Our last day with Asha!

Saturday, 4th August - and our last day with Asha.  Tomorrow we fly home! :-(  Never mind - a return trip is planned for Feb 2013! :-)

We spent the morning back at Kalkaji.  Asha had arranged for deaf residents from 3 slums to meet for a session with JT.  So we had representatives from Kalkaji, Ekta Vihar and Tigri.

They were people who were deaf, and their families. JT addressed them - encouraging them and giving them advice about how to communicate.  She demonstrated to them how to mouth words clearly so that they could be lip-read.  Using common Hindi words like "pani" (water) to demonstrate - she encouraged them to practise...practise...practise!

They all seemed very appreciative although some of the deaf were better at pronouncing the words, forming them with their mouths, than others.  After we finished, everyone was given a samosa and a drink.

As we left, we were given big smiles and waves especially from the minibus as they waited to be driven home!

Our last afternoon in Delhi was spent doing some final shopping followed by a meal in the Asian restaurant back at the hotel, before packing.

Home on Sunday.  Back to work on Monday!  Jet lag 'til about Thursday!

Mayapuri morning and Shanti Vihar afternoon

So it was Friday Aug 3rd...

In the morning we all visited Mayapuri again.  I suggested that the others should have a chance to visit this slum because it is so different and made an impact on me.  We came in to be greeted by little Poojah in a smart dress, ready to meet JH!  She looked lovely!

Later we met the boys and listened to their stories before JT taught them some BSL signs - which they enjoyed...

The boys left to go to school and then we got to meet some of the deaf people in the slum, children and adults.  Some of the children had multiple problems - blind or with cerebral palsies too.  It was quite hard to know how to encourage them.

We talked about the five senses and that even if some were not working - others could be stimulated - and should be.  Many of them seemed to us to be excluded and misunderstood by the community they lived in.  Vijay was a young, apparently bright lad who had no opportunity for school and not used to people trying to communicate with him.  JT did a fantastic job, sitting on the floor opposite him with good eye contact and showing Mum how to mouth his name clearly so he could lip-read.  She got a good response and a smile!

Then the Community Health Volunteers stayed and JT gave them a brief introduction to " deaf awareness" issues.  They were really receptive and keen to learn.

We all went for a tour round the slum so that the others could see for themselves the conditions these people were enduring.  Here are N&S by the railway:

After a quick lunch we departed for an altogether different destination.  Shanti Vihar is a community in the west of the city which has residents who tell familiar stories of how their slum lives used to be - and go on to explain how with Asha's help, they no longer live in a slum!

We saw thriving businesses, a clean, quiet environment with plants, and attractive homes.  The people own the land their houses are built on and therefore are secure.  Most people have good jobs and for example work in some of the foreign embassies nearby.  We were told that they regard themselves as middle-class Indians now!  We were made to feel welcome with drinks and biscuits in this lovely home, served by these 3 young ladies:

We then headed back to Asha HQ where JH met a family we have got to know well over the years who live in a nearby slum.  Another baby had arrived since last time - number 3 - but we were told "no more"!  Meanwhile I met with the doctors to finalise the new updated drug formulary that we had been working on:

Back to Delhi

When we got back to Delhi we unexpectedly had a day off as Asha was closed for the Rakhi festival when sisters buy wristbands for their brothers and brothers promise to protect their sisters!  I had always wanted to visit the Qutab Minar - which we could see from our hotel...so we did!

I have no idea why it has taken me seven visits to Delhi to do this - it was an amazing place:

Beautiful detail on the stonework:

Surrounded by beautiful ruins of an old mosque and College etc.

I learnt a new word - a good one too: this sort of corner shelf that supported the domed roof is apparently known as a...squinch!

On the flightpath to Delhi airport - ancient and modern...

Then, we caught a metro to AIIMS to visit our favourite airconditioned coffee shop in South Extension before going to explore our favourite Delhi bookshop!

After the bookshop we went a few doors further to a dress shop where all the girls bought clothes.  Fortunately, we were served with a cup of tea while we waited for alterations to be made on the spot!

Shimla

Belatedly and determinedly, I want to try and finish this blog.  After a period with no internet I am home and thrown into the maelstrom of busyness.  Here's another post...

On Sat 28th July, bright and early the five of us caught the early Shababti express train to Kalka from New Delhi station

From Kalka we took a taxi for a 3 hour ride to Shimla. The temperature was cool - in the mid 20's and it was misty with intermittent rain

Shimla was the summer centre of Government during British Raj days so there is a great blend of Britishness...

and Indian charm...

We enjoyed the shopping with a view...The Ridge was especially pretty and reminiscent of a Lowry painting:

Next day we went for a ride on the narrow guage mountain railway or "Toy train" as it's known, followed by a tour of the local sights

It was quite atmospheric in the mist:

After visiting a Hindu temple we went to the Viceroy's Lodge at about 3000m:

before visiting a "Tree House" in the middle of the forest for lunch.

