life, by me

Saturday, July 20, 2013 | Posted by Hazel

Let me catch up with the last couple of weeks.  Firstly, the volunteers arrived.  My group, India Charlie 5, was formed.  They are all great people, and enthusiastic about our project!  We have 8 x UK volunteers and 4 x Indian - consisting of 10 girls and 2 boys; the lucky things.  We spent 4 days at field base training them on all the things we had learnt over the previous couple of weeks.  The team leaders got split in to 2 teams, as there are too many volunteers to run all the projects at once.   I'm in the first team, so it was a bit sad to say goodbye to the second team until the day before we fly in September when we will meet again...

 

Anyway, India Charlie 5...here we are, all packed and ready to head to our village, a mere 5 hour road trip across some windy roads and up some steep tracks to reach Kokkal.

 

 

Upon reaching our village midday the following day, we were met with a sea of people dressed in white.  As we approached them they started banging their drums and leading us up in to the village.  They then sat us down on plastic chairs and performed a welcome ceremony for us.  It was really quite amazing and hard to explain what it was like.

 

 

One of our first tasks in the village was to build ourselves a long drop.  This took a little longer than we had anticipated but luckily everyone managed to cross the legs for the duration, so no accidents were had - other than me accidentally kneeling in some actual human diarrhea (a villagers, not one of the volunteers).  Oh yeah, that was a good moment.  This is long drop #1 - we are now on our #3...the more improved and larger model.

In Kokkal, the women start to wear their traditional dress when they reach the age of 20.  They also start to do their hair in a traditional style at the same time.  In  the first week we spent a lot of time visiting the locals and getting to know them, drinking chai with them and performing for them at their will.  My dancing skills (or lack of pride) have come in handy for such situations.  One of the ladies demonstrated the hair style for me too...

Our village is in a beautiful location.  In between the rain and wind we have managed to take some time to explore the area.  A few of the locals took us on a trek one morning up to a viewpoint.  Along the way we saw wild monkeys and met a herd of buffalo who almost trampled us.

The first phase of the project so far has been mainly based around getting to know the village and the villagers, finding out about the history of Kokkal and conducting some Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRA) to find out what the greatest needs in the village are and what we can do whilst we are here to help.  We have found out lots of information and already started teaching English for 10 - 14 year olds in the local school and planned some sports clubs and a toothbrush club to start when we return back to the village in a couple of days.  The building part of the project will also begin soon.  This week we had an architect visit to come and draw up plans for the new building and we should get a copy of the completed plan this week so we can start ordering materials and getting ready for the demolition of the existing building.

Generally all has been well in Charlie 5, but we have had a few medical incidents, one of which involved me spending a night in a local hospital with a volunteer.  Drinking water is not my biggest skill, but here I am trying my best to be a good example as we have had at least 4 volunteers ill and puking from dehydration - we can't all be blessed with such hardy bodies as mine.

One of the other exciting events from our village has been a wedding.  Last weekend a girl in our village got married to a man from one of the other Kota tribes in our village and our team was invited.  It was a really hot day and was interesting to see the rituals and traditions they follow in their wedding ceremonies.  The first 'tradition' we noticed was that the house that the bride was from hooked up a massive speaker 24 hours before the wedding ceremony and blasted out Indian music at top volume across the village the whole day/night before the event.

The Bride and Groom

Some of the local kids dancing to the music at the wedding, on the roof

We are now back at field base for a couple of days before we head back to the village on Monday.  Yesterday we had the day off in Mysore and the next couple of days there is some training for the volunteers.

During the second phase, as well as starting the construction of the Mense House, we will also be setting up some more activities for the children in the village, holding a general health camp, an eye camp and a vet camp and hopefully organising some home stays for the volunteers.  It's all very busy, but a 'good' busy.  The weather is generally raining and windy, interspersed with the odd hot day sent to dehydrate the volunteers.

Here are a few pictures from the last 3 weeks...

This is where we are staying, the girls upstairs and the kitchen and boys room is downstairs.  We shower in the blue tarpaulin area and wash our clothes and hair in the stream behind the building.

 

Chillis drying in the sun

Remya enjoying the wedding meal

It's tradition to draw black spots on small children's faces.  The local people believe that is bad luck for people to say their children are beautiful, so they draw spots on them so they are not.

The stream where we wash our hair

 

Local women doing their washing in the stream

Learning how to make chappattis with the local women

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Saturday, June 22, 2013 | Posted by Hazel

So, I'm in India!  I've been here nearly 2 weeks now and it already feels like I have been here for ages.  The majority of my time so far has been spent learning all about how the project will work, some team building and more recently, visiting and learning about the village I will be living and working in for the remainder of the project. 

