India 2015
Our Return to the UK
After 12 wonderful days in Kolkatta, our Udayan mission has come to an end. We set off for Kolkata airport at 5am this morning and we are still travelling. We are currently an hour into the Dubai to Gatwick flight on an Airbus A380, living the…
Brother Gaston’s Ashram
On the itinerary for today was visiting ICOD, which is a home for women and children who have been affected by sexual abuse, another traumatizing event in their life or who have learning difficulties. When we first arrived, the feeling of peacefulness…
Our last day at Udayan
Today was our last day at Udayan, most of us had a slightly later rise, however some of us still went for the 5am start. After breakfast, before the older children headed to school, Liam organised for a whole school picture to be taken, after…
Fiesta at Udayan
Today we woke up ready for a full day at Udayan. After breakfast, we saw the kitchen staff preparing food for lunch and dinner including the killing of a few chickens! We then got started planning our lessons for later in the day and rested…
Our return to Udayan
This morning was difficult to say the least. We were told to be ready at 5:30 in the morning. Although it was hard, it did allow us to see a different Kolkata. There was barely any people around and it was much less noisy aside from the inevitable…
Touring Kolkata – part 2
Today we woke up reasonably early and prepared our self for Weldon’s tour. Our first stop after getting on the minibus (thankfully air conditioned) was Tagore’s house. This was no ordinary house. It was a massive and very elegant mansion…
Asha Bhavan Centre
Today was a fairly early start, but it certainly wasn't as early as 5 am in Udayan anyway! We enjoyed a quick breakfast and were then greeted by a minibus to take us the Asha Bhavan Centre. This is a place that provides a home, medical treatment…
Touring Kolkata – part 1
After a few very busy days, today was more laid back. We decided to have a much later start this morning and after breakfast we went off in search of local bargains. Firstly, we made our way through the busy streets of Kolkata to a bookshop…
Bye Bye for now Udayan & Titagarh
Once again it was a 5am start - for the girls at least! The boys decided to stay in bed for a lie in (well until 8:30am). Over the past three days, we have been called aunty and uncle by the children which has become the norm for us, and what we are so used to answering to! In the girls’ dorm, the younger girls enjoyed giving the girls a makeover before breakfast.
A Day in the Life…
The day started at 5am which was challenging for most of us. The children were woken by the house staff banging loudly, and the place quickly came to life with the sound of mosques in the distance announcing morning prayer. The children prayed before doing their chores which included sweeping the floor and picking up leaves (patta). Jason and Fin got involved in the kitchen, peeling garlic and breaking chillis. This was followed by an early morning snack of peanut butter sandwiches. The children then had an hour and a half of studying to do BEFORE SCHOOL, meanwhile we enjoyed spending time outside as dawn broke over West Bengal.
Meeting the children of Udayan
After waking up feeling somewhat refreshed, we were picked up at the hotel to make our way to finally see Udayan. The distance may have only been 30km but it took us just under 2 hours! On this journey there was colour, noise and smells a-plenty! Our driver, although very skilled, was rather scary compared to the tame driving we’re used to at home! At one point he undertook an army truck full of soldiers - armed soldiers! However we arrived unharmed at Udayan, the haven we, as students, had spent 5 years learning and raising funds for. We were finally here.
Namaste from India
We have arrived in India! After 13 hours travelling, we landed early this morning at Kolkata airport and were driven to the Fairlawn hotel in the Udayan bus James had sent for us. We experienced a slight glimpse of the chaos of Indian traffic and seeing a cow in the middle of the road is definitely not a sight we are used to seeing. Although we have been told the roads may be livelier tomorrow, a weekday.