Epilogue

I have behaved differently on this journey that I first thought I would. The attraction of travelling all alone within such a different culture was irresistable to me. I found myself separated from every group, intentionally, so I could see them better. See the life. And it has been interesting to observe at the locals as well as the tourists from a distance. With the tourists, it was sometimes like looking in to a mirror. ”I have done that, I have acted that way, and I have let all those things pass me by without noticing” This I found myself thinking too many times. I encourage travelling and working alone, when ever possible. Within a crowd, the focus is always set to something else than the environment. Or at least, when you are alone, you are more sensitive to everything around you. And by watching others, you learn about yourself.

For anyone puzzled by India, I have to recommend a book I was given by a local within my last few weeks here. A semi-autobiographical account of V. S. Naipaul called An Area of Darkness. It gave me answers to many questions I haven’t been able to figure out during my time here, about India and its culture. And to his words I would like to end this blog for good.

”India is the poorest country in the world. Therefore, to see its poverty is to make an observation of no value; a thousand newcomers to the country before you have seen and said as you. And not only newcomers. Our own sons and daughters, when they return from Europe and America, have spoken in your very words. Do not think that your anger and contempt are marks of your sensitivity. You might have seen more: the smiles on the faces of the begging children, that domestic group among the pavement sleepers waking in the cool Bombay morning, father, mother and baby in a trinity of love, so self-contained that they are as private as if walls had separated them from you: it is your gaze that violates them, your sense of outrage that outrages them. You might have seen the boy sweeping his area of pavement, spreading his mat, lying down; exhaustion and undernourishment are in his tiny body and shrunken face, but lying flat on his back, oblivious of you and the thousands who walk past in the lane beetween sleepers’ mats and house walls bright with advertisements and election slogans, oblivious of the warm, overbreathed air, he plays with fatigued concentration with a tiny pistol in blue plastic. It is your surprise, your anger that denies him humanity. But wait. Stay six months. The winter will bring fresh visitors. Their talk will also be of poverty; they too will show their anger. You will agree; but deep down there will be annoyance; it will seem to you then, too, that they are seeing only the obvious; and it will not please you to find your sensibility so accurately parodied.”

The End

This was my last visit to the TMM hospital and I must say, that even the time spent here has been relativily short, I feel honest sadness to leave it all behind. It would be so great to continue working with such an inspiring and motivated crowd. Only the sky is the limit. A lot of hugs were exchanged and with some personell I had the last private conversations regarding the experience and the feelings that have been developed during my time here. Mrs. Omana gave me a copy of the new testament and psalms as a gift, because she feels that I need to understand the grace of god and up until now I haven’t been able to find the light that makes so many of the Keralan people smile. I have been planning for years to read that particular book and now that I have promised to do so to the most gentle, most loving, but at the same time the toughest woman there is, I have no intention but to study every word from cover to cover. A promise is a promise. I have a long way home, so I’ll have time to concentrate on the word of god. But in the name of sincerety, I do not think it will change my life radically at this point.

Tomorrow I’ll be heading up to Bangalore to finally pick up the wedding dress of my dreams and then I’m off to Finland! So much is happening in the up coming weeks, that my feelings are getting really mixed up. I’m leaving behind so much of love, but there is even more love waiting for me back home. If only India and Finland would be closer together, I would definitely work in India and have my personal life in Finland. Well, some things you just can’t change. Nevertheless, I’m more than grateful of this experience, that has brought me so much joy, so much knowledge and inspiration, and so much love and new opportunities for the future. I know there are students reading this blog and I know that you have all the chance in the world to go all over and experience. JUST DO IT! There is no good enough reason to miss such an opportunity. If you have a pet, there’s always someone to take care of it for a short period of time. If you have a loved one, your love will either grow on the way or seize to be (in such case he/she wasn’t right for you to begin with). If you have kids, well, I can’t comment on that one just yet… And the faculty in the school seem to be more understanding to such opportunities than you might think at first.

Heartful thanks to everyone who has been reading this blog. Now that the journey, and the blog, is in the end, I can tell you that is has been quite successfull. It has reached people all around the globe, from Finland to Australia. At least me and my team have been very pleased with the results. I hope you have enjoyed following our journey and for my last wish, I would like to receive some feedback on what you have thought about it. So please comment, in which any language you choose to, but let it come from your heart.