Firstly however, the weather is not necessarily as I had anticipated.  It is the beginning of the monsoon season over here which seemed to have escaped me when I was getting ready for my trip.  Basically it rains at some point during each day.  It's still warm but just wet - and the rain can get pretty heavy.  Luckily I packed my raincoat so I'm prepped for the weather.  The village that we are going to be working in, Kokkal, is in the Nilgiri mountains, and it's also pretty cold.  So I think the tan I was hoping for maybe a distant dream...

I have been paired with Remya, my Indian team leader partner.  We will both be taking 12 volunteers (a mix of UK and Indian 18-24 year olds) to live in Kokkal, a primitive tribal village in the South of India.  I am really excited about the village.  We went to visit it this week to find out more about it and do some risk assessments at the location.

Remya and myself visiting Kokkal, our village

The people in the village are part of the Kota tribe.  There are 7 villages in the area where the Kota tribe people live.  They live by strict rituals and traditions that their ancestors have followed for many years.  The Kota people believe they were created from the sweat of Shiva, one of the Hindu Gods.  They believe Shiva's sweat created 7 men and 7 women, who then set up the 7 villages which they now live in. 

One of the big rituals they follow is that all women must leave the family home during the time of menstruation.  They believe that menstruation is evil and dirty so separate the women during their monthly period.  They have a special 'Mense' house on the edge of the village where they live for 2 - 3 days at the beginning of their period each month. 

The Mense House

The Mense house they currently use is not really fit for purpose.  There isn't enough room to house all the women comfortably, and there are no toilet facilities.  They do everything they need to do in the one room in the building and openly defecate (go to the toilet outside) in the area surrounding the house.  The main bulk of our project when we are living in the village will be to demolish the existing Mense house and construct a new one for the women to use.  The women have no problem with the traditions and rituals which they follow, and it's not our role to change the way they live, but just to help them to live more comfortably.

Next week the volunteers arrive.  Up until now it has just been the 12 UK leaders and 12 Indian leaders that have been living at the field base near Mysore.  6 of the groups (including mine) will start this week and the other 6 groups will start the following week as there isn't enough room for us all at field base once all the volunteers arrive (12 volunteers per team).

Today is a day off, the first full day we have had off since we have been here - it has been pretty busy, but I am now feeling much more prepared for the project, although we still have some more training this weekend before the volunteers arrive.

Here are some photos of the last couple of weeks...

You don't go far down a road without having to give way to a herd of goats, cows or sheep

A colourful house in a local village

Myself at Mysore Palace (an Indian family also has this picture somewhere to show their family a token white person they met)

Spices, lentils and chillis at Mysore market

My poor attempt at chai pouring in Mysore

Ooty

And some photos from Kokkal, the village we will be working in...

Having chai at one of the villagers houses when we arrived

Local women weighing in their tea so they can get payment for it

Cavin and his mum showing us our accommodation

When one of the villagers said he would bring us a heater for our room, I hadn't anticipated he would build a fire in our bedroom...I loved it

Kokkal, the view from our accommodation

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Saturday, June 08, 2013 | Posted by Hazel

You'd think I'd have it down by now.  I've done it enough times, carried enough bags where I've wished I had less - yet, every time it makes me SO mad.  Packing.  I'm currently mid-packing, with clothes and toiletries strewn across the room.  I know when I actually put my mind to it, it will take me about 5 minutes to shove it all in! #firstworldproblems

Anyway, all this 'preparation' means that tomorrow I leave, destination = India!  Even though I am 24 hours away from being on a plane, I don't feel as though I am actually going.  I think my busy few weeks leading up until this point have meant I don't feel as though I have necessarily 'prepared' my head for what I am about to embark upon.

One of my friends sent me an article this week about India which was quite an interesting read. www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22772391  

I'm pretty excited about finding the weirdest street side service I can, might even get my hair cut; it's been a while.  I love the pictures with the different colours, the people, the different culture, the spicy foods.  I'm looking forward to all the new experiences I am about to have and things I am about to discover.

So, tomorrow marks the beginning of my next adventure - 12 weeks living and working in Southern India, leading a team of volunteers to undertake some community development projects within a rural community (location to be determined upon arrival).  

I know it's going to be a challenge.  The first 2 weeks are going to be packed full of training and learning all about the projects.  My brain will probably hurt and be crammed full of new information, but I am 'totes' looking forward to it and cannot wait! Upon arrival I will be travelling from Bangalore to Mysore, where the Raleigh International office is based.  Here we will meet the 12 Indian team leaders and the Raleigh staff, and the team building will begin.  Once we are paired up with the in country leaders we'll know the villages that we will be working in, in either Karnataka or Tamil Nadu. 

Tomorrow I am reunited with the other team leaders at Heathrow and off we fly...

I don't know what the internet availability will be like when I am there, but I will endeavour to update my blog if I can.

Here goes my Indian summer...

