REPUBLIC DAY – January 26

Since there was no work scheduled for today, we were invited to two different celebrations. Eight years ago, I had attended the Republic Day parade in Delhi and it was quite remarkable. Our group and two million of our newest friends lined the streets, standing on bleachers that had been erected by the government along the parade route, while three jet helicopters streamed down past us, showering the crowd with rose petals and marigold petals. It was an amazing experience.

This morning, we ate breakfast at the farm and boarded the bus to take us into the village. When we arrived, we first visited the home of a young girl, Arasthun, who had befriended one of our team member’s daughters this past year. Two years before we were to leave for this year’s trip, Cari Roberts (daughter of Sean and Pam Roberts from the 2008 team) contacted me and asked if I would take some gifts to Arasthun. Last year, Arasthun kept coming by the day-care center and eventually designed and painted some flowers on either side of the mural that Ray Sykes had drawn and members had painted on the wall of the day-care center. It was difficult for Arasthun when we all left, because Cari, her new friend, was leaving and she was afraid she would never see her or hear from her again. When Cari asked me to take some gifts to Arasthun, I said of course I would. The package arrived on Thursday, and I packed it into my bag to carry across to Arashthun. Back to the present…

We walked over to Arasthun’s home, from the school yard where our bus was parked, and were welcomed by her family – her mom, her dad, and her eight sisters and her little brother. We were invited to sit down and enjoy some hot milk – water buffalo’s milk. To be welcomed into the home of Muslim family in the village, was in itself an honor. But to be offered hot milk was singular. Arasthun’s parents showed us their home, We saw the corner where her mother cooked over burning dung patties and sticks; we saw some of the beds where the children slept; and her mother showed us her dowry – a magnificent gold choker necklace, which she wears all the time. On the front gate of their home, I noticed some markings in chalk. I figured out that these were numbers marking the times when the children had been immunized against polio. The last time was in December. It was good to see that even though there was not a formalized NID in Chahalka, volunteers came to the village to distribute the life-saving vaccine. After our visit, we walked across the road to the school yard, and walked to the other end to the computer training center. We had been told to expect a special ceremony organized by the students.

Special it was. When we entered the school yard, all forty-five students were standing at attention waiting for us to sit down. There were chairs for us set in a line across the front of the building. The instructor invited me to come to the flag pole and to unfurl the flag of India, that was already raised to the top of the pole. I snapped the rope and was showered in a burst of rose petals and marigold petals. What a contrast from eight years ago, when we were showed by rose petals and marigold petals, bursting from the jet helicopters! This celebration of the start of Republic Day was equal to if not exceeded that of 2001. At that point, the students sang the Indian National Anthem, while we all stood at attention. After this ceremony, the students invited into the center for a formal inspection. WOW! Since I was here a year ago, and we had finished the painting of the outside, the inside, built the walls around the school yard, and raised the banner in front of the training center, the desks had been purchased and installed; the computers had been purchased and set up; the generator had been purchased and set up outside in the school yard; the floors had been swept clean; and the students had been attending classes for more than six months. I recognized some of the students from the two previous years, some who had carried rocks alongside us; some who had mixed concrete (masala) in their bare feet; some who had simply sat and watched us during the extreme makeover of this building into what it is today. All of the students sat at their desks working on current projects. I was then invited to come to the front of the classroom, while each student introduced himself to me, proudly announcing his name, the name of his father, the level of course study he had achieved before entering computer training and the courses he had completed and those he was still working to complete. The age of the students ranged from seventeen to thirty-nine years. We learned that the students come to classes five or six days each week; they study two to three hours each day; they take examinations one each month and if they fail to meet the minimum level of proficiency, they are moved back two levels to begin again. It was most rewarding to see this program working and providing opportunities for young men to enter the workforce in neighboring Sohna or Gurgaon. When we had finished at the computer training center, we walked next door to see the day-care center. It is currently used by about a dozen families each day, being able to leave their children in a safe environment, while their mothers could work to help the family income.

By this time, we returned to the bus, and went to the farm for lunch. We were in for a treat, not only for eating our lunch out under the trees near the coy pond and amongst dozens of rose bushes, but also for what was planned for the afternoon. We shared and enjoyed a few bottles of Kingfisher beer, salads, and other veg and non-veg dishes. We re-boarded the bus and drove to a neighboring village, inhabited mostly by Hindu families, and located in a very fertile valley, a complete opposite to the barren landscape of Chahalka. One of the village leaders had visited the previous day at the farm, to invite us to his village’s Republic Day celebration. When we arrived in the center of the village, we stepped off the bus and were greeted by the members of the Gram Panchayat. These venerable looking gentlemen all stepped forward and placed garlands around the necks of the men in our group, while women garlanded our ladies, and embraced them warmly. What a welcome! We sat down and learned a little more about the village, with the help of Sanjiv’s translation. While the men sat in the center of the group, the women sat a bit to the side. We were then invited to join the members of the Gram Panchayat in smoking the water pipe – or hookah. One of the senior members smoked it first and then turned the pipe stem to me. Not wishing to offend our hosts, I participated and passed the stem to the next member of the team and then around the circle. The women were invited to smoke the ladies’ pipe, and some of our team members did so. Following the welcoming ceremonies, we were asked to walk down the road to the school. We were shown a room that was available to be used to house a computer-training center, similar to the one in Chahalka. There were several substantial differences between the two facilities – this village appears to have considerable wealth, as opposed to Chahalka. The schoolroom already exists, while the building in Chahalka had to be totally rehabilitated. The final difference is that the people in this village are interested in educating their girl children in computer training, rather than confining the training to boys and young men. Some of the team members may be interested in pursuing this project for assisting with the funding of another computer training center.

Following the tour of the school, we were then invited to climb onto a trailer behind a tractor and to be driven to the parade ground about a half-mile down the road, where the traditional outdoor wrestling competition was already under way. Teams from neighboring towns challenge the local wrestlers out on the dusty field. Four wrestlers join arms and a wrestler from the opposite team crosses over into “enemy” territory, and taunts the foursome into trying to take him down. Once he touches one of the four wrestlers, it is his goal to escape back over the center line without being pinned. We all stood in the trailer and the tractor hauled us down the road and into the parking area of the parade ground. Once we rounded the corner, several of the locals turned and noticed we were a group of white westerners. We caused quite a stir as we neared the reviewing stand, and when we climbed down off the trailer, and walked toward the field, the crowd parted (sort of like Moses parting the Red Sea!). The village event organizers had arranged chairs for us right down on the edge of the field, in front of the stage where dignitaries were seated. Sean Dolter had been a class wrestler several years ago, but he had never witnessed an event quite like this one. At the time we arrived, the competition had progressed to the semi-finals. Unfortunately, the local team had been defeated in the semi-finals, but the villagers remained at the match to cheer on their favorite wrestlers. Our team was invited to join the dignitaries out on the field to greet the wrestlers of each team. These young men, probably between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, were very fit and obviously somewhat curious as to why a group of white westerners were coming onto the field to shake their hands.