XXX

Ms. Essi Kupias, The North Karelian University of Applied Sciences, Finland

Weekend getaway; Hampi

As these are starting to be our last moments in India, I decided to take an extended weekend in a form of an vacation. Simo was also off to Bangalore, but Janne stayed behind waiting for his girlfriend, who should be here shortly. My destination was Hampi, a world heritage site in northern Karnataka. The nearest train station was in Hospet, form where one needed to take a bus trip further on to Hampi. With all the history the small town has a lot to offer, but I was suprised by the tranquility and nature of the place. I knew beforehand that on the other side of the river, flowing across the Hampi center, one can find much more peace and privacy than near the busy bazaars. So I needed to take a boat to the other side, costing 15 rs. It was worth it. I’m staying in the Rolling Stone Homestay that is located down to the river bank from the main road. It offers just enough; a small hut with your own bathroom and shower for 100 rs/night. At the moment, I am the only one accomodating the place, except for the keeper Ragu, who is the most interesting character of India I have met so far. I’m suprised though, that there isn’t any others interested in this place. There are tourists around, although (lucky me) it’s the low season, but they all seem to rely on the big bible; the Lonely Planet book of India. I have been looking around and, dispite of the humble living conditions, this place has something no other place has to offer; a straight connection to the river bank. In addition to just enjoying the vistas, I have been washing my clothes in the river, and found a perfect spot for myself up the stream to swim and sunbathe in, where to no one can see and which no other seems to find. Besides these small notings it’s impossible to tell about Hampi. Everyone should experience it by themselves. I’m not too interested in all the different temples. If one should be on my path (usually many) I will visit, but I’m not intentionally searching them out. Again I’m more enthusiastic about the nature. I took a bicycle trip all around Hampi yesterday, that covered about 20 km. This could only be done very early in the morning, but I still managed to be struck by the heat at the end of the trip. Tonight I’m planning to rent a motorcycle for tomorrow and go a bit further to some sites the tourists have no idea about. These sites were shown to me by the owner of the Rolling Stone and the restaurant Laughing Buddha.

I have been able to finish my reports and interviews by now and next week there’s need for only the finishing touch. I can’t really understand that it’s going to be my last week here. Not until I’m on the plane starting my way back home. Shouldn’t think about that too much at this point, I’ll try and have a fulfilling last week.

The magical ruins of Hampi captured from the bungalow of the Rolling Stone homestay

Bowel infections and Bangalore :)

And here begins another fabulous trip to Bangalore with the motivation of a wedding dress try-out (see the text on 28^th may to know the whole story). It was planned to have the try-out dress made for me by the 15^th and if everything is according to my needs, they will start using the final fabric. Naturally I feel excited and at the same time very nervous. I have heard and also had own experiences of Indian enterprises not always living up to their promises. But there’s no use to worry about it before hand. Again I’m travelling by train, but this time it feels so much more easier. Naturally. I’ve delevoped a little understanding on how everything works and what I’m expected to do. Although I didn’t have any problems with it before, now I can concentrate to something else when travelling (or waiting for the train to arrive). For example, writing this blog can be quite inspiring in a hot waiting lounge full of people, who have no shame in reading over my shoulder. Well, I don’t really mind. I just hope they’re enjoying the outcome.

We have had some unlucky times the past few weeks. At first I had a very bad bowel infection. Something I have never experienced before. My stomach was like a balloon. No, more than that. Like a water balloon. I even had a dream that I was pregnant with twins, which made the next morning very surreal. And the pain was constant. At first it wasn’t too anguished, more like an continuing discomfort. But other times I would even wake up during the night to these twinges or at least have them through dreams. To get me even more worried, I felt a big lump on the right side of my stomach. But that’s fairly natural when the bowel is infected, it hardens. I had two sets of 4 different drugs and finally it is passing. The funny thing about medication here though is that when you receive them from the drug store, you don’t get any additional packages or other documents with them. You just have a brown pouch to which is written when to take the medicine and how many. You really put all your trust on to the doctor treating you. Bur the result speaks for itself; I haven’t felt better for weeks!

