Precursor: I spent about 24 hours in transit from Kathmandu to Vishakhapatnam, which is fairly ridiculous considering the fact they are only about 500 miles apart and I flew. But (largely thanks to my own poor planning) I travelled from Kathmandu to New Delhi, then Mumbai, then Hyderabad (where I met my students) and then Vizag (the short form for Vishakhapatnam). My students had just flown over from the US, so they were actually more exhausted at the end of our travels than I was!
The trip out here has gone surprisingly smoothly thus far. I'm really happy about my students, who have proven to be flexible, easygoing, and willing to do whatever is needed. The kids here are really a lot of fun, and happy despite the incredible tragedies that they have already seen in their lives. In fact, this whole orphanage is full of surprising stories, like Darlene Large (known universally here as “Mom,” who is in her mid-seventies and yet works tirelessly and appears to be only in her early fifties. She has been running this place for a very long time, and has truly done a wonderful job with it.
The orphanage is much better run than others I've seen/heard about in this part of the world. For example, the kids each get their own bed (oftentimes at orphanages they have some kids sleep on floors, and its not because they are cheap, its because there is a much higher need than the supply), and the kids are sent to an English medium school. Its so nice that some people even try to make up stories about kids to get them in, and now HOINA has to do investigations on new applicants. Also the kids get meat once a week (which is pretty often out here) and there are few fights/disagreements that Ive seen thus far. All this and their operating costs run about $2 per kid per day (so if you're looking for a good cause to donate to, let me know, they have several kids that they are searching for donors for).
Thus far I've been mostly working with my two male students (there is a boys home and a girls home here, but they are in separate compounds and don't interact very much. They just brought the girls in from Chennai, a city in the south as a way to cut down on operating costs, and the new building only partly finished, so we have split up our time helping to construct a tiki hut that overlooks the field and organizing the library. Its pretty ridiculously hot out here, so we've been grateful for the library time where there are fans. In the afternoon the students run English language classes for the staff and in the evening we help with homework. And of course we have a healthy dose of playing games like cricket, soccer, throwing a frisbee, or indoor games like caromboard, chess, thumbwars, etc.
All in all, I'm super stoked that I'm here. Its a really nice cap to my summer trip. However, there is not much access to the outside world, so it might be a while before I am able to post again. But I will do my best! Hope all is well!
The trip out here has gone surprisingly smoothly thus far. I'm really happy about my students, who have proven to be flexible, easygoing, and willing to do whatever is needed. The kids here are really a lot of fun, and happy despite the incredible tragedies that they have already seen in their lives. In fact, this whole orphanage is full of surprising stories, like Darlene Large (known universally here as “Mom,” who is in her mid-seventies and yet works tirelessly and appears to be only in her early fifties. She has been running this place for a very long time, and has truly done a wonderful job with it.
The orphanage is much better run than others I've seen/heard about in this part of the world. For example, the kids each get their own bed (oftentimes at orphanages they have some kids sleep on floors, and its not because they are cheap, its because there is a much higher need than the supply), and the kids are sent to an English medium school. Its so nice that some people even try to make up stories about kids to get them in, and now HOINA has to do investigations on new applicants. Also the kids get meat once a week (which is pretty often out here) and there are few fights/disagreements that Ive seen thus far. All this and their operating costs run about $2 per kid per day (so if you're looking for a good cause to donate to, let me know, they have several kids that they are searching for donors for).
Thus far I've been mostly working with my two male students (there is a boys home and a girls home here, but they are in separate compounds and don't interact very much. They just brought the girls in from Chennai, a city in the south as a way to cut down on operating costs, and the new building only partly finished, so we have split up our time helping to construct a tiki hut that overlooks the field and organizing the library. Its pretty ridiculously hot out here, so we've been grateful for the library time where there are fans. In the afternoon the students run English language classes for the staff and in the evening we help with homework. And of course we have a healthy dose of playing games like cricket, soccer, throwing a frisbee, or indoor games like caromboard, chess, thumbwars, etc.
All in all, I'm super stoked that I'm here. Its a really nice cap to my summer trip. However, there is not much access to the outside world, so it might be a while before I am able to post again. But I will do my best! Hope all is well!
Thumb wars are a perfect opportunity to take full advantage of a full-grown hand and dominate those little kids!! I'm sure they school you in soccer though... ;)
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