The finished project

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ÀThe finished project
Thursday evening we celebrated Myra’s 83rd birthday. Maggie had made a beautiful picture of Myra's name in calligraphy, one of the kitchen ladies made a cake, and Charles gave her a shawl. Toni had bought some non-alcoholic wine (all we can get here as Tamil Nadu is disapproving of alcohol so we have had a dry fortnight).
Bryan, the coordinator asked us for feedback on this and general AidCamps as he is a trustee of the charity, and wants to go armed with information to their meeting next month. One of the things I'm less happy about is that usually we are either working or living within a community, or both, so we get to know the people or children quite well. Although this is a worthwhile project, I have missed being g part of a community.
At times I have wondered whether SCAD was working with those in need, as the colleges and universities seem so prosperous, but I do understand that these prosperous colleges fund programmes like the work we saw with the gypsy village and the salt pan workers. It seemed such an excellent model of sustainable and self supporting help, and talking to the salt pan women reinforced that. Seeing the kindergarten that SCAD had built and hearing how children used to work in the salt pans, as the wages were so low, the whole family had to work. The head teacher had worked on the school for ten years, which gives continuity to the school.
Friday morning we tidied up the site, bagging up leftover gravel, making bunting with coloured triangles of paper and string, unloading plants from
KVK. The building looks wonderful; the builders have put up a dark green corrugated plastic awning, put a dark green border round the top of the outside wall, put up shelving, and tidied up where we'd made a bit of a dog's breakfast of the window grilles.
After lunch Toni and I went to the special school on the site and took some equipment that we'd bought. When we went last week there were some activities that the children were using. This time we found two classes of children who seemed to be doing nothing. We took the equipment in and they loved it, engaging with everything; threading beads and letters, doing three piece puzzles, looking through kaleidoscopes, finding India on a globe, looking at books. The classroom was sterile, nothing out; no posters or books, no stimuli. Toni showed the teachers some postcards of London and they took them off to look at them, didn't show them to the children at all. Toni, who has worked in India teaching children and helping to train teachers wasn't surprised, but I was shocked. “There was no sign of the equipment I took in the other day, was there?” he said. Perhaps my equipmemt will go the same way, into a cupboard and only brought out when there are visitors. Such a shame. Children with motor difficulties who I showed how to use the kaleidoscope came five minutes later to show me how they pointed it at the light, peered through, and twisted the end. Others showed me a three piece puzzle of an animal, the food it ate, and its bed, or a string of coloured plastic letters.
After this I had a sleep and unfortunately missed Charles's talk on the caste system. The system has been around for 4,000 years and though education has made a difference, it is still there. People can change their name, religion and occupation, but cannot change what caste they are in. Those of the Dialitt caste are always looked down on, though one became president a Ittle while ago.
Saturday morning is the inauguration of the building and we all dress up in our finery for it. The building looks fabulous, hung about with bunting and a bright awning to shade is all. (See a picture on Facebook). There are speeches, fires lit and waved around, ribbons cut then milk ladled by everyone into a pot, warmed, and drunk. Then we could buy some things from the shop; as well as seeds and plants, pots, microbes fertiliser, and some farm implements there was jewellery made by the special school children, and bags and containers made of jute.
Then back to the SCAD campus for lunch and Toni and I bend the rear of SCAD's deputy about the need for the special school teachers to engage with the children during informal activities.
Saturday afternoon Toni and I walk to the local village, buy a cold drink, and get the local children excited and set the dogs before going back to pack. Outlast meal there, Vimela, the housekeeper excelled herself; as well as the usual selection of Indian dishes, there was chips and salad.

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