Back at our seats, another event was announced to occur prior to the final match. This separate event was to be a race, twice around the grounds, and to be run by two gentlemen, each of whom was past the age of seventy! One man was straight and thin, while the second, although thin, had quite badly bowed legs. The race was started and the two runners were flagged off for their race. The taller man moved out in front quite quickly, and remained so all the way around both times. He won the race, outpacing his opponent by nearly one full trip around the course. He was honored with a standing ovation, and his opponent was also heavily applauded for his efforts.

The final match began and all of us were entertained by the gestures and moves of one of the referees – a Muslim gentleman, with a Henna-dyed bright red beard. He moved into watch the wrestlers, stepping almost like a flamingo. It was quite a performance. The match finally concluded, the winners announced, and it was time to board our bus that Suresh and Ragu had moved onto the edge of the field. We shared our garlands with the winner of the race, as well as his opponent. It was not back to the farm for some wine and another wonderful dinner.

WELCOME TO CHAHALKA

Most of us slept at least a few hours during the night, or should I say the wee hours of the morning. Unfortunately, Cassandra had not figured out how to turn off the lights in her room, so she could only catch a few minutes of sleep, because she was blocking out the light with her hands. Kim was feeling a little better after several hours of sleep and Shawn was raring to go. Chris Parkinson was not able to solve the puzzle of turning on the ghiza (individual water heater in his bathroom) so his bucket bath was a bit chilly. Dianne and Boone seemed pretty chipper. Linda is always cheerful, regardless of the time of day. Nancy and Crissie both greeted us with smiles, so I guess all in all, the first several hours for us as a team were pretty good.

We boarded our bus, with Suresh at the wheel and Ragu riding shotgun. We encountered some traffic on the mountain road, but nothing quite as bad as the previous night. Well, that may be an understatement, or at least a little premature. We rounded the bend in the road by the radio towers and sure enough, another gridlock! We sat for about five minutes and since Sanjiv was expecting us to arrive fairly soon, I decided to call him to let him know our situation. We decided to wait it out for a bit, but if the situation did not improve, and rapidly, I was to call him again and he would meet
us as he had only hours before. Strangely enough, however, in daylight, the road did not look anywhere near as safe as it had in total darkness. Somehow the night before, whether it was due to our state of exhaustion or just the feeling that we were enveloped in some kind of cocoon of safety, but we had no hesitation walking up the mountain road, wending our way amongst the huge trucks in total darkness.

Breakfast was wonderful, having been prepared by Sandoo, the cook at the farm. We enjoyed rotis (a sort of flat bread), scrambled eggs with vegetables, fruit juices, coffee, tea, as well as corn flakes for those who are used to cereal in the morning. After all, we wanted to have a reasonably substantial breakfast before venturing down into the village for our first day of work at the project site. After potty breaks, it was time to board the bus again, and drive to the village. For Linda Nicol and me, it was pretty nostalgic – seeing the very barren landscape (sort of like looking at parts of the Grand Canyon in the US, but not as colorful or attractive). We passed a few familiar sites, and as we neared the village, we began to see children walking alongside the road. Undoubtedly, it had been a year since any of them had seen a TOURIST bus enter the village. As I may have indicated before, Chahalka is NOT on the normal itinerary for tourists visiting India! Following the narrow road into the village, we were able to see a few homes under construction, either next door to or across the road from very typical village homes (one-room brick cubes) that had fairly good sized displays of dung patties drying on the ground or on rocks where they had been placed by the girls who made them. Even some of the dung huts were still standing, as they had been the year before.

Cow dung, or dung from water buffaloes (the cattle of choice in Chahalka) is the principal source of fuel, used both for cooking, as well as for providing heat. Mostly young girls take a large metal basin and go to the fields where the cattle may be grazing, or just into their own yards, and fill the basins with fresh, steaming dung. Once the basins are full, the girls put the basins on top of their heads and balance it there as they carry it back to their homes. Once there, the girls take a few handfuls of the dung and pat it onto the ground and form a disk-shaped patty. Very often each girl will push her hands and fingers into the patty to form a kind of signature to each patty. In other words, each girl or woman making the dung patties has a hallmark or a trademark. Even at this, the lowest caste, people take great pride in their work and want to do the very best job they can.

The bus approached the intersection near the mosque, and I pointed out the two previous projects on the left to my teammates – the two washing platforms and the computer-training center and day-care center. Women and girls were atop the water supply well cover, dipping down into it to retrieve buckets of water, both for drinking and for washing their clothing and utensils at the washing platforms, immediately adjacent to the well. Due to frequent interruptions in power provided to the village, it is difficult to get water piped into the washing platforms, so the women and girls simply dip into the well for the water and carry it down the new steps from the well and walk over onto the platforms.

We turned right at the mosque and drove (or should I say bounced and bucked) up the narrow muddy way toward the worksite. I looked to my left and recognized the medical dispensary, followed by the tailor’s shop. There he was, sitting at his sewing machine. He looked up, saw the bus and me waving from the inside and actually smiled in recognition. I guess there cannot be a more pleasant welcome than for someone to recognize you. He waved and we continued up past the water buffaloes tied in front of a few homes, both left and right, and made it to the top of the hill. We passed the front of the home where a few of us last year were invited to smoke the water pipe of hookah, with some of the older gentlemen of the village. The hookah was there, as Linda and I remembered, right next to the bed (a very basic frame and woven bedspring). “Where was the omelet guy?” I asked Linda. She too had remembered the young man who sold eggs from his cart at the top of the hill. However, she did not recall the fact that he made the best omelets. Last year, I watched in amazement as he scrambled three eggs in his pan (heated over a propane gas burner) and then added freshly chopped cilantro, onions, green peppers and tomatoes, as well as a bit of salt and pepper. The next part was the best! He then placed two slices of bread into the heating mixture, and eventually folded the cooked egg mixture over and over, until he formed the perfect omelet sandwich. I ate one of his creations last year and looked forward to doing the same this year.

