Namaste!

Volunteering is going well! I am really getting to love the children so much. I feel like we are actually getting somewhere with them, although I only have just over a week left with them and the other girl I'm working with has 2. We are sending around 10 kids to the govt. school now.

We have introduced toothbushing & soap to them which we do every morning (they love it!). Also... dressing a few festy wounds, talking to the women about issues (alcohol & pregnancy, hygiene etc.), built a toilet & rubbish bin out of stone. I am organising a school concert for next week to show their parents what we are doing.

Everything here is very difficult & it takes alot of effort. Although we cant make a huge difference, it all helps. And its so good to be involved with this village and get to know what its like for them and how they live.

I've picked up a bit of Hindi which is fun to use, but its still difficult without it. I just wish I could communicate with the people more, as most of them dont know any English. We wear Indian clothing to school (salwar kameez - loose pants, long top & scarf) which is good to try and fit in, but everywhere we go we get an incredible amount of stares (they dont have many foreigners here) and people calling out to us! I just long to be like an Indian!!

They are extremely traditional people, which is why it is so hard for us to change things here. Arranged marriages are still at ~90% (100% in the villages) and most of the children get married at 12 years! They are deeply religious (Hindu) and everything they do is because of the gods. Hard to believe these things still go on - even in the big cities its still normal. Their culture is so entrenched in who they are they cant see any other way. They are very beautiful people. Very interesting to try and understand!