Saturday 25 February 2017
Friday 24 February 2017
Our time in India is almost over and it will be really difficult for all of us to leave tomorrow. It has been a trip of a lifetime with experiences every day which have taken us well out of our comfort zone, but every day has been so rewarding. We hope you have enjoyed following our daily blog and we look forward to sharing more memories and stories with you on our return tomorrow. We shall be leaving the hostel at 6.45am and if all goes to plan we shall be back at the Botanical Gardens for 9.00pm.
It wasn't long before word got round the village that we had arrived and all the village children came out on the street to meet us. Our first project was a clean-up campaign aimed at helping to educate the villagers in responsible litter disposal. Our bags were full in 10 minutes! We then learned how to make fuel from cow dung - some of the girls even managed it without wearing gloves!
Thursday 23 February 2017
After a delicious meal with our new friends, we headed out to the Red Fort for a sound and light show which gave us a great insight into Delhi's history through the centuries. A long day but another very memorable one with new friendships made and hopes of the St Thomas's students coming to visit us in Sheffield next year.
After lunch our hosts took us to see the house where Indira Ghandi lived and then on to Nizamuddin to the Sufi temple. This was one of our most challenging visits with extreme poverty visible all around us - families living under tarpaulin on the streets and beggars lining both sides of the crowded and very smelly streets leading to the busy temple.
Another early start this morning for a full day of activities with students from our partner school St Thomas' School for Girls. We worked with the St Thomas's girls making Indian bread in the cookery room, making photo frames from recycled paper and covering one of the playground walls with graffiti highlights from Sheffield!
Wednesday 22 February 2017
In the afternoon we headed out to Guraon, the business district of Delhi where we met Esther, Operations Manager for Investopad. She explained how the company selects startup businesses to invest in and the support they are given. She gave the girls lots of useful advice about the need to be flexible and open minded in their career choices and stressed the importance of soft skills such as teamwork, relationships and integrity in the business world.
Today the group divided into 2 again with the Year 12s visiting a local hospital and business centre whilst the Year 11s and Year 13s went to the Riverside Free School and DISHA Young Women's Empowerment Project. Year 12 began with a question and answer session with Dr Mahajan from a local clinic where we heard about the differences between healthcare in the UK and India. At the hospital we met Dr Rohatagi, an oncologist who had practised at St James' hospital in Leeds. He gave us a very honest and inspiring insight into the challenges of his work. He talked to us about the stigma attached to breast cancer in the local villages, which prevents women from coming forward for screenings or to report concerns. He also talked about the growing 'health tourism' industry which sees increasing numbers of overseas visitors coming to India to buy cheaper private health care.
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