The next morning of my recovery Simo began to be in a very bad shape. He had a fever of 38°C which I was lacking the whole time, and he also had been throwing up all night. He had suffered similar symptoms a few days before, but they passed as quickly as they had started. I took him to the hospital and he was instantly put in an IV drop and antibiotic treatment. Thank god he is in a familiar hospital, surrounded by coworkers that really care for him. I am sure that he will be ok, but it’ll take some time. Simo got the same menu for the next few (and last!) weeks as I did: broken rice, cereal, a little bit of salt. That’s that for the rich cuisine of India…

I have been pleased with how the video interviewes turned out, but I must say that the most interesting conversations were always held off-camera. The final interviews were more disappointing, but that was due to my illness. I was in such a weak condition, that it was hard for me to find words or even ask the ones I had prepared on paper. But it gives a good enough picture. The little perfectionist in me would’ve demanded more though. Srs. Rachel has also been unable to help me with the health educator tour. She has had knee problems and I do prefer her resting rather than showing me around. I did get a tour with the local Y.M.C.A. Administrators, but their work didn’t have anything to do with what we are here to do. It is a totally different facility altogether, but they are the ones who are seriously adopting procedures from the TMM regarding waste and environmental management. I had one health educator with me, but she didn’t speak any english. Lovely girl though, we had a lot of fun dispite the language barrier. But for some reason, I did not see her ”in action”, which was fairly disappointing. Luckily I have done the tour before and got some photographs on the way, so at least I have that.

It seems that more and more people are feeling sick at the moment for one reason or another. Maybe its the heat, or there is something else going on. Nothing to worry about though, that’s life. I just have to get better before my wedding. I got no choice!!

Trains are never early, but if your lucky they're on time.. and they will transport you all around India with a relatively small fee (depending on your own demands).

Abhaya Bhavan, home of new hope

Today I visited the Abhaya Bhavan retirement home, only that it isn’t really doing justice to that description. It is a home, a facility, for women that have been deserted by their families. When established, the idea was to offer a home for women away from the streets, away from begging. Nowadays there are approximately 40 residents of different age, background and medical condition. Some of the wards are locked, for there are a few with severe mental or physical disabilities, but most of the women live a normal life, doing their part on the daily work. The age of the residents start from 40 and ends up to god only knows where, but the common factor is that all of them have been thrown out of their homes by their own family for various reasons. The home is run by a few nuns and funded by donations. There is a social group in Thiruvalla, that consists of people in different occupations (doctors, accountants, etc). These people donate their time and knowledge to help this society and to keep it running. The TMM is doing it’s part by giving free medical treatment at the premises twice a month. The doctor in charge of this is the forementioned Dr. Nirmala Thomas and she is aided by Srs. Rachel, the nursing students, and the health educators.

Up until now I have had a very childish conception that, as the Indian culture is very family centered, no one would be left behind. Not like this. Many people here are proud to say that it is part of their culture to take care of the parents. Well, every coin has two sides. India doesn’t differ from any other place in the world, the rules can be bend. There was a fairly young woman, compared to the majority of the residents, who was thrown out of her home by her husband after having an affair. Fairly understandable, sence not too many could live in a marriage after such an betrayal. But the reality of such incident is different in India. She was totally alone. Even her already grown-up children don’t want to have anything to do with her. Without any money, possessions or hope, she was taken in to the Abhaya Bhavan, where she gave birth to twins. Unfortunately only one survived, but at least she has been given a second chance on life. There were five children in the premises, 4 of them are related to the occupants. One of them was found as a newly born, from a dumpster in Thiruvalla, and presumed dead. After a while someone noticed some signs of life and he was rushed to the ICU. The first years of his life weren’t easy, because he was struggling repeatedly with pneumonia and other diseases, but now he is healthy as ever, with a voice that would shame many (I was lucky enough to get a song from the kids). All the children are living in a boarding school away from the Abhaya Bhavan, but staying with their mothers during the holidays. These are only two examples of the many destinies in the Abhaya Bhavan. It was a nice and calm place though. The area was kept very clean. They have their own garden of vegetables and flowers, three cows (and I finally got to pet one!!), and very well functioning kitchen and washing area. Dispite of what has happened in the past, the women are working together, and they are doing it very well. But Kerala is among the wealthiest states in India. What is the destiny of all the deserted women and elderly in other states?

All around the world there are people who are capable of turning away in situations, when others would find it out of the question. Luckily we also have those, who are willing to help without any claims. Nevertheless, I will not be the one to abandone my family.

Love you, Mom!:)

Happy mothers day everybody!!