Suresh turned the bus left and we proceeded down a gradual hill and saw a fairly large group of villagers waiting at a site on the right side of the road. With bus parked, we all disembarked and walked across the road, amidst an instant crowd of children – literally dozens of them – all looking up at us with spectacular smiles. Sanjiv had driven ahead of us in his car, so he, Jyotsna and Olie were standing by a hand-painted sign which stated we were at the site of the ROTARY INTER NATIONAL Chahalka Toilet Block project, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Delhi-West, the Rotary Club of Sanford-Springvale, and the Gram Panchayat (elder council of the village). I asked Seanto take a photo of Sanjiv and me standing in front of the sign, with me holding FLAT FREDDIE THE FROG (provided to me by my grandson’s first grade class). As you see above, the sign indicated ROTARY INTER NATIONAL, which is just as correct as three words as with two.

The next few minutes was quite moving for all of us. Although a typical way to welcome people at a Hindu village is the placement of flower garlands around the necks of visitors, it is not typical in a Muslim village. However, the members of the Gram Panchayat were all there and stepped forward to me and placed not one, not two, not three, but about eight garlands made of marigolds around my neck. They then proceeded to garland the rest of the members of the team, shaking hands and smiling as they did so. As I was standing there, I marveled at the warmth of the welcome and the fact that these men remembered me, but more importantly the fact they remembered our team of Rotarians from the previous two years, and were genuinely pleased to see us back again. I was, however, unprepared for the next incident. I felt a tug on my arm, turned around only to see Ramish, the brick mason from the previous two years. He was still wearing his gold V-neck knitted vest and his blue shirt, trousers and flip-flops. He grinned and then embraced me with a strong hug. As we separated, I noticed him brushing aside a tear from each eye. He then took me by the hand and we walked together in this manner the few yards to the trenches marking the boundaries for the toilet block building, and it was, “Let the work begin!”

It did not take very long before each of us had donned our work gloves (generously provided by Springvale Hardware Store in Maine) and began picking up rocks, filling basins with them and then passing the basins along the assembly line and dumping them into the trenches as a base for the footings. Even more quickly than in the previous two years, we were able to encourage or cajole some of the children into joining our lines, and they enthusiastically passed the rocks or retrieved the empty basins and carried them back to the rock pile for refilling. Once we had completed one side of the boundary trench, we shifted our line to dump the rocks along the other sides. This took about a half-hour and we were on to the next phase – dumping in some crushed stone on top of the larger ones. Ramish and his tender worked hard at smashing the larger rocks with their sledgehammers. Most of us cringed as we watched, since neither was wearing shoes, but only flip flops to protect their feet and toes. Next step was to collect and then pass basins of sand, which were then dumped on top of the rocks. This mixture provided a relatively even floor for the next step.

Two teenaged boys were busy mixing up masala – the concrete mixture, which we were then to collect, using the same basins, again passing this loose slop along the line, to be dumped on top of the rocks and sand. Ramish and his tender were in the trenches, smoothing out the masala with trowels. Work progressed at a snappy pace, interrupted occasionally by Cassandra cooing over the newborn baby she was holding, or Linda saying her name over and over again until the children were able to pronounce it, all the while wearing those beautiful smiles on their faces. It was sometime during all of this activity, that we broke and boarded the bus to be taken back to the farm for lunch.

We arrived to find tables set out on the lawn, amongst the rose gardens. We sat for a while on the patio of the house, and in a short while, I saw a little red car enter the back gate. I immediately recognized my niece, Pallavi (the daughter of Sanjiv and Jyotsna) who had driven out from Delhi, bringing Sanjiv’s father with her. Again, another reunion, with hugs, and smiles and tears. Sanjiv’s dad, or Papa as we call him, looked as fit as ever and was proud to tell me it was due to his daily regimen of waling in Nehru park every day. He, by the way, is eighty-seven years young! All of us enjoyed sampling juices, with many of us opting for our first taste of Kingfisher beer. Lunch was brought out from the kitchen and we enjoyed a wonderful meal, including fresh salad, rice, chicken, dhal and japatis (another flat bread, prepared by Sandoo). What is remarkable is the fact there has been no power to the house since our arrival. Sandoo has been preparing our meals on two tiny propane burners, with lights in the house provided by the generator.

It was back to work and then back to the motel to freshen up and then back to the farm for dinner. Sampling of red and white wines enhanced the relaxation period prior to dinner. Eating out under the stars, while most of us had come from the cold of winter, was indeed a treat. We looked up initially and Sanjiv pointed out the MIR space station that was the only light in the dark sky, at least for a while. Several of us looked through binoculars and were able to see greater definition of MIR.

Finally, back in the bus and back to our rooms at the motel. Hopefully, we would enjoy a good night’s rest, Kim would begin to feel better and we would all be up and ready to participate in the festivities the next day. You see, Monday, January 26, was the 50th anniversary of Republic Day – marking India’s independence from being a part of the British Empire.

2nd Team in Texas is monitoring !

Elias,

Thanks for the update on the traffic. We too will assemble at the Continental counter in Newark and together proceed to the International Gate.

Do you have any update on goodies we should bring for the kids?

PS Give my best to Diane and Boone.

INDIRA GANDHI AIRPORT - January 24th

Our flight (Continental Flight 82) arrived on time – about 9:15 local time on Saturday evening. Most of the members of the team were processed through immigration and baggage claim, while three of us were directed a different way, because our good friend and new patient was too weak to walk the long way through the airport. We eventually caught up with the rest of the group and worked our way through customs and immigration. We were met by Divan – one of the folks who works for Sanjiv, and worked our way to out to our bus, driven by Suresh and navigated by his porter, Ragu.

A few minutes after we departed from the airport terminal, we found ourselves mired in a huge traffic jam. The fact of a traffic jam at 10:30 at night was a bit foreign to most of us. We drove (or should I correct that by saying we crept) all the way to Gurgaon, and turned left onto the road to Sohna. En route, we listened as Cassandra told us of her very unique experience during our flight from Newark to Delhi. I certainly would not feel right if I were violate a confidence, so for those of you who know her, please feel free to contact her to learn the details.

