11th January 2019

11th January 2019

The team plan for today was to get ourselves off fairly early to the play centre/ elderly day centre at Pachaikili. Unfortunately after almost a night of no sleep ( many trains, flying creatures flitting) I did not wake until almost 11, so the plan had to be revised. No matter, this is India, everything runs late, very much my kind of country! First call was to see the computer man who did whizzy things and enabled me to connect my iPad to wifi, as well as my iPhone ( but nb, not at the same time!) Next we needed an auto ( short for auto rickshaw ie tuk tuk), then we were off, bumpity-bump, rattle and crash ( very nearly!) and prayers to any god we could think of... 

Suddenly, after the terrors of buses/ lorries/ lunatics on the main road here we were at our destination, the reason we return and love to be here: the Pachaikili centre ( green parrot in Tamil). We had arrived so late that the elderly had had their lunches and gone home, and the children were asleep on their mats in the inner room. So we were able to greet our dear friends, the staff and supporters of the centre, hurling ourselves at them in delight. In their quieter Indian way they were clearly equally thrilled to see us. Hugs, kisses, and gifts for Pam and I - very pretty flower baskets which Rani, one of the teachers, had made for us. We had only just discovered that Rani has recently had open heart surgery, at CMC, the huge and prestigious hospital nearby in Vellore. 

 

The children having their nutritious milky snacks after their midday snooze, a new thing introduced when it was realised that some of the children were very much underweight. The new head of Ruhsa, Dr Santidani, had given the go-ahead for this, declaring that the funds could be found later.

Brian can never resist playing with the children!

The wonderful team who work at the Pachaikili centre, from left, Prya and Rani, teachers; Indra and Vimula Self Help Group volunteers who prepare food for the elderly; and Sarida, our hard-working ayah. 

Once the welcome greetings had been given we were then immediately into a flood of invitation  for us to visit our friends who live locally and who will now be in a competition to give us the most and best hospitality. The diary is soon filling up, with breakfast, lunch and tea dates! How wonderful and what a privilege to have such a community of friends. 

We watched as the children woke, looked with some anxiety and some curiosity at us, then queued for Sarida to comb their hair and wipe their faces. Time then for the milky snack which - thanks to regime-change at Ruhsa- has been introduced twice daily for the children, with one egg snack each day also. I'm beginning really to look forward to meeting our new HOD next Monday!