Srs. Rachel, nursing students and health educators preparing the patients for an appoinment with Dr. Nirmala (held in the background).

Pea soup in India

Yes, we did have a finnish labour day celebration in India and Yes, it did turn out to be quite exceptional. We decided to invite a couple of Janne’s local friends and our mutual friend Ben to have a little taste of Finland. In Finland the labour day is usually celebrated on the eve of the 1st of may, but as in India work is streched to last up until saturday a very few quests would have been able to join us, if any. So the celebration was held on the 1st of may. Of course we didn’t have too much to offer, but we did manage to make some traditional pea soup and potato salad, and luckily we had some finnish rye bread left that the visitors from Finland had brought us a couple of weeks back. Balloons were the only decoration we found and in the spirits of an water- and environment project we also made a couple of water balloons to which I turned out to be the victim of. With the finnish music in the background we had the most fun preparing everything for the evening, but still the highlight of the evening was to see our quests tasting the finnish food. Spoons were quickly thrown aside and pea soup was eaten with fingers, or forced inside a rolled ciabatta. Nevertheless, all of the food was complemented and everyone had enough to eat.

I have been doing the video interviews and it has not been hard with these characters. I hope each and every one you will have a chance to see those tapes one day, you would meet the wonderful people that are working here and how excited they are of everything that has been done with the project. The only problem I have faced is the editing, but I hope I will find an answer for that problem during the summer. Cutting is no problem, but I will need a more professional program to do the sound editing. I tried to load an trial period from the internet, but with my connections it’s just not humanly possible. But I decided to collect all the material I can get and I am interested on trying to edit it myself. We’ll see what I come up with..

As it is may already, we are all starting to realize how quickly the time is passing by. Just as we got fully started, we have to start thinking about leaving. We have made some great friends and the faculty in the hospital has complemented us for the fact that we do our business one at the time. By this I mean that we have all found our own responsibilities and through that we interact much more with the locals than what we would do if we would just stick together. Thiruvalla is a nice town, with friendly people, and I have been enjoying myself here. It’s nice to know the corners, to notice familiar faces in the crowd and to feel welcomed to a such a different culture. I would recommend this to anyone remotely interested in volunteer work, but keep in mind that it’s up to you how much you learn during your journeys. Keep an open mind.

Have you ever eaten pea soup this way?

People and the forest

I read a very interesting article in the newspaper the other day about the tribes and other traditional forest-dwellers of India. They still live a very simple life; living in the woods, surviving on the fruits and crops, farming, re-cultivating the forest land, roaming around with their herds.. and have done so for ages. But now they seem to be cought in the middle of a political battle. In 2006 an act was passed that concerns the rights of forest-dwelling communities to land and other resources. In practice, it gives title rights ie ownership to land farmed by tribals or forest dwellers on 2005, subject to a maximum 4 hectares. The tribes are very connected to the nature, understanding that ”we are the forests and the forests are us, and our existence is mutually dependent”. So the lands are well taken care of and the tribes economy is mostly self-sufficient. Many of the villages are truly agricultural success stories. These famous lands are coveted by industrialism, for example; Essar Steel that wants to build a 3,2 million tonne steel plant on the lands, demanding altogether 600 hectares from the nature loving forest-dwellers. Where they have the industrial companies pushing on one side, there’s the naxals* pushing on the other, saying that they will kill everyone who accepts the Essar’s compensation packages and surrenders their ancestral land. This promise has also been put into action. At the same time the governmental security forces of Chidambaram attacked the village Tatemargu allegedly killing four, raping three and burning down 60 buildings with all of their produce, leaving nothing but ash behind. The reason for the attack was the hunt of the Naxalites, but where’s the proof of this village ever being in action with such a radical group? Tatemargu owes its now vanished success to the water resources; ponds dug by all the villagers, under the instructions of the Maoists. So that seems to be the only link to the communist party.

The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh states (2007) that ”I have always believed that India is destined to emerge as an important industrial power. It is only through rapid industrialisation that we can find meaningful solutions to the problems of mass unemployment and underdevelopment….We have to find ways and means to accelerate the process of industrialisation and also to ensure that this process is sufficiently labour intensive”. But the outcome in the tribal area is somewhat different. The waters are being polluted by the factories and no development (hospitals, schools, etc) has arrived.