When we had boarded our bus, Divan received a telephone message from Sanjiv telling him the traffic had been jammed on the mountain road to Sohna all day due to a semi-tractor trailer truck having overturned early that morning, dumping its entire load onto the road, closing both lanes of traffic. Sanjiv told Divan he hoped the debris would be cleared soon, so we could proceed up the mountain road to the place we would be staying – the Sohna Tourist Motel. One thing I noticed, about the time we left the city limits of Delhi and proceeded toward Gurgaon was that the roads were town up – a huge expansion project undertaken in the last several months. It was wonderful to see the progress, but at the same time, the bumps and jolts during the ride did not help our friend, Kim, who had been ill during the flight, and was still terribly weak. Even though our driver, Suresh, was driving very slowly, Kim was in terrible distress. We talked about the situation and Shawn and Kim decided to stay back at the motel, rather than drive the remainder of the way to Sanjiv’s farmhouse for a midnight dinner. We arrived at the motel, checked in with reception and took our bags to our rooms. We met three more members of our team, who had arrived earlier on Saturday. Crissie Day, a Rotarian from Oregon, and her mother, Nancy Day were pleased to see us. Linda Nicol, one of the members of last year’s team, from Nipigon, Ontario, was also there. Shawn and Kim stayed at the motel and the rest of us, including Crissie, Nancy and Linda, boarded the bus for a late night ride to the farm. Not more than five minutes into our ride, we found ourselves in a huge traffic jam on the mountain road. I telephoned Sanjiv to discuss a plan, and we decided all of us would begin walking up the road and Sanjiv would drive his car from the farm as far down the mountain road as possible, and drive us the rest of the way.

Now let’s make an evaluation here… Most of us had been up anytime from 2:30
‘til 5:00 in the morning on Friday. It was now midnight on Saturday night. We were going for a walk, in total darkness, other than for the parking lights on all of the tractor-trailer trucks stopped on the road. From my description, Sanjiv thought we were about three kilometers from the farm. And, we are going for a walk??? Are you kidding?

Rather than “strolling” along the outer edge of the road (where, incidentally there are NO GUARDRAILS to protect us from tumbling down the side of the mountain), I suggested we try to snake our way between the two rows of trucks, and work our way along the road until we met up with Sanjiv. Dianne and Boone from San Antonio, Texas, were somewhat concerned as to whether there might BE snakes along the road, or any other things that “might go bump in the night”! We all trooped along, in the total darkness of the night, seeing only a few constellations up above, and trusting Sanjiv would soon meet us to ferry us to the farm for dinner. After all, don’t we all customarily eat our dinner between midnight and two in the morning??? After walking about a kilometer, I heard a voice calling, “Where is my long-lost brother, Elias?” It was Sanjiv and we were all relieved to see him. He drove the first five people and the rest of us agreed to continue to walk until he returned to take us to the farm. I had been concerned I had not been able to exercise and do a cardio-walk, so this filled the bill. Sanjiv returned, picked us up and drove to the farm. Jyotsna, Sanjiv’s wife, and her sister, Ollie, were there to welcome us. We had a wonderful dinner and at about 3:00 in the morning, we were driven back to the motel, the traffic jam having been cleared. We had agreed to meet our bus on Sunday morning at about 10:30 to return for breakfast at the farm.

Pleasant dreams…

CAN WE REALLY BE LEAVING?

Although each member of the Team has been packing, unpacking and then re-packing, it is actually hard to imagine that the day has finally arrived – January 23, 2009, when most of us will descend upon Newark’s Liberty Airport to begin the very long second leg of our journey to India. With me, it began at about 2:30 a.m., when I awoke and dressed and went to my office to clear up some loose ends and check Emails and then return home to shower and dress. Even at that insane hour, I found myself picking up the telephone and calling my friend, Sanjiv Saran in India to check last-minute details. At about 5:30, I returned home to find my wife, Jane had already been up for a while, probably as much because of the anticipation of driving me to the Manchester, New Hampshire airport, as due to a few strategically timed yowls from Jack, our not-so-slim-and-trim cat. For Jack, it was “time to put food in here!” When Jack first wandered into our lives this past August, he had been abandoned and lived on his own for who knows how long. He was totally emaciated and his long grey coat was dirty and matted. However, after living with us, Jack has, how shall we say, blossomed! At any rate, Jack had already eaten one of his breakfasts when I arrived home. I showered, dressed and loaded the car with my bags, and we were off to my office to meet Violet Dube-Moody, who had volunteered to drive to Manchester with us and then back with Jane.

We moved right along, all the way to Rochester, before we became part of a long line of semi-tractor-trailer trucks and a few interspersed cars, which moved (at least in our terms) at a snail’s pace. I kind of smiled inwardly, when I realized in our part of the country, we had no idea what snail’s pace meant! Maybe driving in this line of traffic was just a gentle nudge to my memory of how a true bottle-neck works – how it works in India! Upon arriving at the airport, I had already received a call from a team member, Cassandra Bradley from the Laconia, New Hampshire area, to tell me she was running a few minutes late and that Past District Governor Chris Parkinson (also a member of our Team) would be swinging by the airport to pick up the carton box containing our Team’s official shirts, so he could unpack and re-pack one of his bags to bring them along to India. (My bags were already bursting at the seams, partly due to the fifty-or-so nerf baseballs I had jammed into one of them to take along for the kids in Chahalka.

Jane and I said our good-byes and she and Violet drove off to return to the office, and then Jane to home, where she would meet friends to play what hopefully would become one of many days of bridge games during my absence. I received another call from Cassandra telling me that Chris should be at the airport in any minute and that I should be waiting outside for him, so he would not have to go to the trouble of parking his car before finding me. As it turned out, the security officer on duty outside the terminal would not allow me to stand outside while my bags remained inside, no more than ten feet from me, on the other side of the windows. I moved everything outside, waited until Chris stopped, loaded his car with the shirts, and then drove off. Cassandra arrived a short while later and we checked in at the Continental ticket counter, and were successful in convincing the attendant that although our reservations for this leg of our trip had not been made at the same time, she could certainly waive the charge of $70 per bag for our second bags, since we were connecting to the flight to Delhi, and actually checking our bags all the way through from Manchester. We proceeded to the waiting area, only to hear the announcement, “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are reporting the flight to Newark will be delayed for at least one hour, but we will keep you updated as to an exact time.” I told Cassandra I prefer taking earlier flights into Newark just to make sure I arrive in plenty of time, keeping “flexibility and adjustment” as two terms prominently in my mindset. We departed just about an hour late and arrived without incident, trusting that our bags had been checked all the way through to Delhi, and better still, that they would make it there.

