Hello from Grace - a new volunteer!

Hello and welcome!!!!!!

My name is Grace and I am currently working through India Volunteer Care for Prime Trust for the summer of 2018.

I have travelled from England for 8 weeks to complete an internship with Prime Trust for part of my university degree. I am currently studying International Development at the University of East Anglia and I am delighted to be given the opportunity to come to India to carry out my work experience.

So far I have been in Pondicherry for 3 weeks and I could not be happier!! What an amazing place - filed with amazing people, food, beaches and markets. The first week arriving was very overwhelming however I soon settled into this friendly environment and feel like I have been here for years (in a good way).

There is a very chilled out and friendly atmosphere among the people in Pondi, they are very caring, kind and welcoming. But fear not, it is also very hard to forget you are in India with Tuk-Tuks and scooters at every turning - loud people shouting among the markets - chaos at every street. The smell of Indian food follows you everywhere and the heat never goes away. With all this said, this is what makes India amazing - and Pondicherry even more because it offers everything India has to offer but in a calmer and more relaxed sense.

My work with Prime Trust currently involves working among both Sishubhavan Play School in the morning and at Janani Home for Girls in the evening.

Over the next few weeks I will be using this blog to update all of Prime Trust supporters of the work I am doing, but most importantly I will use this blog to share the amazing work Prime Trust is doing to help those among Pondicherry.

Stay tuned and follow my updates...

With love from Pondicherry

Grace

Cyclone 'Thane' - Devastation worse than the 2004 Tsunami but no one listens....

On the 30^th of December 2011 Cyclone ‘Thane’ hit Pondicherry and nearby coastal villages of Tamil Nadu, India. Although, Cyclone ‘Thane’ has received minimal international media coverage the damage in Pondicherry and nearby areas of Tamil Nadu has been far more devastating than that experienced by the 2004 Tsunami. Areas surrounding the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry were engulfed by devastating winds reaching up to 140 km per hour, claiming a total of 47 deaths in the area. ‘Thane’ not only lead to the destruction of electric poles, uprooting of trees and widespread damage to infrastructure, but with this came the dismantling of people’s livelihoods as well as risks to their public health and safety.

Prime Trust needs your help in assisting marginalised women of the Pondicherry district with emergency relief supplies. Red Cross India is organising and coordinating an emergency relief operation for the devastated communities of south Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. With the help of Red Cross India and six other local NGOs[1], Prime Trust are delivering emergency supplies to the 1,200 families still requiring basic care in the Pondicherry district. These families are in urgent need of tarpaulins, basic medical kits and sanitary items, basic food and clean water supplies. In order to achieve this Prime Trust and the poor and down-trodden people of Pondicherry need your help!

You can help us now by…

- Telling all your friends, family, work colleagues and anyone you meet Prime Trust’s cyclone relief appeal

- Register now to provide hands-on assistance to these marginalised communities. In order to rebuild Pondicherry, we need to work as a community with united hands and minds. We need volunteers to help rebuild damaged/destroyed houses and roads, replant trees and to supply relief material within our community. Please email Mr Arasu (Director of Prime Trust) to register your interest in volunteering – admin@primetrust.org.

- Donate now. Your monetary donation will go directly towards keeping our mothers and children healthy, keeping our children in school and helping maintain or rebuild the livelihood of farmers in Pondicherry.

A small gift for some is a...

Rs.5,000 or 76 € or $100 US will rebuild a thatched roof house.

Rs.1, 500 or €23 or $30 US will provide emergency food and medical supplies for a family of five.

To donate you can post, send or personally deliver your donation to:

Post your donation to -

All cheques can be made payable to: Prime Educational and Social Trust

Postal address:

PRIME EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL TRUST
10, 9th CROSS, RAINBOW NAGAR
PONDICHERRY – 605 011
INDIA

Send money through wire transfer -

FCRA No. 285130103
Account Holder: PRIME EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL TRUST
Account No: 911010002418117
Name of the Bank: Axis Bank,
Address: 164, Bussy Street, Puducherry – 605 001
Swift Code: AXISINBB006

For more details, kindly visit the website of our bank on how to make your payment http://www.axisbank.com/nri/remittances/Euroland/Euroland.asp
Please send us an email once you have transferred the amount, if possible with details about the transfer (either a scanned copy of the paper receipt that the bank issues, or - in the email - a copy/pasted version of whatever appeared on screen after processing the transfer through internet banking, whichever applies).

