Indian Orphanage Trip - Nick Lawson's Blog (1/07)

*Photos that accompnay this blog can be seen at India *

Monday 8th Jan

We all safely took off from HRW this morning on flight BA35 to Chennai. Alongside myself good friends Jockey Potter and Kuldeep Gill from Deutsche Bank are accompanying me. The flight is six hours old and we have been talking excitedly as no one has any idea what to expect. Before Angus died I would have had a lot of trepidation about something like this, in fact quite frankly I would not have done it. Park me in front of a beach in my towelling robe with a cigar and I would have quite happy sunning myself! I feel now though there is very little the world can show me that cannot upset me more. It is like being asked to run a half marathon when you have run twenty marathons. Maybe that is not a great analogy. I know though that I have to do this. Angus was my boy and my mini-man but the world is made up of millions of mini-people and I feel to honour Angus I must properly help. I felt a ying-yang moment last night where here I am going to see these children who have lost their parents and here am I having lost my son.... I wonder who is helping who.

If you are reading this you are more than likely a friend or a sponsor of the ALMT. I hope the website looks good, I have not seen it in its final form as it was launched after we took off. I will post a daily blog from my blackberry whilst at the orphanage so excuse the punctuation and spelling mistakes. We have grand schemes. I am already discussing building a factory/workshops with Matt's jewelry business near the orphanage as whilst the children leave at 16, as 'untouchables' they have little hope and are prey to organ and sex traffickers and have little hope on the streets. If we can make the community self sufficient all the better. I also understand it is a fine line between this kind of helping and cultural imperialism. Anyway we are over Karachi and I am going to sign off and have a beer and then a nap.

2am indian time we have landed and are all cramped into a taxi. Jockey is in the boot with luggage. This is a crazy place. All in good spirits. Met Sagar who runs the orphanage. Lovely guy slightly overawed by this visitors but has already got an Ashes cricket jibe in.

Tuesday 9th

Part 1 - We sat up until late with Sagar and his cousin discussing the orphanage and ideas he had. He mainly spoke and talked about hardships the children face, local corruption, the effects of the tsunami. We got to bed at 4am and woke at 10am to get ready for the connecting flight to Vijayawada. I had an omlette for breakfast that was hotter than any curry I have ever eaten! Drive to the airport was fun as like my father-in-law no one uses their indicators only their horn. Luckily Jockey was spared the boot and got to sit in the back seat. After a lot of local police interest, one bloke was packing a pre war shotgun, we are currently waiting to board our local flight. Everyone on good form and excited. Kuldeep already had his mandatory argument for the day over paying 100 rupees for excess luggage. Before he went too far we reminded him that is £1.20!

Part 2 - It is now 8pm and it has been an amazing day. We are safely at the orphanage and are sitting around Sagar's kitchen table. We had to travel for three hours by car after landing at Vijaywada. There were buffalo on road, people driving head on towards us on the wrong side and mandatory police tolls. As we got closer to the orphanage Sagar's mobile kept ringing with the people at the orphanage asking when we would arrive. We realised why when we pulled up alongside their main gate. All the staff were outside with a big banner welcoming us. They presented us each with beautiful flower garlands. The gates were flung open and all the children flanked our entrance into the orphanage chanting 'welcome to Hebron' and showering us with petals. All of us cried even Kuldeep particularly because his name was misspelt on the banner! As we started shaking hands the children all rushed forward and we excitedly said hello and tried to acknowledge them all. I said a few words that Sagar translated and in my speech I did not try and broke Drax to them! We were all stunned by the reception and Matt was truly speechless.

We had a lovely curried chicken meal with Sagar and his wife as the children sang in the background. This is something they do every night before supper. I then was asked to say a few words about who we were. I told them we live in London where the Queen lives and we had flown 6000miles to give them all YOUR love. We then served them their supper which was chickpeas and rice. Afterwards we visited the dormitories and classrooms whilst the children did their homework outside.

This is a truly outstanding place but is drastically underfunded. Because of their caste status as 'untouchables' they face opposition from pretty much everyone:-banks, neighbours, local businesses and the Brahmin. Sagar has done an amazing job with limited resources but if these 330 children are to stay feed, housed and educated a lot needs to be done. The canal that runs yards from the orphanage is festering with dead human bodies, human and animal waste, toxins from agricultural businesses and conseuently is 98x over the WHO limit. The tsunami has swollen numbers are there is insufficient funding and space for all the children. Dormitories, a dining room, a sanitation block and classrooms need to be built. It is obvious they are currently surviving as nothing is wasted here. Although we have only been here four hours this is exactly how I envisaged what the ALMT should be about - helping change as many needy childrens lives as directly and efficiently as possible. On a lighter note tomorrow we are all teaching classes to the children. Matt and Kuldeep are sharing a maths class and I am teaching european history. Jockey since he has been here has recoiled at a minature gecko and on seeing a toad asked Sagar 'will it eat me?'. As a result I introduced him as one of Britain's leading nature experts! Hopefully he will include carniverous amphibians in his lesson tomorrow! Anyway thanks everyone for reading and I will update again tomorrow.