Upon arrival at the Newark airport, I received a call on my cell phone from one of the team members, Shawn Dolter, who confessed that, “I have already broken one rule, and I have not even met you yet.” He told me he and his wife, Kim Thistle (both from Newfoundland) had arrived into Newark the previous day and wanted to travel into the “Big Apple” for some sightseeing, and the only way they could make such a trip was to check into the ticket counter, and send their bags through to Delhi. We had all previously agreed to meet at the international ticket counter before checking in at Continental. As it turns out, most of us arrived on Friday via Continental, so we were all on the “inside” and could only meet at the ticket counter, if we left the “inner sanctum” and then had to re-enter through the screening process, which always takes a long time, especially in Newark.

Not to dwell on a point too long, but suffice it to say we all finally met at Gallagher’s Restaurant for a light dinner and some liquid refreshment. We worked our way to the gate and boarded for our fourteen-and-a-half flight to the next chapter of our lives – India and all it had in store for us. We were somewhat clustered in our seat assignments, and after a very bumpy (ladies and gentlemen, we are going to be experiencing some mild turbulence, so please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts secured tightly) first hour, we settled into a 37,000 foot altitude flight pattern for the duration.

Unfortunately, one of our team members became terribly ill during the entire flight, and as we would learn, would remain so for a few days. Although we thought or hoped it might just be a twenty-four hour bug, whatever it was took its toll on her and finally, on January 26 (Republic Day) she re-gained strength and became a most active member of the team.

Two days and counting

Wednesday night...doing my final packing....I am very excited about the trip! I am so happy to have received 100 baseball caps from the Fisher Cats for the boys and a bag of material from Keepsake Quilting for scarves for the girls. I also received soap and lotion to take with me from the Naswa Resort. I am sure that this will be a life changing experience for me and will be a trip I will never forget. I am so blessed to have the Laconia Rotary club's support which enables me to participate in such a worthwhile mission where I will have a direct impact on so many children's lives. I am so proud to be a Rotarian!

FOX NEWS INTERVIEW this morning...

For those who are intersted in watching my interview on the Fox News affiliate in Portland, Maine, this morning, please click on the link below. Happy viewing!

http://www.myfoxmaine.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=8288236&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=5.2.1

Bill Gates Stuns 2009-'10 District Governors !

About 535 incoming Rotary District Governors were stunned by the surprise appearance of Bill Gates, Jr. Called upon to address the International Assembly of District Governor Elects (DGEs) for the year 2009-'10, Mr. Gates related his personal connection with the polio virus - his wife's aunt contracted polio many years ago. Bill himself said that his birth was 3 years after the last large outbreak in the USA.

Melinda Gates is the Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill Gates was introduced to the Assembly as the Co-Chair of the Gates Foundation and then humbly took the stage to thunderous applause of an audience of about 1,200 governors, wives, staff and press.

About 30 minutes into his address, he let the other shoe drop: he had decided to award an additional US$255 million to Rotary's Polio Plus campaign with the agreement that Rotary International raise an additional US$100 million.

The audience was very moved and excited! Tears were evident amongst many of the assembled Governors. This second challenge gift will result in The Rotary Foundation neding to match an additional US$100 million against the US$255 million grant. To date, The Rotary Foundation has raised in excess of US$70 million against the original Gates challenge of US$100 million.

Both matching grants must be met not later than June 30, 2013!

In all Rotary International will raise US$200 million and the Gates Foundation will donate US$355 million.

Posted from San Diego,

Jim Berg, Past District Governor 2003-04
San Antonio, Texas

A WEEK FROM RIGHT NOW, WE WOULD BE THERE ALREADY!

As I look at the clock in my office, I marvel at the fact that one week from now, almost to this precise minute, we shall have landed at Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi, to be met by my fellow Rotarian (and Little Brother) Sanjiv Saran and some folks from his travel company. For me, it will be like going home (at least a home away from home) yet for others, although exhausted, I am sure their senses will be keen. For the two hour ride from the airport out to Sanjiv's farm near Sohna, the sights and sounds and smells of India will bring about sensory overload for the newbies, much as they did to me the first time I traveled to India in January 2001.



In the past few days, I have also received additional Emails from those joining my teams, regarding what they expect to experience in India. I have attached more of them below for you to enjoy.

First, from Past District Governor, Jim Berg, of San Antonio, Texas USA:

On the eve of my getting inoculations for the upcoming travel to India, I would offer the following: I have been a member of Rotary since 1976 and a most active Rotarian since 1994 when I was chosen to be the President of Club #52 in San Antonio. Over those 97 years various members have made a significant impact on the direction and goals of our large Club (~550 members)…for example, Harry Rogers in 1926 was an RI President from the Rotary Club of San Antonio. As one of the largest Clubs in the world and a leader in our District, our Club should set an example to ‘lead the way.’ So, this trip is a first sponsored from District 5840 and I am looking forward leading about 8 south Texas Rotarians toward fulfilling Rotary’s goal of eradicating polio. As a member of the Zone 26 Rotary Foundation team, I think it important to participate and bring back images so that contributions to the Foundation will have a local face on our international giving.

Next, I heard from one of our Canadian teammates, Arlene Miller:

I have a couple of reasons for joining the Rotary Dream Team.
I have been on a couple of International projects with my Rotary Club and I
know the kind of positive change Rotary can and does make in this world. To
that end my daughter has an interest in being a part of a group that works
to enhance the lives of the less fortunate. International projects are an
incredible way to truly do service above self.

Cassandra Bradley is next... she is a Club president in Laconia, New Hampshire, a neighboring district to mine, a bit to the west:

I have chosen to join the “Dream Team” this year to participate in Rotary’s mission to eradicate Polio as well as help the less fortunate live healthier and more sustaining lives. I have been doing humanitarian work both in the United States as well as in developing countries and find each experience to be both fulfilling and life changing. This work makes me proud to be a Rotarian it’s what we do and who we are. I hope that as in every other experience I make new friends and acquaintances and leave India knowing that we made a difference.

We are pleased to have a ROTARACTOR from Norwich, England, along with our team - Guy Boocock:

I joined the Rotary Dream Team - India 2009 as an opportunity to achieve a life-time goal. Ever since I first saw Challenge Anneka, all those years ago, I have had a deep urge to help third world countries in their struggle against diseases and poverty. I hope to experience something I have never experienced before and discover a fantastic culture whilst providing a life-saving service. Having taken part in the Rotary Youth Leadership Award earlier this year, I discovered far more about Rotary and what it achieves and so joined Rotaract. I came out of RYLA a far more confident person, a life-changing experience if you will, and would recommend it to anyone. Through it you can have many opportunities to help many people.