The most fun you can have...ever

The other week Mr Arasu asked Nicolas and I to visit a remedial school in the slum area near the old lighthouse so we would meet some potential candidates for our new boys orphanage, Janani.  I had already visited two of Prime Trust’s remedial schools so I expected the visit to go along the same lines, greet the children, practice some basic English, observe and then leave.  Things don’t always turn out as we expect them to, especially in India, and this was one of those times.

Walking into the classroom, we were quickly seated on plastic chairs in front of the children who were sitting spaced out on the floor in even rows.  Some stared at us shyly whilst others beamed at us with excited eyes.  Within minutes, small groups of children voluntarily came forward to sing for us and welcome us into their school.  Nicolas and I watched them smiling and nodding along to words we didn’t understand but still applauding them whole-hearted when they finished each song as a new group came forward to sing or dance for us.

Soon the songs came to an end and we were pulled to our feet by the children, the boys naturally gravitating towards Nicolas and the girls towards me.  Out came the camera and there was lots of giggling and pushing and posing for photos and then it began….the most fun you could have…ever!

For the next hour, the girls took it in turns to hold my hands as we twirled round and around in a giant circle, before uniformly falling down as we sang “Ring-a-ring-a-rosa, a pocket full of posa” (well it was their interpretation of the song).  Then it was up again to repeat the song again, and again, and again.  One at a time, they took it in turns to hold my hands crossed over in each of theirs as we span around and around as fast as we could until dizzy we both fell down and then got back up to repeat the spin in the opposite direction.

They gathered around me asking me to teach them a dance. So, put on the spot, I teach them the only dances I know. We start with the childhood classic, “Hokey Pokey.”  They sing along even though they don’t know the words but when we get to the chorus, they all sing loudly.

“Ohhhh, the hokey pokey!  Ohhhh, the hokey pokey!  Ohhhh, the hokey pokey! (clapping hands) That’s what it’s all about!”

We sing it again and again but then they want more dances.  So I teach them the Nutbush.  Yes, Tina Turner’s very own Nutbush because it’s the only other dance that I could think of in the moment.  We make it though one round but it’s not quite the same without the music.

“Another dance, another dance” they cry.

By now I’m really running out of options so I pull out the only other song in my unprepared dance kit…wait for it…yes, The Bus Stop!  We get through a round of this as well but it also is not quite the same without the music so before long we’ve reverted back to “Ring-a-ring-a-rosa” twirling around and around in a giant circle sometimes on our feet and sometimes on our bums. 

We laugh, we dance and before I know it, it’s already 8pm.  We’ve been there for two hours! It’s time to leave although the children don’t want us to go. They hang onto our hands and ask us for more songs, more dance, more play. But I am sweaty and exhausted and it’s time for the school to close.  We stumble out of the classroom and into the cool of the night, tired but elated.  I can’t wipe the smile off my face. This really was the most fun, ever.

Until the next adventure,

Kym

aka Gypsy K

you can read more of my adventures here....

http://kymmiew.blogspot.com/

Sadly, my external hard drive died and it had all the photos from this night except this one...

But here's another couple of photos from the other remedial school which has beautiful children as well (they just don't make me dance with them!)

Monsoon rains and elephant trails...24.5 hours of road adventures in Kerala.

This past week, fellow volunteers Anja and Nicolas along with our friend Senti, decided to take a brief time-out from Pondicherry and visit the neighbouring state of Kerala.  After the 3 hour taxi ride, dodging honking trucks and buses, we soon made it to Chennai for our one hour flight to Trivandrum.  Another 90 minutes of quieter albeit potholed, chicken-playing, hair-raising taxi ride, we arrived in our first destination, Varkala, a small village set on the steep red cliffs overlooking the Arabian Sea.  Finally gone were the honking horns of traffic, replaced with the peaceful natural sound of waves breaking against the rocks. We spent our first day meandering along the cliffs, enjoying the view, the shopping and the great choice of food, occasionally taking shelter from the rain storms that swept in from the sea and over the cliff bucketing us with rain.

