#raineyasha blog – day 7 – Monday 31 October 2016
After a night of Diwali celebrations, we woke bleary eyed for an early breakfast buffet at 8am. Despite it being so early in the morning, the sound of fireworks and smell of smoke still lingered in the air. The highly awaited return to Kusumpur slum, after a long weekend of sightseeing with Wallace and Methody, had finally arrived and we were eager to get back into the work at the resource centre.
Everyone rolled up their sleeves and got stuck into the painting. It was great to meet some of the college students who visited the resource centre as they were off on holiday. They too were keen to demonstrate their artistic skills,lending a hand with the painting. Ajay, a former president of the children’s group and graduate of Delhi University also came to visit us and we were delighted to hear that he has a permanent post a PWC. We are all very proud of his amazing achievements and wish him every success in his career.
Our boys also joined in in the painting of the intricate drawings having painted the walls of two of the smaller rooms. It was no time at all before we were cleaning up and heading for our lunch at McDonalds.
After being refilled and replenished by a refreshing McDonalds, we returned to the ASHA resource centre. Once again, we arrived to the echoing cheers of young eager children, full of energy and ready to begin today’s activities. Josh led the craft session, and a real sense of sheer excitement was tangible as many bags of glitter and googly eyes were opened. Countless vibrant and majestic paper ducks were observed flying about the centre, literally! Meanwhile, Cara carefully managed the English lessons, with today’s topic being animals. Countless species were included, with actions for each! Rumour has it Mr McDonnell does the best elephant impression in New Dehli! After these activities came to a close, the team were lucky to hear the inspirational words of Jeetu, a slum dweller who through the work of ASHA, turned his life around, went to university and now works for the Australian High Commission. After this, the team began to gather their belongings for the short trek back to the hotel. A quick and refreshing change was followed by a tasty meal at Nandos at the DLF Emporium.
This brought a pleasant change from the taste of Chicken McNuggets and fries! We ended the day exploring the DLF Mall with some more presents purchased for the mums and dads! Once again, today’s activities had worn out the team and the tiredness began to take its toll as we returned to the Legend Inn. With more fun times and hard work planned for tomorrow, a good night’s sleep was essential! Thank you to all readers of the blog for your continued support for our journey in India; your kind words motivate us throughout the day!!
P.S if you have any questions for us, please leave them on our facebook page and we will try and answer them tomorrow!