When we got back to the hotel we discovered that Shimla, along with 1/4 of India had a power cut!
Next day it decided to throw rain at us in buckets but, undaunted, Julie decided she wanted to do more shopping while the rest of us wanted to climb the mountain to visit the Jakhu temple on the top, dedicated to the monkey god, and teeming with monkeys

Down the mountain again, we were soaked through despite umbrellas and really fancied a cup of tea.  Unfortunately, no tea was available as there was another power cut.  This time 1/2 of India's population were affected. Trains were stopped and traffic in the cities was even more chaotic than normal due to lack of traffic lights!

I have never seen so many umbrellas...

By the next day everything was back to normal, and apart from a short hold-up at a landslide on the way down the mountain, we made it to Delhi in good time.

Back to Asha the next day...

Tigri!

The rest of the team arrived on Thursday while I worked back at Kalkaji.  Then I moved out of the flat and into the hotel with my dw.  After their rest we visited Hauz Khas.  This place in the middle of South Delhi is quite impressive:

On Friday morning we visited Tigri again which was very special for us.  They were all very welcoming.  I did a clinic - my last one this trip - while the others went on a slum visit.  They visited peoples' homes and met some of those who had received small bank loans.  It felt very special to meet the ladies and children there again.  They remembered us from 2 years ago and still have the monkey!

Here are some of the girls looking at our previous photos from Tigri:

...and here are some of the Tigri students chatting to JH and JT

JT teaches the children some BSL signs - they enjoyed this one: TIGER!

As we left Tigri Centre we were reminded that it was monsoon season - and that in the 2010 monsoon season, 6 months after we last visited, the centre was completely flooded.  They now have flood defences which help prevent water ingress but this area was dry when we arrived...!!!

Now we are in Shimla having caught the early train from Delhi to Kalka and taken a 3 hour taxi drive from there.  It is so much cooler here - but very misty!  We are here for 4 days before returning to Delhi and Asha.

A tough morning!

I was back in Seelumpur for a clinic this morning.  By the end I was emotionally drained having shed a few tears!  As if living in poverty wasn't enough, let me tell you about 3 patients I saw this morning:

1. A 14 year old lass came in to see me.  Her father died some time previously.  Last year both she and her mother contracted Tb.  Unfortunately she didn't complete her treatment. Why? Her mother died - and one day before she died they found that she also had a cancer.  This poor lass had now had 3 weeks of fever with a cough, possibly a recurrence of her incompletely treated Tb. 

2. A mother came in and after complaining of various aches and pains she placed on the desk a pile of papers concerning her 15 year old daughter who had just been discharged from a big hospital. I looked through pages of notes and investigations to find that her daughter's bone marrow had packed up and she wasn't producing anything like enough blood cells - that's red blood cells, or white blood cells that fight infection.  I was shocked to find a hamoglobin of 1.2 during her hospital stay.  I didn't think that was compatible with life!  She had had several transfusions and was now home.  I don't imagine her prognosis is very good!

3. We were just about to leave when one of the CHV's came in asking if I could see her 21 year old daughter who had been diagnosed with diabetes about 1 year ago.  Just before the diagnosis was made she had been married.  When her husband's family heard about the diagnosis she was returned to her family and divorced.  So this poor lass was not only having to come to terms with her diagnosis but was also rejected as unsuitable for her husband.  How do you deal with that?  How can people be so cruel?  I cannot get my head around a culture that treats young women like a business commodity!

Never make the mistake of thinking that the poor are content with their lot.  It can be easy to imagine that.  Real tears were shed by many parties this morning!

On a brighter note, I always love this sight:

It means that inside that door something interesting is happening with the kids!  On Monday at my last visit to Seelumpur I met a team of students from a Catholic theology college.  They were telling me that as part of the training they wanted their students to gain experience of service.  They had offered to provide English teaching for the children of Seelumpur.  So this is what was through that door:

When we got back to the office I had  a quick look inside one of the new mobile clinic buses which I gather are now ready to go and hopefully will be out and about next week.

Inside there is a waiting area for 5 patients at a time with a desk for registration, another for BP's etc to be done and a consulting area at the back.

Here's the consulting area:

At the end of a hard day it was good to be able to chat with these guys - the staff in the Asha office.  They are very serious about what they do but are happy to have a good laugh together at the end of the day when they had been turfed out of the office so it could be cleaned:

Back to Mayapuri

I returned to a drier Mayapuri today.  It hasn't rained for a few days so there were fewer puddles about and the ground didn't stick to my shoes! I was well looked after...this is the reception area from my room:

Under that plate is my cup of freshly made and very sweet chai, and biscuits!

And here is the team at Mayapuri - Thresi on the right is one of the Asha staff and looks after Mayapuri

The team that were decorating the building have now left for 2 weeks travelling before returning to UK.They've done a great job!

And of course this is the slum that Bianca teaches in - so here she is in action with her class of boys - playing some fast and furious game while learning English - clever eh?

After the clinic, I gave the staff the photos of baby Poojah from 2005 that I had got printed, so she can see herself as a baby!

On the way to get an autorickshaw back to the office I captured the scene around the slum - masses of cars buses and lorries etc being broken for scrap - lots of noise, sharp metal, broken windscreen glass and spilt oils.  Not the ideal environment for bringing up your kids is it?

And this is Ayesha, Bianca and I riding home in the auto-rickshaw.  The conversation was almost entirely about Indian foods, what to try and where to buy them, and said conversation continued for quite a while back in the office over lunch!