The next morning we left at 9am for our 3.5 hour taxi ride to Allepey for a day and night cruising the backwaters on our very own houseboat, Lake’s Legend.  Our memories of honking dodgem taxis was soon replaced by the gentle hum of the boat’s engine and the lapping of water against the side of the boat.  We laid back, relaxed and watched the Keralan life pass by around us only moving to the table to eat the delicious Keralan food the staff prepared for us. Fried fish, fried coconut, rice, chapati, mixed greens, dal, fresh pineapple and my favourite, fried sweet little bananas.

After arriving back into houseboat port once again in pouring monsoon rain, we waited the “five minutes” for our taxi .  An hour later our taxi arrived and we set off on the 5 hour hot, slow, steep, winding and seriously pot-holed climb to Thekkady for an adventure with wildlife.  Slow it may have been, but the scenery was beautiful.  Tea, rubber, cocoa, pineapple and coffee plantations and more waterfalls than you could count on two hands.  After arriving in yet more monsoon rain, we settled into our accommodation, had a late lunch and in the early evening, watched a demonstration of the Keralan martial art form, Karali.  I even volunteered to join in the six man huddle as one of the martial artists incredibly leaped over all of our backs into a forward roll.

Next morning after a quick cup of hot sweet Keralan coffee, we set off on our jeep safari into Periyar Wildlife Reserve at 5.30am.  After the fastest but bumpiest 1 hour drive over the worst potholes I have ever seen, we made it to the reserve. With our multi-skilled driver, navigating the road and spotting wildlife at the same time we saw the black monkey, squirrel, wild bison and macaques.  And then we saw it, unmissable, on the road.  Freshly laid, huge, elephant poo, marking the trail of the wild elephants that had recently walked the road we were now driving.  As we continued along the road, we eagerly scanned the forest around us, hoping that maybe we just might spot a wild elephant or two.

After chowing down our Western Indian breakfast, both idly with dal and chutney and fried eggs with toast, we slipped into our leech socks and set off into the pouring monsoon rain.  For 90 minutes, we trudged through the jungle in the pouring rain, more leeches wriggle-hopping over our leech socks with every step.  We were still on the trail of elephants.  We walked past their scratching tree and the pile of mud they used for their mud baths but after an hour of walking through the mud, puddles and streams  in the rain and stopping every 10 minutes to sprinkle salt on the leeches on our feet we all agreed to take the shorter trail that lead back to camp. No elephants to be seen this time.

From Periyar we drove 5 hours, back past the tea, coffee, pineapple and coco plantations to Fort Cochin.  The sky may have pelted us with yet more monsoon rain but we didn’t let that dampen our spirits.  We visited  historic St Francis Church and the Chinese Fishing Nets where we were invited by some of the fishermen to take shelter with them. Then it was time to head back to Pondy.  A 90 minute drive to the airport and one hour flight and we landed back in dry, hot Chennai.  One last 3 hour drive and we made it back to Pondy.  We may have spent an ambitious 24.5 hours in taxis and experienced torrents of monsoon rain but we still loved our time in beautiful Kerala and recommend it to anyone, monsoon time or not.

Until the next adventure,

Kym

aka Gypsy K

you can read more of my adventures here....

http://kymmiew.blogspot.com/

Varkala

 Backwaters, Allepey

Church on the Backwaters, Allepey

Anja, Nicolas and Senti relaxing on our boat 

Giant leap and forward roll by Karli martial artist...that's me in the purple wrap in the middle

One of the waterfalls we passed on the way to Thekkady

 

Getting ready to go leech-walking

Chinese fishing nets in Fort Cochin

Adventures in cooking Spaghetti Bolognese...Indian Style

I was chatting casually to Nicolas, one of our French volunteers working in the boy's orphanage last week, when he mentioned an idea he had as a treat for the boys. “I’d really like to give them an Italian experience,” he told me. “I’d like to cook them spaghetti bolognese next Sunday for lunch. Would you like to help me?”