Kim Thistle, another neighbor to the north in Canada, shares her thoughts:

I have wanted to do something in a third world country for a number of
years. Between raising children and running a business it was always
put on the back burner. My 21 year old daughter has spent a summer in
Chile and a summer in South Africa doing volunteer work and listening
to her stories has rekindled the urge. I turn 50 this year and told my
husband that for my birthday I wanted to go somewhere and do something
that counts. This is it! I am looking forward to the opportunity to
work with the local people and to doing something for the greater good.
I am doing this as much for me as I am for them. It is time I saw
the big picture up close.

Finally, we have heard from Jane Bevington, another new member from "across the pond" in England:


I have always dreamt of visiting India and the only member of my
family with the same desire is my daughter who cannot get the time
from work to accompany me.
She did 2 weeks of charity work in Tanzania several years ago and I
realised that it would be my desire to do the same in India. Then I
was diagnosed with a condition requiring Chemotherapy.
For the past 4 years my immune system would never have tolerated the
conditions and vaccinations needed to travel to India. With chemo 2
years behind me, at Christmas, I was given the blessings of my
specialist to travel to India!
I have been a Rotarian for 5 years and, as I worked full-time, I have
not given as much towards their efforts for charity as I would wish. I
am now only working part-time.
The Rotary dream team project dropped into my lap at just the right
time and the right place!
I hope to be able to give something to those who are far less
fortunate than I, and at the same time meet people and see places I
have only ever dreamt of.

Yesterday, I visited my grandson's first grade class, and talked with his classmates and teachers for about an hour, showing them many photos I had taken this past year, while traveling in India. The children were very engaged in the discussion, and hopefully will present me with a character, similar to FLAT STANLEY, so that I can have this mascot in many of the photos we will take during our experience. I am not sure if he will be named FREDDIE THE FROG or TOMMY THE TOAD, but both frogs and toads seem to be very important to Mrs. Gosling's first graders at Saint Thomas School.

20 BELOW AND ONE WEEK TO GO...

About one hour ago, I woke up and decided to switch on the WEATHER CHANNEL. Probably would have been better off to pull a pillow and the comforter over my head and go back to sleep! The "LOCAL ON THE 8s" happy voice came on to announce that it was currently 20 DEGREES BELOW ZERO (Fahrenheit) with light winds! Are you kidding????

A short while later, I braved the elements, walked across the driveway to the garage, was pleased to see the automatic door opener was working, got into my car and drove the one mile to my office. When I started the engine of the car, the temperature reading was 18 degrees ABOVE zero. However, within less than the one mile journey, the indicator showed the temperature plummeting to MINUS TWENTY.

Out of curiosity, I went to the search engine and typed in CURRENT TEMPERATURE IN DELHI, INDIA. Are you ready for this??? PLUS 73 degrees (Fahrenheit). I realize that that reading was not necessarily "current", as it was the reading from noon, when in actuality it is about 3:00 p.m. local time, but a differential of ONE-HUNDRED-AND-ONE DEGREES???

With the countdown of only one week remaining before the members of Group A wend our ways to our local airports to converge later on in the day in Newark, New Jersey, to then fly out on the evening of January 23, I can assure you that the temperature difference must be bringing smiles to more than my face!

As we do the last minute packing (or in my case, decide which bags I will be packing) we are calling friends, business associates and local newspapers and radio and television stations to put the final touches on our preparations. Just yesterday, I received a call from Krista at Winter People in Freeport, Maine (that's right, the home of the world famous L.L. Bean's) and we discussed the fine details of the embroidery work being done on our official shirts for the ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2009. I will be picking up the shirts in a few days. Next, I received a telephone call from the assistant general manager of the local Red Sox Baseball Team affiliate, and was pleased to have him tell me he had about one hundred soft baseballs I could take along for the children of the village. A while later, I was thrilled to receive an Email from one of last year's team members, Shirley McCaughey, who had arranged with the PURELL company to provide us with sample sized bottles of PURELL, the wonderful hand sanitizer, along with a handy-dandy belt clip, so each of us will have our own supply close at hand (no pun intended) on an elasticized pull-out string. Guess you have to see it to appreciate it.

At any rate, with one hundred degrees warmer climate, gifts for the children of the village, hearing from past and present members of our team, I guess I must confess I am sort of leaning toward where I will be in a little more than a week. Watched an amazing movie last evening, too. The title of the film is WATER, and for anyone even remotely interested in India and its rich culture, it is a must-see.

In about five hours, I will have the pleasure of going to visit the first grade at my grandson's school - ST. THOMAS SCHOOL in Sanford, Maine, where I will sit down with the kids and explain a little bit about where I am going and how they can follow our trip on this BLOG. More about my class experience, later!!!

When WHO sings???

The old expression, "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings," comes to mind, especially with the latest report of cases of POLIO throughout the world. Unfortunately, the numbers are up over 2007, and the need is so very great right now, to make sure we break the chain of this virus. To view the most recent reports, please click on the link here: http://www.polioeradication.org/casecount.asp

As is easily seen, three new cases of POLIO (two cases of Wild Polio Virus 1 and one case of Wild Polio Virus 3 - WPV1 and WPV3, respectively) were recently reported, bringing the total of new cases in India to 549 for the year 2008. Just when it is believed an area is fully contained, one or two cases are diagnosed, and it is back to scheduling National Immunization Days (NIDs), where literally tens of millions of children, under the age of five years, receive the POLIO vaccine from volunteers such as those traveling with me on the ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2009.

With further review of the report referenced above, one can easily see that Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan still lead the world in recent diagnoses, although it is difficult to verify in Afghanistan exactly how many new cases there might be, due to current conditions there.

Below, I have included more comments from members of my team as to why they have chosen to join the ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2009.

First from Rotarian Mark Little, from the Rotary Club of Norwich-St. Edmund's in England:

Of all the Rotary projects which I have been involved with abroad, the
forthcoming toilet project is going to be one of the most worthwhile and
effective. Sanitation has always played second fiddle to the provision of
safe clean water. The implication that the overwhelming majority of sickness
is water-borne or is caused by faulty drinking water still pervades popular
lore today. The reality, however, is that a much higher proportion of this
disease burden is to do with poor excreta control and lack of hygiene. For
many years, the over-emphasis on water as the principal driver of public
health, and the much higher demand from customers for water supplies as
compared to toilets, has skewed interest and investment. Our sanitation
project is going to redress the imbalance a little.