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Sunday, April 21, 2013 | Posted by Hazel

It's time for an update of my next adventure!  It's been a few months since I returned from France now. I've been mainly in Essex and Lincoln, doing a bit of work for the NHS and dreaming of places hotter and more exciting than here.  Among the many jobs and opportunities I have seen and applied for was a volunteering opportunity with Raleigh International.  Originally I was attracted by the idea of going to Tanzania and leading a team of volunteers to do some International Development work. Having completed a gruelling (well not quite, I'm exaggerating) assessment day I was told that I had passed but hadn't got a place yet and that I was on a reserve list.  I sort of forgot about it after that as figured that it was unlikely I would hear from them again....but a couple of weeks ago they contacted me to say that there was a place for me on the India trip if I wanted to go (which of course I did)!

So, from June to September this year I'm heading off to South India.  I still have a lot of information to find out about my trip and am as yet unsure whether I will have internet access at any point to blog and things like that, but should find out soon!

There are 2 projects that I could be getting involved in during my time in India - one is in Karnataka, helping to build toilets and teach the community some health education, the other is in Tamil Nadu where the projects are based around integrated farming, and we'd be helping to make manure, amongst other things.

My trip is part of a 3 year project funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) to send young people overseas to volunteer.  Each project is specifically designed to fight poverty and make a lasting difference by working with local people to meet local needs. I will be going as a Team Leader, leading a team of 12 young people - 6 from the UK and 6 from the local area in India, alongside an Indian Team Leader.

I have a training weekend in May where I will find out more information about the details of the trip.  I have started having my jabs, my arm has only just recovered from one I had on Thursday and I have another 3 to go in the coming weeks...the price of potential health eh?!

My mission at the moment is to fundraise £800 to go towards the work that Raleigh International does.  Raleigh International is a sustainable youth charity.  (If you're interested both Prince William and The Duchess of Cambridge (Kate) went on expeditions with Raleigh for their gap years!)

Their vision is: A world where young people feel a sense of belonging to a global community. A community working together to strengthen and improve the world around them. 

And their mission: To bring together people from around the world. To inspire, challenge and develop them to work in partnership as active global citizens. Learning how to build sustainable communities and conserve the environment.

My fundraising efforts so far include a curry and quiz night in Lincoln (in May), some quizzes for sale (£1 each) and I am currently making baby taggie toys (£10 each).  So hopefully I will manage to reach my target of £800 before I leave in June!

I don't know what will lead from this opportunity, but I'm really excited to be getting involved in some International Development work and going to a new country to do it!

www.justgiving.com/hazel-swan1

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Friday, December 21, 2012 | Posted by Hazel

French sign in Prades

View from Canaveilles

So we painted another room (the living room) in the house in the Pyrenees on another sunny day, we managed to get the whole room done with 2 coats in a day, we were pretty impressed with our speed!  (It's quite a big room.)

Where our house is situated is just on the border of both Spain and Andorra, so we took a day to go and explore our surroundings.  Driving through some more windy roads, over and through mountains, we arrived in Spain.  The signs changed to feature Spanish, but the landscapes looked pretty much the same.  

Road on the way to Andorra

Shortly after, we hit Andorra de Vella, the capital of Andorra.  Andorra apparently has 7 towns, and we visited 2 during our short trip.  From what I experienced, Andorra is all about shopping and skiing, with cheap fuel and cigarettes due to their low taxes (I read about the tobacco FYI).  It has lots of nice scenery, although I think we have been spoilt recently with our current location.

Evol, a nearby village, is one of the top 50 most beautiful villages in France apparently, so we decided to go and check it out.  It was pretty cute...having seen a few French villages now, I have a few to compare it to.  We met a few lively collies and wandered around a colourful graveyard. 

Church in Evol

On Thursday we decided to head to the coast.  I'd read about a place called 'Collouire' that is supposed to be very picturesque and a place of inspiration for Matisse and Picasso, amongst other famous artists, so we decided to visit.  I have to agree, it is very nice.  We had a packed lunch by the sea and wandered around the streets full of local artists and cobbled paths.

Collouire

One of the views that inspired some famous artists

View of Collouire

On our last day, in between packing our bits up, we treated ourselves to a thermal spa. About 20 minutes away from where we have been staying is 'St. Thomas' baths'.  It's situated amidst the mountains and heated naturally (it actually comes out too hot so they have to cool it down so people can get in it!).  We had a lovely time floating around and gazing at the snow capped mountains that surrounded us.

So this weekend was our last weekend in France...after packing up in the Pyrenees we headed north on our 11.5 hour drive towards Calais.  We didn't really have any set backs and had a pretty smooth drive, arriving at Calais late Saturday night, then sailing across on a ferry back to Dover on Sunday morning.

So here I am, back in the UK, getting ready for Christmas!

I've had a great adventure...met lots of interesting people and have done and seen lots of new things, experiencing a bit of the French culture and improving my French at the same time!

I wonder what my next adventure will be...

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