Wednesday 10th Jan

Part 1 - It was a restless night for all of us. Despite our tiredness there is a lot of noise from the road and it is very hot here. I was up at five and went for a walk around the orphanage. A lot of the children were already up and there were a group of boys doing shot-putting practice. Shot-putting and cricket are the big sports here. I couldn't resist getting involved and before long an inaugral competition between myself and one of the staff erupted in front of all the boys. Despite being half my size he threw a mean shot but he had not counted on competing against a competitive old dog! I admit I put my shoulder out in the struggle.

At 6am all the children assembled for prayers and Sagar spoke to them. Having been rejected by Hinduism Sagar operates a very simple and loving form of Christianity here that accepts all people. He asked me to say a few words to the children and I told them what I felt - life is hard, sometimes it can be difficult for a long time but that they should never give up hope. I am desperately keen not to put any religious spin on why we are here, despite my beliefs, as that is not my job.

Afterwards Sagar took us to the boundaries of the orphanage. Their neighbours dump all their rubbish over the wall into the orphanage grounds and also allow their pigs into the grounds. Sagar told us that frequently the neighbours will come into the orphanage and beat the children.

We had a breakfast of eggs and bananas and discussed what classes we would teach today. Sagar said just talk about what you know best. So Kuldeep is now doing "West Ham - a potted and vague history from the 90s" and Jockey is discussing the theme of why we lost the Ashes using Australian cheating as a motif.

We went outside to see all the Hindus congregating on the canal steps and washing in the canal. Each day celebrates a different Hindu god and the steps are religious places. They were vibrant for the colour and sounds of all the people chanting and chatting by the banks. Got to say I give them 10/10 for getting in the water as it is truly filthy. None of the children have uniforms or shoes so we approached Sagar that we want to sort that out straight away while we are here. We have commissioned cloth for 350 uniforms and 350 pairs of shoes. This will cost us £2,000.

After school assembly we went off to teach classes each with a translator. I cobbled together some facts about vikings, normans and victorians but I am convinced it came across that this was less a chronological history of britain and more a modern day socio-demographic profile! After a confused 30 minutes I stopped and took questions. All the questions were about the royal family, what my wife is interested in, what she wears and what is the UK's biggest crop. Understandably I knew none of the answers to these questions so resorted to introducing Henry VIII to my faux viking/victorian period of history.

We have just finished lunch and are in the middle of a power cut. Midday heat and no fans working. Only upside is that our chicken and egg curry will not get cold!! Sagar spoke to us about the health of the children over lunch. Basically medical care is very poor here. There is a big issue with bronchitis, blindness and asthma because of the water. If any doctors are reading this and feel like a tough but worthwhile week of work please contact the ALMT. Also with 60 children sleeping in one small room on multiple bunk beds diseases spread quickly. Everyone one of the team says hello and we are all keeping well.

Part 2 - We spent the early part of the afternoon in the local town negotiating with cloth retailers. We managed to source dark blue material for the skirts and trousers and a lighter blue material for their shirts. We hid around the corner of the shop while Sagar discussed price then once a price was agreed we hopped out with our american express cards ablazing to pay the bill! This was met by a hacked off looking shopkeeper fuming he had not tripled the price. The tailor is coming tomorrow to measure the children up for the uniforms whilst we go shoe shopping.

We came back to the oprhanage to be met by all the children in a circle around their playing field as we were invited to play cricket with them. Now I am no Shane Warne but I used to be able to bowl a maiden over. These kids though were electric. The orphanage has two teams and Jockey, myself and Kuldeep were all on the same team. The outfield was riddled with tractor marks from the monsoon and the square was effectively stone. Nevertheless Kuldeep 'Harmison' Gill took 3 for 6 and we bowled them out for 50. In limited overs Jockey and I put on 25 runs before I was caught and bowled by a nine year old! Anyway we won but the funniest sight was Jockey being carried on the shoulders of three six year olds. Other children rushed over to Kuldeep and myself with the intention of carrying us aloft too but then comically sized up our bellies and ran off to join the Jockey fan club! We then played 'kabaddi' with the kids which was a lot of fun. I can honestly say that this is the first time I have been happy since Angus died. The chilldren have helped me probably in more ways than I can help them. Their innocence, enthusiasm and friendliness have proved that children are intrinsically the same and as they cuddled me after the cricket I was crying. Crying not that I was sad but crying that we had been led here and Angus was amongst the children surrounding me. We then had school assembly before supper and each of us spoke to the children about home and the things that were different and the same. Jockey and Kuldeep each spoke beautifully and from the heart.

We had supper with Sagar and after the table was cleared he outlined the financial outlook of the orphanage and the immediate projects of which there are many. This orphanage has monthly costs now of $7,000 and income of $2,000. We discussed ideas that I will consult with the trustees on my return. Everyone still well and sending their love.