It will also be a great delight for me to meet up with Rotarian friends from abroad who I have not
met for a year at Chahalka and to sample some of the Indian cuisine provided for us by my good friend Sanjiv.

Next we hear from Nancy Day, the mother of a Rotarian, who will be joining her daughter, Crissie, as members of the team:

Traveling to India has always been a "dream trip" for me; thus, the opportunity to participate in
Rotary's program to help the women and children in Chahalka improve their lives makes the trip even more rewarding. In addition to experiencing the beauty and vastness of India, I look forward to broadening my knowledge of other cultures and giving something back to those who are less fortunate. Finally, I am happy to be sharing this experience and special time with my daughter, Crissie, who is the Rotarian.

Finally, in this posting, we read comments from Ken and Lois Horton, from Nipigon, Ontario, who will be joining one of last year's team members, Linda Nicol...

We have had several members of our Rotary Club travel to India to assist with Rotary’s initiative to help rid the world of polio. Our club has been very active in contributing towards this endeavour, and we both made donations as well. Last year, four of our members traveled to India with the 2008 Dream Team and unfortunately, we were unable to go with them. During 2008, a Canadian, Ramish Ferris, who was born in India, bicycled across Canada to raise money for polio sufferers. 75% of the proceeds for his Cycle to walk campaign were donated to Polio Plus, and Rotary Clubs across Canada helped by hosting fund-raisers and accommodating his team as they traveled. I (Lois) am currently the President of our local club and feel a huge commitment to this cause. I am also most interested in helping the village of Chahalka after seeing the photos of last year’s group and learning of the needs of the people. We love to travel and want to learn more about the people of India and interact with fellow Rotarians to help in other parts of the world.

We would like to hope that this will be one of the last NID that will be needed to eradicate polio, and would be quite pleased if it will be so.
Last year’s group was so enthusiastic about the “Dream Team”, we thought that it would be exciting to find out for ourselves.

As we near the date of departure from our homes, many of us traveling from pretty frigid areas, I am confident there are mixed emotions: leaving family, leaving our daily routines, leaving our businesses, leaving our local Rotary Clubs, and embarking upon a journey of unknowns. If we reflect upon the amazing progress that has been made ever since Rotary International took on the eradication of POLIO as its first and only corporate project, joining forces with the United Nations through UNICEF, the Centers for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization, we stand in awe of the distance we have traveled. We have immunized over TWO BILLION CHILDREN and as Dr. R. Bruce Aylward, World Health Organization's coordinator of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, stated at a Rotary Zone Institute this past September in Philadelphia, it is due to Rotary International's unwavering dedication to this cause that we have reached the levels of eradication that we have. However, Dr. Aylward went on to state without equivocation that if we fail to END POLIO NOW, we risk the very strong possibility of POLIO returning to countries throughout the world which have been POLIO-FREE for decades.

Whether it is the FAT LADY or ROTARY INTERNATIONAL or yes, even WHO (World Health Organization) that sings, we will all join the choir knowing each of us has participated to some degree in the eradication of POLIO from the face of the earth! Let's make sure that children like the little boy in this photo will not have to fear paralysis or death from POLIO.

San Antonio Express-News is following us.

Good News! The Managing Executive Editor of the San Antonio Express-News emailed me just recently to alert me that an editor will be assigned soon to our blog so as to follow our most meaningful work in India.

I will carry my Nikon 200 to India to post HI-RESOLUTION pictures for use by the local San Antonio media (TV and newsprint).

WHY ARE WE GOING ON THIS MISSION???

About a week ago, I sent an Email out to members of my two teams, and requested that each send me a paragraph or two in order to share with me and all the readers of our BLOG, just why each had decided to join the ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2009. Below, I have included some of those paragraphs. In the coming days, as the date of departure from home gets closer, I will include more of these in this BLOG. I am so privileged to be working alongside Rotarians - people with passion to serve others.

This first one is from Past District Governor Jim Berg from San Antonio, Texas USA:

On the eve of my getting inoculations for the upcoming travel to India, I would offer the following: I have been a member of Rotary since 1976 and a most active Rotarian since 1994 when I was chosen to be the President of Club #52 in San Antonio. Over those 97 years various members have made a significant impact on the direction and goals of our large Club (~550 members)…for example, Harry Rogers in 1926 was an RI President from the Rotary Club of San Antonio. As one of the largest Clubs in the world and a leader in our District, our Club should set an example to ‘lead the way.’ So, this trip is a first sponsored from District 5840 and I am looking forward leading about 8 south Texas Rotarians toward fulfilling Rotary’s goal of eradicating polio. As a member of the Zone 26 Rotary Foundation team, I think it important to participate and bring back images so that contributions to the Foundation will have a local face on our international giving.

The next is from Rotarian Arlene Miller:

I have a couple of reasons for joining the Rotary Dream Team.
I have been on a couple of International projects with my Rotary Club and I
know the kind of positive change Rotary can and does make in this world. To
that end my daughter has an interest in being a part of a group that works
to enhance the lives of the less fortunate. International projects are an
incredible way to truly do service above self.

Next comes Club President Cassandra Bradley, from the Rotary Club of Laconia, New Hampshire, USA:

I have chosen to join the “Dream Team” this year to participate in Rotary’s mission to eradicate Polio as well as help the less fortunate live healthier and more sustaining lives. I have been doing humanitarian work both in the United States as well as in developing countries and find each experience to be both fulfilling and life changing. This work makes me proud to be a Rotarian it’s what we do and who we are. I hope that as in every other experience I make new friends and acquaintances and leave India knowing that we made a difference.

Next is from John and Judy Hutcherson:

We believe that peace and prosperity in the world comes from friendship, relationships, education, and understanding. Rotary’s core belief is a commitment to service and world peace. This NID trip is an opportunity to continue to spread peace and friendship to a remote place in the world. It is these small acts on the part of many that bring positive change in the world. Polio is almost gone!!!!!!!!!!! Over the past few years we have been to Russia, Mexico, and our local prisons to extend friendship.(Judy has been to Afghanistan and Guatemala as well). Coming to India is another tiny step. It will be great to meet this exciting team for our work. On the more selfish side, India is an economic engine we must understand as this world is flatter and our economies more interdependent.