It’s an on going battle beetween agriculture and industrialism that divides people for different reasons; money, politics and survival. And these simple tribes are in the middle of it all. And yet again, here in India, I am left puzzled by the fact that there’s nothing much I can do.

*Naxalites, Naxals or Naksalvadis (name from the village of Naxalbari in the Indian state of West Bengal where the movement originated), are a group of far-left radical communists, supportive of Maoist political sentiment and ideology. Their origin can be traced to the split in 1967 of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), leading to formation of Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist). Initially the movement had its centre in West Bengal. In recent years, it has spread into less developed areas of rural central and eastern India, such as Chhattisgarh,Orissa and Andhra Pradesh through the activities of underground groups like the Communist Party of India (Maoist). They lead the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency. As of 2009, Naxalites are active across approximately 220 districts in twenty states of India accounting for about 40 percent of India’s geographical area. They are especially concentrated in an area known as the “Red corridor”, where they control 92,000 square kilometers. According to India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, 20,000 armed cadre Naxalites were operating apart from 50,000 regular cadres working in their various mass organizations and millions of sympathisers, and their growing influence prompted Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to declare them as the most serious internal threat to India’s national security. The Naxalites are opposed by virtually all mainstream Indian political groups. In February 2009, Central government announced its plans for broad, co-ordinated operations in all affected states (Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal), to plug all possible escape routes of Naxalites.

Rice harvesting

Dentist in India, what’s your first thought?

I had a dentist appointment today at the TMM hospital because of some continuous pain on my lower jaw. Naturally I was a bit nervous, not alone for the fact that it’s the dentist (no one likes them), but also because I’m not in familiar grounds. I had no idea what to expect. I had some time to spend as I was, in finnish ways, a bit early. The lovely Mrs. Omana was at work in the reception at the hospital and sat me next to her. It was really interesting just to sit there and watch the routine of the busy hospital. As always the hospital staff was very welcoming and friendly, and I was told that they are very interested in me. Most of them are dying for a conversation, as am I, but the language barrier is an annoying fact. They don’t know much in english and I know nothing in Malayalam. If I would be staying here for even a bit more than the three months, I would try and learn more of the native language. Still it would take years to succeed in even the smallest conversation. Some locals thought that I was actually working there and tried to make an doctors appointment through me, which was some what amusing to all of us. The dentist himself was very professional and could see my problem within minutes. Note that I have had this same problem in Finland when going to the dentist. He told me that the right joint of my jaw is a bit loose and the muscles are not supporting it, because I clearly tend to chew on the left side. Imagine that! In a result of this, my jaw is slowly getting unbalanced, the left side being lower than the right. That can cause pain in the jaw and neck, but also headaches. It’s a fairly common problem and could be caused by genetics, but the only treatment is to exercise the right side. As soon as the doctor told me this, I did notice the signs myself and realized my habit on chewing only on the left side. Weird stuff! But if your having dental problems and your anywhere near India, i have to recommend!

Totally out of context, here is Thiruvalla by night

Left behind

The visitors from the NKDA board continued their journey back to Finland this morning. We joined them on a trip to Cochin yesterday and spent the entire day in fort Cochin. It’s been quite a busy couple of weeks sence we have been trying to visit as many places as possible in such a short time. The meetings and interviews have been interesting though and many new objectives came up considering the reports we’re preparing. From time to time I felt that I don’t have enough time for my work, forgetting that I was working all the time. We all have our own resonsibilities here and as I want the best result possible, I sometimes find myself worrying a bit too much about how efficiently I spend my time here. Also the fact that we have only 5 weeks left here seems a bit unnerving, but on the other hand I really don’t mind going home. Nevertheless, it was nice to get to know each other better or even for the first time in some cases. We had a lot of fun and I did get more information, also a refill of motivation, during our time together.

A couple of days back I realized how accustomed I am on living here by now. That sort of thing kind of sneaks up on you. I don’t pay as much attention to the small eccentricities and everything is done by routine. Back home the feelings are the same. Although we miss each other very much and would never wish to be apart, we both are used to living this way after the two months that it has now been. And it is also a weird feeling, to feel at home in India. It does help me with my work in a sense that I can concentrate on writing and analyzing more than to my surroundings, but it’s still no easy task. Every time I get something finished I learn something new that changes half of what I have accomplished so far. The amount of knowledge can sometimes get a bit exhausting and hard to summarize or narrow down, but I have learned to take a break whenever that feeling hits on me. Otherwize your stuck or produce the poorest report ever.