Thursday 11th Jan

Part 1 - Everyone slept a lot better last night as we are now getting used to the heat and the noise. Afterwards we taught two classes. Kuldeep did geography and when asked what the DC in Washington DC stood for had to run and ask Jockey!

We went into town to buy the shoes which we got for 17,000 rupees - that is £210 for 350 pairs. The boys have blue and the girls pink. We then went to a meat market which was pretty difficult to stomach as all the meat was coated in flys and rubbish was strewn everywhere. We wanted to buy some meat or fish as the children eat only rice. They get a small portion of meat once a week and as a result there is a lot of diabetes at the orphanage. We found some freshly caught fish and bought 30kg for roughly £16. I could not believe how cheap for us it was but Sagar said it is prohibitively expensive for them. I spoke to Sagar about the idea if someone wanted to do a regular contribution directly for just food they could as a donation of £64 a month would get over 1400 fish meals for the children.

 As we re-entered the orphanage there was an ice-cream man hawking for business. Kuldeep had the idea to buy the kids ice cream. So £5 later we had 350 ice creams. We then distributed the shoes to the kids. The majority had never had shoes and carry sores and infections all he time as a result. When they put the shoes on they were lifting their legs like they were walking on the moon! This blog today is not just me doing an audit of what we spent or got the kids it is to show you the impact of your donation on these childrens lives. What you give REALLY makes a difference! Anyway we have a cricket rematch this afternoon after classes and there are a lot of people after 'Harmi' Gill!

Part 2 -

Sagar wanted to show us where the tsunami struck which is where a lot of the recent orphans are from. We travelled 25km by jeep past hundreds of paddy fields until we arrived at the Bay of Bengal. There were still boats 1km in land left from where the tsunami struck and the whole event was very sobering. The villagers believe the tsunami was the result of the hindu sea god who was angry. They still throw coconuts into the sea to appease him believing another tsunami may come.

We returned to the orphanage for another game of cricket. Kuldeep though was less glorious with his bowling and lived up to his 'Harmison' nickname and was taken off after one over after consistently bowling at the slips not the wicket! He made amends by dishing out sweets to all the children he had bought from England. The children love him and chant 'Dhoni' (after the Indian cricket hero) when he walks past. To the untrained ear it sounds like 'boring' which is the chant I have been using! We have decided with the support of the ALMT trustees what we are going to do for the children....

1.) we are going to plug the monthly funding gap of $5,850 for food, medicine, electricity and staff for two years.

2.) we are going to give $78,000 to raise the land ahead of monsoon season to prevent flooding and buy a piece of land near their difficult neighbours so rubbish will be less of a threat.

3.) we are going to make a one-off gift of $15,000 to repay food debts to local business.

4.) we are going to pay $19,500 for a dormitory as they are currently over-crowded and a health hazard.

5.) we are going to give $68,000 for The Angus Lawson Vocational College to be built that will give older children certificates for two opportunities - "Commercial garment and fashion technology" and "Computer graphics and animation". No one can pre-judge their low caste from behind a sewing machine or a computer.

All this fulfils the aims of the ALMT and the promise I have made to you our sponsors. We have also earmarked other projects for the future:- more teachers, a dining room and new toilets. Since my last blog three anonymous donors have contacted me. Firstly someone is paying for the fish on an ongoing basis, secondly someone is paying the salaries of six teachers and the third has pledged $750 a month to the ALMT. Thank you so much. I sit and write this with the children singing outside having had their fish and pilau rice meal. YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE. I could not have come through this grief without the compassion and generosity of all of you. Please don't stop giving this is the beginning not the end. Everyone well and sending their love.

Postscript 17th Jan

It is now Wednesday and despite it taking 32 hours to get back to London at the weekend we are all now very firmly back in the swing of work. I wanted to finish the blog off properly and I have received an email from Sagar that I think does just that. Kuldeep is uploading pictures onto the web as we are hopefully going to have a Gallery function so look out for that. I hope to see as many of you as possible next Thursday (25th) at the Burn's Supper. All 270 tickets have now been sold so apologies to anyone who missed out. Thank you again for supporting the ALMT but all your efforts are best summed up by Sagar himself....

"We and the children at the Hebron are paying our heartfelt thanks for your great help. Our words cannot express our gratitude for your sympathy and charity towards us.

You are filling the poor hearts and starving stomachs. The children ever remember you in their lives. Three months ago we did not have any hope of the future of these children. But now hebron children home survived with new life. I feel that the real satisfaction in life is contribution which you are doing now. We do not know who you are until last week but now you have the special place in our hearts. I thought I was dreaming when you were asking me about the needs of the Orphanage. Thank you so much for your love. Thank you for sending your regular support everymonth. We will improve the children's diet. I will send you pictures of the children and the devolopments here by your kind help.

Our prayers are always with you . May God richly bless you.

I will send you update from time to time. The children are sending their best wishes to you all.

With best wishes,

Sagar"