Namasté!
So how and why did I get involved with this particular children's home in India?
In 2011 I decided to travel to India to help out in a children’s home. I took a few weeks off in Germany and Malati who organises volunteers for different schools and children's homes matched me up with GMT Sansthan Children's Home in Jaipur. As the capital of the state of Rajasthan, it has good facilities and it is only 5 hours from Delhi. I spent some days travelling alone to see Delhi and Agra, which was a great experience, but in the first place I wanted to do something more than that.
Every day you see people living their lives on the side of the road struggling to survive – but what can you do? Does it help to give them money, food, items, candy, …? I really don’t know….this is not the kind of social service that really makes sense. What I know is that we can help to support and advance education so kids have the chance and will to work for a better future – for themselves and for society. Working in a children’s home is one of the best things you can do to help.
Working as a volunteer I felt I would be able to make a real difference and I could also be part of a community rather than just viewing it from the outside and sending money from Europe without any personal contacts, no idea where the support goes to.
So here I went….
At the children's home in Jaipur that I visited, the girls live together with Didi Ananda Gautami, a yogic nun who runs the children’s home. They all come from poor backgrounds. Some of them are orphans who have lived in children's homes and ashrams all their lives, and others are from families who are too poor to take care of them. Some of them have not been accepted by their parents because they are disabled or come from the streets.
The house they live in is still under construction though. We have been able to provide funds to help to extend the house more and more and support the children’s education and care, but what can I say? It’s an everyday struggle still.
So with generous contributions from individuals in Germany, combined with a backpack full of donations given by dear friends of mine I arrived in the ashram by taxi.
It was the warmest welcome I have ever experienced in a foreign country – the kids were amazing! The girls 3-26 years hugged me and took my hand to show me around – they were so excited to meet me and involve me in every routine and detail. I was greeted by Didi and introduced to everybody – I couldn’t remember a single name – it was overwhelming…..
I arrived quite nervous but after an instant I felt pretty comfortable - looking forward to getting to know the children who I would be spending the next few weeks with. The girls promptly gave me a tour of the building which was to be my home. I would be having my own room with a bed, a toilet, shower and many, many English books… I was happy to be able have a bit privacy in between as living in the ashram would also be quite challenging and exhausting, of course.
I thought I would be mainly looking after the children living there, but I quickly realised that Indian children are very independent and are used to looking after themselves. They cook, wash their dishes, handwash their clothes, sweep the floor daily, help each other…. so the most useful thing that I could do was to teach them English and play fun games with them. I brought a lot of fun stuff for a change and held a lot of conversation lessons.
The younger children attend an English-medium school but as Hindi is their main language (although most know a regional language too) they find their lessons challenging. I worked with pictures and books to interpret. Every day I went through their lessons with them and explained them in simple English language. This was especially important with Science and Geography for example. Sometimes it was hard to teach the younger children who haven’t been staying in the children’s home for a long time, because they were not used to discipline and rules yet. As some of them lived in the streets before they tried to steal my pencils, candy, etc. because they were used to it. They still had to learn that they are safe now and cared for – I suppose they do better now. Didi does a very good job raising them.
The children are so eager to learn and interested in everything you do and say. The working week is Monday to Saturday in India and so Sunday is the only day that school is closed, yet at 8 am on Sunday the kids would come and ask me to help them with their homework. Some of them regularly get up at 4.30 am to study for their exams!
However, twice we went to a big park nearby to have ice-cream and some time out. It was great – the kids enjoyed the excursion and fun we had playing games and blowing bubbles I brought from Germany.
Because there appears to be no kind of social security system, education is the ticket to a better life, but the competition and therefore pressure is so much greater even than in Germany. However, I think it’s important to balance this regularly – the park was perfect. Usually the kids meditate and sing or do yoga to relax their mind, but I don’t think it’s enough. They do enjoy learning and have a thirst for studying, but at the same time it feels to me as if they are missing out on their childhood. They rarely allow themselves to play or relax – free time is pretty much non-existent. The girls lead a strong spiritual life – we did meditation twice a day. The rest of the time the kids study. Sometimes on a Saturday night they watch a film, however.
The children's home is a place of hope and love and I am convinced that these girls have a real chance in India, a chance in this world. India is a beautiful, fascinating and diverse country and I feel very privileged to have seen it both as a tourist, and to have had the opportunity to go a little deeper by living in a local community.
Leaving the orphanage wasn’t easy – saying good bye was very hard after being so close to each other. I hope I’ll come back one day but you never know, so I didn’t promise. However, I promised to stay in touch and support the girls.
My family is sponsoring Riddhima’s school fees now. She is the youngest of all (4 years) and she needed a sponsor for her education (fees, uniform, books). The school concentrates on each child’s needs; the courses are taught in English, encouraging the children to learn one of the most important languages in today’s world. Not a lot of people speak English in this area I felt and if they do, they are considered well educated and from privileged backgrounds. If they speak it fluently, they have many more advantages in life. Riddhima attends school now and according to Didi, her results are very good and she enjoys attending classes. I am so happy that she is getting the chance.
I still feel involved in the children’s home to an extent as my family and I have been fundraising and sending parcels to the kids. Didi and I are always in touch regarding news, needs and funds. We are good friends and are very happy that we met – together we can make a difference!
Please join us, help us, support us, talk to us!
Thank you for your time!
Cindy