The currency is another thing that has changed its meaning over time in our minds. At first everything seemed so cheap and we were almost cought by the idea that now is the time to shop. For me the greatest temptation has been the essential oils and the spices, which both are naturally so much cheaper than in Finland and come in so much bigger variety. But still, as being a student doesn’t provide me with too much income, I’m rather saving up for the experiences that I can’t buy in Finland no matter how much money I would have. I’m aiming to collect as much information as I possibly can on these upcoming weeks, including the video interviews now that we managed to buy the camera (well, Simo was kind enough to go out shopping whilst me and Janne are trying to work and enjoy the room service at the hotel), so that on the end of may I would be able to work from a distance. I have been planning my own, private bachelor party, sence I don’t have time to have one in Finland, and for this I have had help from a local travel agency; www.nivalink.com I searched out a few and this one has been the most sincere, most persistant with trying to arrange my trip the way I want it and with the small budget I have, and the most polite on the customer service. So if you’re ever in India and need guidance, try to reach Sonal at sonal@nivalink.in or any other of their personell, I’m sure they will be very happy to help you with your travels. Tomorrow we will be heading back to Thiruvalla by train and on tuesday there is a nationwide strike, that will quiet down all the business for one day. I will be starting strikes of my own, that involves rules like

1. No more chocolates

2. Daily exercise (heat is no longer an acceptable excuse)

3. Healthier food (Deep fried food is delicious, but it’s always deep fried..)

And also denying all the fun and delicious for the next month or so. Luckily I have always felt that rules are meant to be broken from time to time..

Esa Etelätalo (NKDA chair), Liisa Timonen (NKDA administrator), Kaija Saramäki (External evaluator), Janne Hirvanen, and the faculty of the Edayaranmula L.P. School evaluating the progress of construction funded by the NKDA.

Information of the project

With all the excitement I don’t think I remembered to tell you what this project is all about, so now is as good time for that as any.

In 2006 the North Karelian Development Association launched a Water- and Environment project in Thiruvalla and its surrounding villages. Each year one operative coordinator has been sent along with 3-6 volunteer workers, that were usually students of different fields in the North Karelian University of Applied Sciences, to plan the targets and the implementation of the development aid. At first the focus was set on the problems in sanitation and water supplies; ground- and surface waters were severely polluted by poorly managed sanitation, especially in the poor areas like the countryside. The NKDA representatives have financed the building of safer sanitation systems in public sectors like schools and orphanages. The models and labour was bought from the local NGO (non governmental organization), the Socio Economic Unit Foundation. The other cooperator, TMM hospital, was a good connection beetween the target areas and the NKDA.

Next the focus was turned into the waste management problem, that is effective in all of India. Although landfills do exist, it costs money to have the waste picked up and naturally only a few people can afford that luxury. So the waste is usually burned in piles, unsegregated. In many cases the piles attract animals (rodents, and further on venomous snakes, that are a common cause of deaths in India) or act as a breeding ground for mosquitos (that spread deadly epidemics like malaria and chigungunya), not to mention the water- and air pollutants. NKDA funded a 4-day workshop to be held for the TMM hospital staff and students on waste management. This was a start for the TMM to become the pioneer hospital in India when it comes to hygiene. Soon enough all the waste that is produced in the hospital will be either incinerated, used in the bio-gas plant (funded by the NKDA), or other ways properly recycled or disposed.

Along with this progress the Health Educator system (see dates 23. march or 31. march) was born, that spreads the knowledge to the community and the countryside. The TMM hospital is now working as an effective example to the surrounding community and other facilites have already adopted their ways for the better future. It’s no wonder, if this particular NKDA project is thought to be one of the most successful ones ever made in India and will serve as an example to up-coming projects.

Us, the volunteers of this particular year, have been given the responsibility of documenting all of the projects targets; all the success and failures. There will also be some video documenting and a portfolio, which I hope you all will have a chance to glance at. If enough interest is shown, I might even have it for you in the internet. After all, what I have explained here, has been only a small portion of the whole adventure.

Kids at Elavinal Lower Primary School, where to the NKDA funded a new kitchen and a toilet. The kids had no toilet before, at all, any kind..