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WHAT A TRIP...
What an incredible experience for the children...and for us volunteers!!! We broke the news to the three kids (Rakesh, Roshan, and Jayenti) and you should have seen their grins—and their mother’s! Everyone was bubbling with excitement! Then when we added Manda the day before the trip, she was packing within minutes that she got the news.
Even though I was sick, I was called into the slum the day before to answer questions and give reassurances—no-one was worried about safety, only that they had packed the right things.
First thing we did after we picked up the kids (who had all just bathed and had fresh haircuts for the occasion!), was to take them home, fill their tummies, give them bags, and fill them with clothes...then we were on our way!
For five hours, all the kids did, was sit peacefully together by the window of the train and stare out—they were so content. Every train trip after this, the excitement lessened but not by much! As Kavita says, their favorite parts of the trip were, the loads of love and attention, and the trains.
The second and third days of our journey were spent with their friends in Gandhinagar who they haven’t seen for more than two years! The boys had so much fun comparing notes and playing cricket, and Laxmi enjoyed taking care of Manda and ‘showing her the ropes’. It was great to see old friends together again!
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The third and fourth days were spent playing with monkeys, riding elephants and playing cricket on the rooftop of our hotel in Jaipur. The kids loved seeing the monkeys, especially since that is the nickname that Danny gave Jayenti on the very first day of the trip! If you ask the kids what their favorite part of their trip was, they will unanimously say ’hathi’!!! (elephants!!!)
Agra was very interesting. Everyone was reaching their end—the kids and especially the volunteers. Danny lectured the boys for jumping on the bed and Manda was being obstinate for something or another—not a big surprise. The day was long, but by the time evening came, everyone was able to laugh about the day and we had a wonderful time over dinner.
The final day, the children were asking when they were going home—it was nice to here that they knew they had a home and had a family to go back to!
Throughout the trip, the children bathed twice a day, brushed their teeth twice a day, studied 3 times a day, had to take care of their own bags, and saw soooo much. It was an experience that has made very visible differences in their actions and how they look at various things.
Jayenti is always clean now, Manda loves her studies now, Roshan has more confidence, and Rakesh… well...Rakesh is just the same old clown he will always be!
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