#raineyasha blog – day 10 – Thursday 3 November 2016

jpalmer870 Asha Charity November 3, 2016 | 0

Today was our last day working in the resource centre to complete our final paintings and lessons. On our way to the resource centre we encountered a vast amount of smog which covered the whole city. As the morning progressed this thankfully cleared up. As we made our way to the resource centre for the last day of hard work we were excited to work with the Asha team , students and children for the final time. As usual we were greeted by the kind staff and students in the morning and we then got stuck into our work. Our efforts had paid off during our six days in the slum community as most of our work had been completed, meaning we only had to add our finishing touches. As these final details were added, the last group had their opportunity to go out on a lane visit. Aimee, Josh, Jessica and Amy were taken around the lanes by Asha students Venu and Akash.

They kindly invited us into their homes and greeted us with their warm hospitality – we danced and even had a sing along with Mr Healy on guitar and Aimee singing. As we walked around the lanes the positive impacts made by Asha were evident in the better quality housing and sanitation. As we entered Venu’s home the large volume of school books he owned and stored astounded us considering the small size of his dwelling. This demonstrated his true dedication to his studies. As we made our way up the lanes we were welcomed by everyone, in particular when we entered a house in which the women’s group held their weekly meetings. This was a small house so it astonished us how over 15 people could gather there. Whenever we arrived we were treated to dancing and more sing alongs and as the music became louder, more and more people squeezed into this tiny house to meet us. We had a great time. Sadly, our lane visit had to end and after having such a great time, we made our way back to the rest of the group for lunch.

After lunch we headed back to the slum where once again we were greeted with big smiles from all. Today, we had one craft and one English lesson with all of the children. The theme for the craft was the Olympics and so we designed wooden medals with a stuck on picture of the Rainey Asha Team and the children’s favourite – glitter glue. The English lesson linked in with the craft theme and focused on sports which allowed the children to learn and spell new sports but also use sentences tell us what sports they liked to play in their spare time. As the English lesson drew to a close, some of the girls were taken aside to learn how to put on their Sarees for later on that evening when we visited the Irish Ambassadors residence. Once 3:30 came, the English lesson had finished, the children had gone home and the girls headed back to the hotel to get themselves ready for the evenings garden party.

Meanwhile the guys stayed back at the resource centre and tidied up the craft and English materials before heading off themselves to clean up and dress in our magnificent Kurtas as the girls showed off their beautiful Sarees. After taking plenty photos at the hotel, we arrived fashionably late to the Irish Ambassadors residence. There we were taken aback by a beautiful garden, decorated with impressive green and white lights, fancy tables and a new moon in the now clear sky. We were greeted by the beaming smiles of some Asha Ambassadors from our slum in Kusumpur. We were very impressed by how smart each and every one of the slum dwellers looked in their shirts and new ties and also very proud to see them being able to represent with pride the organisation which has helped them greatly throughout their life to get them where they are today.

As Brian McElduff (Irish Ambassador) and Dr Kiran gave words of thanks to the school teams and spoke to the Irish residents in Delhi, Caitlin performed an amazing violin piece, accompanied by our very own Mr McDonnell on guitar, while Wallace and Methody each performed a choir piece. After countless pictures were taken with our new friends and a delicious dinner was had by all, it was soon time to go and say our goodbyes.

Tomorrow promises to be a emotional experience when we will unveil the newly refurbished resource centre, totally revamped both inside and out. We look forward to what will be a very special day.

Aimee and Josh