How could I say no? Having never cooked for so many people , 14 boys plus at least 6 adults, and liking to be organised I started preparing straight away. First thing was the shopping list because being India, I wasn’t sure that we would be able to buy everything we needed at the supermarket. A quick look in Nilgiris, the local supermarket confirmed this.:

• Pasta, garlic paste, olive oil, salt, sugar and even dry pasta herbs. Check.
• Mince meat, tomato paste. Negative.
• Tomato puree as an alternative? Check.
• Fresh tomatoes and onions from the Grand Bazaar market. Check. 
• Mince meat from the grand Bazaar. Negative

So how were we going to cook spaghetti bolognese without mince meat?

With 5 days to spare, Anja, a fellow volunteer from Germany, and I set out to find out where we could buy mince meat. Our first stop was Satsanga, a local restaurant, that Anja told me has spaghetti bolognese on their menu. They told us they order their mince meat from Bangalore and would sell some to us for 260 rupees per 500 grams. 260 rupees per 500 grams! That’s around AUD$11 per kilo and as we needed 3 kilos, way too expensive.

Next I tried an Italian restaurant. They told us they bought it from the market, pointing in the direction of the Grand Bazaar. But I couldn’t remember seeing any meat there besides fish when I wandered around its tight-nit stalls. Anja tried Bon Bakes, a bakery that also cooks spaghetti bolognese. They told her they use chicken. This sounded quite unusual to me but we agreed we could probably do the same as a last resort.

Upon returning home, I asked the ladies who run the Day Care Centre where I live if they knew where I could buy mince meat. Bingo. They told me I could buy mutton or goat for around 160 rupees per half (kilo) at a market just around the corner from the temple heading out of Pondicherry on the East Coast Road AND that they would take me on Saturday morning to buy some. Although bolognese is usually made with beef, this is the land of the holy cow, so mutton is the next best alternative.

On Saturday morning, I got out of bed at 8am to get ready for the weekly volunteer’s meeting at 9am only to remember it was a long weekend! It was French Independence Day on Monday and Pondicherry’s Independence Day on the Tuesday so the Day Care Centre was closed until Wednesday. Nobody was going to be there to take me to buy the meat. At this rate, spaghetti bolognese was going to become plain spaghetti pomodoro or some other variation. But never fear. Arasu, Prime Trust’s director came to our rescue and agreed to come and pick me up the next morning and take me to the market to buy minced mutton.

At 8.45am we headed off down Mahatma Gandhi Road. Unlike weekdays, the street was relatively bare of traffic but that’s not to say it was free of the constant honking of horns from what traffic was around. As we cruised down the road, Arasu pointed the weekly Sunday Market setting up along the side of the road. “You can buy anything,” he told me. “Even computers.”

We parked the bike outside the Mahatma Gandhi Road market and walked into the meat section to Arasu’s favourite mutton store. We ordered 3 kilograms of mince mutton for 400 rupees per kilo (without bones and fat). It was to be minced by hand so we took the opportunity to go for a coffee and Indian breakfast of pongal which is a rice porridge served with dhal.

Back at the IVC headquarters (the Volunteer’s house), preparations started at 10am to serve lunch at 1pm. Tomatoes chopped. Onions chopped. There was even time for a rest before cooking had to start at 11.30am exactly. Everything was going smoothly and to schedule until 12.35pm when we ran out of gas for the stove. But never fear, Arasu came to the rescue once more with a quick dash to get another gas bottle.

Whilst it may have been served later than expected and it may not have been a truly authentic bolognese, the boys loved it. “Super” one of the boys called out after he had finished his plate. Kelly, a returning volunteer from Scotland, overheard them say in Tamil that it was really, really good except the spaghetti made them feel so full! Whilst there were plenty of leftovers, they didn’t last long. The boys finished off the rest for afternoon tea at 4 o’clock.

Until the next adventure.....

Kym

The mutton shop

 Anja doing a great job chopping the onions

 Me with a couple of the boys just before serving up lunch

 The boys enjoying their spaghetti bolognese

 The rest of the boys eating their spaghetti bolognese

 Nicolas playing with some of the boys

Why volunteer with India Volunteer Care? Let me tell you my story....

