to beat the fall of dusk and the arrival of the mozzies, we cycled off through Kavanur and all along the way people in their best Pongal clothes were sitting out and called out to us merrily, Happy Pongal, or hi, or vanicum! We have, as you can tell, well and truly celebrated Pongal this long weekend, with excessive eating reminiscent of the worst excesses of Christmas. It is devoutly to be hoped that tomorrow will require less over-eating, though I fear that Andy's dream of a nice crisp salad is not going to come true.

Another day of Pongal feasting.

January 16^th

 

A late blogging tonight as I have only just decided that today warrants a record, after I looked at my photos and thought they could tell an interesting story. First of all, here is a photo of our laundry! I know Jude Brown will be very interested to see how cleverly Mr W has strung the line this year and how much better it is as we have brought ample pegs with us. We have to wash our clothes with minimal detergent and in tepid water at the best and so we would not be winning any prizes for cleanliness or shining whiteness.

 

Next, a photo of the inside of Paul’s ‘hotel’ or café on the edge of the RUHSA campus. It looks quite attractive doesn’t it? And the view from inside out looks quite idyllic too. But of course you can’t see how scruffy and frankly filthy the place is, with piles of rubbish just strewn everywhere. Now that windows have been added at the side we don’t get as many crows visiting or chickens wandering through, however, so a definite improvement! And we can keep abreast of the India versus Australia cricket match on the ever- present TV. 

 t

 Today we were invited to lunch at the home of Santi, mother of the original Candle Fund girls (see previous blog). The youngest and most successful girl, Vijayalakshmi, was home for Pongal holiday from her work in Chennai and so was Suresh, who married the middle girl, Vijayakumar. We had a delicious lunch, with several different vegetable dishes and a hard-boiled egg. Whilst the women were preparing and serving the food Suresh talked to us and I learned for the first time that his father has not been a good father at all, that he never encouraged his studies or took any interest in him or his brother (who left school with minimal qualifications and now works as a general labourer in Chennai). Suresh left school after his secondary education due to ‘some family problems’ and subsequently had to continue his studies whilst working. For several years whilst he was working in Mahaballipuram, on the coast, he worked all week and studied at the weekends for his degree. I knew that he and Vijaya had been in love for many years before their marriage but that they waited until both families were happy for them to marry (as they are of different castes this did not happen at first). So when I asked how he had managed to keep in touch with Vijaya during all those years of working away and studying he said, ah that is a very interesting story but I cannot tell you in front of my mother in law! I tried to encourage him to say more, given that Santi doesn’t speak very much English, but he could not be drawn. I would really like to hear that story one day!

 

Vijaya had left us at two o’ clock, to go by scooter the eight kilometres to her work at the hospital as a nurse. Suresh told me he had bought her the scooter after their marriage as before she had always to be catching a bus. The baby Ajeeta who is a lively little one already, walking everywhere and talking at only just over one year old, was looked after by her father and by all the other women at different times. She is clearly a very much loved little girl. Indian children growing up in this kind of family environment do not want for love and attention and their mothers do not have to feel isolated as a young mother in the UK might be. Ajeeta also obviously loves her very lively boy cousins, Uma's boys, and whom she already calls 'Annan', Tamil for 'brother'. Within the Indian family system cousins are viewed as very close to being a  sister or brother.

 Umamagashwary, Santi's oldest girl, modelling Pam's hat. She is full of fun and the family extrovert I think. 

I remarked when I was taking photos of the family that Santi had three beautiful girls and she said: When I had three daughters people said how unlucky I was not to have a son to look after me. But look what has happened with my girls!'. She does have so  much to be proud of. 

All in all this was a delightful visit and a good day. We travelled by auto, because Brian can’t cycle safely with his bad eyes, and en route had managed to get some different eye drops for him to use alongside his first prescription. Pam had bumped into the young woman RUHSA doctor in the office this morning, who had seen her yesterday re cystitis and she had suggested Brian might need further treatment since his right eye is now badly swollen, although there is an improvement in the left eye. Suresh told us it was all a question of keeping positive so now if ever I mention anything negative about how his eye is looking Brian tells me I must be positive- so here’s hoping for a vast improvement! Pam meanwhile feels much better and is glad she went quickly at the first symptoms to get some treatment.  

Bye-bye lovely family- Oh and I forgot to mention that Pam awarded Santi her Mary Berry award for the fab brinjal and tomato curry.