gypsytravels

I saw a cow in the village with a tongue growing out of the middle of his back. I snapped a pic because no one would believe me. Some of the boys also saw it and we have looked for that cow everyday in the same field but we have not seen it again. Strange. A man walking down the street with a gigantic bag of popcorn on his head. I have no idea what he is selling it for but it can't be much. Man he must be tired at the end of the day. Try to hold an akward sized item over your head for hours in the sun walking barefoot. There seems to be a general lack of punctuality with Indians. Everyone is always late but never rushed. No road signs anywhere. ... read more

Everybody has a story here - guess that is life growing up in an orphanage in India. So much history - most unfortunately sad. We have an older girl living here who will spend the rest of her life in our home. Thank god for the kind graces of Child Haven International (CHI) that she is not forced out on the streets like so many others. Jody (name changed to protect her) arrived at the age of 14, she is now around 30. The local police dropped her off one night in our hostel (when we were located in Hyderabad before relocating to Kismapur village). They picked her up after she had been brutally raped at the hands of 3-4 autorickshaw drivers. Who knows how many - one is more than enough. The police asked the ... read more

I sat next to a Indian businessman on the train back from Hampi. He owns a book publishing company in Chennai and was traveling from Goa to Hyderabad for a meeting. He also belongs to a organization that works to bring english schools to rural India. Interesting. He has approximately 7000 students, really a mear pinhead when considering the enormous explosion of children in this country. 1.2B people - insane. I think that I respect China's one child policy that was started 30yrs ago. Can you imagine where that country would be now? This man was wise. He said that the most important issue facing India today is the disparity between the rich and the poor. Rurally people now have access to television so they see what they are missing. Ten years ago there was no ... read more

For those who are considering a volunteer stint in an orphanage overseas, here are some tips to consider BEFORE you depart. I am writing this assuming you are volunteering with Child Haven International at wonderful NGO out of Canada, but even if your not, you will find some of the info useful. BEFORE YOU COME: In addition to the information provided in the Child Haven International guidelines, I found the following useful. • You can fly direct to Hyderabad from Frankfurt, Germany via Lufthansa Airlines. There is no need to route through Delhi and overnight if you don’t need too. • In order to become oriented with your location, I recommend that you print and bring maps detailing the Kismatpur Village and surrounding area– Google maps was great. The village is a simple bus ride to ... read more

The silence of Kismapur village is eerie at night. Sometimes I hear crickets but often nothing. Every so often a pack of stray dogs wanders through and I can hear the howling. Its amazing how accustomed to noise we are. During the day it is different. Although there are simple cattle paths to the Child Haven orphanage, the path becomes quite busy during the day. People use the paths as shortcuts to get to work and home. There is a bustling little village that sits along side the highway nearby that is accessed via the paths. I see the same man herding his goats in the pasture adjacent to the home every other day. A herd of buffalo hang out and a family of pigs - I could do without the latter for fear of disease. ... read more