Hi! My name is Kym. I’m from Australia and I’m on an extended sabbatical. I visited India for the first time in 2008 and ever since then I have longed to return to this incredible country. In my first visit I saw some amazing sights in the north, the Taj Mahal, Varanasi’s bathing and cremation ghats and the Amber Fort to name a few. But what captured my heart the most was the amazing kids I met along the way. Although many looked poor and rather dirty, there was so much joy bursting out of these children that they freely shared as they came running to greet me or they waved at me giggling and shouting “take my photo.” This time, instead of having the usual “tourist” experience of India, passing from place to place and seeing the sights, I wanted the opportunity to settle in one place, connect with the people especially children and try and be of service where and how I could.

After extensive search and consideration, I decided to volunteer with India Volunteer Care (the sister organisation of Prime Trust). These days there are so many organisations that offer volunteer arrangements. Some are not-for-profits and some appear to profiting from the time you voluntary provide in service of others. Most offer full-board arrangements and projects selected prior to coming to India. That is where India Volunteer Care (IVC) and Prime Trust are different. They are non-profit, sister organisations that work closely together as IVC volunteers work on Prime Trust projects. The small establishment fee that you pay (only 10,000 rupees) goes directly to the organisation along with the rent that you pay for your room to help fund Prime Trust's projects.  Food is not provided so you can cook for yourself in the kitchen or go to one of the many Indian or Western Restaurants in town at a price that suits you. IVC is very flexible. You don’t have to select your project until you arrive. This allows you to settle in, go and visit the projects that are of interest to you and then make your decision. You can even get involved in more than one project if you have the time and your schedule allows for it.

The other personal reason I selected IVC is that I love to be out of a big city and where possible near the sea. Many of the other organisations are based in the bigger cities such as Delhi but IVC and Prime Trust are based in Pondicherry. Pondy, as it is affectionately know, is big but not too big although it is still crowded and busy and chaotic as most towns are in India especially in the early morning and evenings. Pondicherry has a long rocky beach called the Promenade on the Bay of Bengal. It’s a great place to check out at night as many of the locals come to walk or sit on the rocks and watch the sea. There are also many other beaches north and south of Pondicherry where it is possible to swim if you are careful of rips and undertows and you can even learn to surf with the local surf school. I have found that Pondicherry has a more laid back vibe than the North and I really love being here.

Before I came to Pondicherry, I had thought that I would volunteer with women and children. But as I have learned from my travels and life in general, not everything turns out as you plan or think it will. After looking at some different projects, I have just started volunteering at the boy’s orphanage that is run by IVC’s sister non-profit organisation called Prime Educational and Social Trust (known as Prime Trust). The orphanage houses 14 very spirited boys aged 4 to 16. This is where I feel that I can be of most service at the moment and where my help is most needed with a particular focus on improving their English. 

I am very excited about this opportunity to work with them over the next 6 weeks and I hope to keep you updated about my adventures with the boys and in Pondicherry as well.

 The Promenade in the late afternoon

Boys at The Mother Home orphanage, practising their English writing 

That's me wearing sunglasses, cruising the mangroves at Pichavaram with Anja and Nicolas, two of my fellow volunteers

Hi there!

My name is Judith and I'm doing my internship here at Prime Trust. I am an International Management student from Holland and I will stay in Pondicherry for a total of ten weeks.

I've been in Pondicherry for three weeks now and so far it's been great! Prime Trust is a nice organisation to work for, and I'm having a great time with the other volunteers. The work I do is very rewarding, as it feels like a small thing can really make a difference.
I mainly do office work, including fundraising and marketing activities. I apply for international funds that can finance Prime Trust's activities and I try to find new donors. I publish in both Dutch and Indian newspaper in order to give Prime Trust more publicity, and I help Prime Trust in recruiting new volunteers. I also give awareness programs about domestic violence to the women self-help groups, and I teach English at a remedial school.

Working at Prime Trust is a great opportunity to really experience the South-Indian culture. The Indian staff is super supportive, and the neighbourhood feels totally safe. All the work you do is highly appreciated by the organisation, and there is also enough time to enjoy the country and make trips.

All in all, I recommend anyone who is open minded, flexible and willing to contribute to the development of South-India, to apply for an internship or volunteer position at Prime Trust.

Feel free to email me in case you have any questions!


Judith