Finally, for today at least, is a message from Ken and Lois Horton:

We have had several members of our Rotary Club travel to India to assist with Rotary’s initiative to help rid the world of polio. Our club has been very active in contributing towards this endeavour, and we both made donations as well. Last year, four of our members traveled to India with the 2008 Dream Team and unfortunately, we were unable to go with them. During 2008, a Canadian, Ramish Ferris, who was born in India, bicycled across Canada to raise money for polio sufferers. 75% of the proceeds for his Cycle to walk campaign were donated to Polio Plus, and Rotary Clubs across Canada helped by hosting fund-raisers and accommodating his team as they traveled. I (Lois) am currently the President of our local club and feel a huge commitment to this cause. I am also most interested in helping the village of Chahalka after seeing the photos of last year’s group and learning of the needs of the people. We love to travel and want to learn more about the people of India and interact with fellow Rotarians to help in other parts of the world.

We would like to hope that this will be one of the last NID that will be needed to eradicate polio, and would be quite pleased if it will be so.
Last year’s group was so enthusiastic about the “Dream Team”, we thought that it would be exciting to find out for ourselves.

Stay tuned for more...

WANT TO KNOW WHERE WE ARE GOING???

In an effort to explain where we are going to be working - in the village of CHAHALKA (also spelled Chehalka) I ventured onto a number of websites and probably the best one I found was as a result of the son of a friend doing the search for me. I don't think I would EVER have been able to accomplish this task on my own. He suggested I navigate to http://www.mapmyindia.com/

Once on their site, click on MAPS, and then type in Haryana. This gets you to the general area, and you can easily see we are located west of Delhi - India's capital. Then in the search area, type in Sohna, Gurgaon, Haryana and click on GO. This brings you even closer to where we will be working. If you then click TWO magnifications in, to get a closer look, find the marker for SOHNA and then look northwest, and you should be able to locate the village of Chehalka. If all else fails, you can click on this attachment and you should see about the same as I have described:

T-MINUS SIXTEEN AND COUNTING...

This morning, when looking out my windows, and seeing the results of yet another ice-snow-sleet storm, I also reflected upon what my wife, Jane has been saying to friends and family, "Elias will be wintering in India, away from all of this!" Well, to a certain degree, she is right, I WILL be away for a good portion of the hassles of snow and ice and melting and re-freezing. However, like all of the rest of the members of my two teams, I am not going on vacation to India. I am looking forward to the many challenges which await each and every one of us, as we leave our families, our friends, our jobs, and travel to the other side of the world, to serve with other Rotarians and Friends of Rotary, as we participate in two different National Immunization Days (NIDs) to give oral vaccine to children under the age of five years, in order to BREAK THE CHAIN of this insidious disease. If you take the time to ask most people, "What is Polio?" you most likely will get a blank stare from the majority of people. The success of eradication is huge, but we are only at about 99.3% of the way. There are still four countries where polio is endemic - Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and parts of India. To gain a little bit of the flavor of what the largest "army" ever mobilized in the history of the world is doing, please read below:

As all of you are aware, Rotary continues its efforts to End Polio Now. The
following presentation tells the story of polio and why Rotary is still in
the front line of eradicating this disease in the world. If you have the
occasion to share this link with others, please do so. It's a story worth
telling.
Be patient ... it loads slowly, especially if your browser/server speeds are
slow: http://www.thefinalinch.org/
Thank you for everyone's efforts in our fight to End Polio Now.

So, even if we are escaping the cold, raw weather conditions of our homes, (leaving in approximately sixteen days) we will be working as a part of this incredible army of volunteers to make sure this disease is conquered, once and for all, and we and our children and their children, for generations to come, will live in a POLIO-FREE WORLD.

Initial Countdown

In less than three weeks, I will be joining several other Rotarians from around the world, as we travel to India to participate in Rotary International's effort to eradicate POLIO from the world. In addition to working alongside some one hundred thousand other volunteers, both from India, as well as other countries, in what is called a NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION DAY (NID) on Sunday, February 1, 2009, our team will be very involved with a "hands-on" project.

The project is part of a sustainable relationship we have created over the past two years, with the people of a poor Muslim village, about fifty kilometers west of New Delhi, close to one of the evolving "IT "centers in India - the city of Gurgaon. The village - Chahalka (also spelled Chehalka) is located in pretty desolate landscape, about ten minutes from the small city of Sohna.

In February 2007, I had the good fortune to lead a group of Rotarians from three countries to Chahalka, where we funded and constructed (working with local laborers) two washing platforms near the center of the village, which helped to re-establish the village drinking water to safe drinking standards. Prior to our involvement in Chahalka, women and girls would take their clothes, pots and pans, and yes, their water buffaloes to the central water supply - a tiled well close to the largest school play yard, and proceed to dip down into the well, gather water and then wash their clothes, dishes, and water buffaloes, with the waste water either pouring or seeping back into the water supply. It was a self-perpetuating prophesy that anyone drinking from the well would undoubtedly get sick from water-borne diseases. By constructing the two washing platforms, and diverting the waste water away from the water supply, we were successful in changing the potability of the water from unsafe and polluted to safe for drinking!

This past year, I led fifty-four Rotarians and Friends of Rotary (from seven countries!) back to Chahalka, where together with local laborers, we transformed two-thirds of what was a derelict local government building into the ROTARY COMPUTER AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE and the remaining one-third into the ROTARY DAY CARE CENTRE OF CHAHALKA. Already, we have been pleased that more than sixty young people from the village have been educated in computer technology, and will soon enter the work force at entry-level wages, rather than having to rely upon more menial jobs, which pay little and are only sporadically available. {for more information about this project, please visit my BLOG: http://rotarydreamteam-india2008.blogspot.com }

This year, there will be two groups of Rotarians coming from Canada, the United States, England, France and India, and our "hands-on" project will be the construction of thirty-five Sanitation Enhancement Facilities (toilet blocks) to be located in a centralized area in the village. These SEFs will contain toilets, showers and sinks. This year, we are pleased to announce that through the efforts of one of last year's participants - Lawrence Furbish of the Rotary Club of Sanford-Springvale, Maine (USA), we applied for a Matching Grant from THE ROTARY FOUNDATION and received approval. We worked with several clubs and districts throughout the Rotary world, some which were involved in the 2008 project, and some which will be involved in the 2009 project.

In future postings, we will learn from several members of our two teams what motivated them to join our ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2009, and what they expect to gain from the experience. In addition, throughout the coming three or four months, we will continue to post here, so family, friends and fellow Rotarians from around the world will be able to follow our progress and share in our efforts to MAKE DREAMS REAL.


NAMASTE
or
नमस्ते