Dr Reeta and her husband Hari welcomed us to SNEHA (Society for Nurture Education and Health Advancement) School. Dr Reeta told us their inspirational story and how they founded SNEHA School. This was a truly great example of faith in action as they both gave up great careers to follow God’s call.

After some lovely coffee and chai tea we were given a tour of the school, meeting many of the teachers and pupils from kindergarten through to senior pupils. It was lovely to see how Saphara has supported the work of the school including the building of a toilet block, desks and chairs for the classrooms and funding for a number of teachers’ salaries.

The school exudes a very happy atmosphere and an aura of contentment and love. As all of the pupils come from the local slum SNEHA is an oasis of opportunity both for education and personal transformation.

We spent the afternoon visiting the marginalized community (slum area), meeting with local people whose lives have been enriched by the work of the SNEHA centre. We visited a women’s literacy programme and witnessed some of the practical improvements which SNEHA have made such as building the bridge across the polluted river and concreting the pathways within the slum area. We met women who had opened their own shops after attending the literacy programme.

Dr Reeta and Hari are truly inspirational people and are a living witness to the community around them and to us, and we have a lot to learn from them both.

Anne McR, Vivien, Joanne, Karen

Namaste! We awake much refreshed between 9.30 and 10.30am, find and hug to our bosoms Valentine’s cards secreted away into our luggage or entrusted to fellow companions by faithful husbands and partners, shower, dress in colourful Indian attire of kurta, churidar pyjami and dupata, have breakfast of fruit, cornflakes, toast and pale anaemic scrambled eggs which taste much nicer than they look! The coffee and milk are also surprisingly very pleasant tasting. Before setting off to the train station, we have a quieter moment for our daily reflection – Anne reads a poem aptly called For The Traveller from a book entitled Benedictus by John O’Donohue, a recently deceased Irish apostolic Roman Catholic priest.

On route to the station, we have a short stop at the majestic art-decco styled Imperial Hotel to visit La Baguette Patisserie – what a sight awaits us! Valentine’s floral displays – red hearts of carnations and roses. Pink and milk chocolate hearts filled with soft-centred chocolates. More than a dozen beautifully decorated heart-shaped cakes of every flavour and colour to suit the varied tastes of today’s discerning Valentines’ diners. We enjoy a few minutes relaxing in the sunshine in the gardens of the hotel and another few minutes freshening up in the marbled restroom. We loved the pink orchid blossoms strewn on top of rolled up hand-towels. We are not too sad to leave this comparative luxury knowing that we will return here for afternoon tea on our last day in Delhi.

We spend a few minutes negotiating porterage rates with the coolies at New Delhi Station and got them down from 300 to 100Rupees per case. Then jostled through the crowds a half kilometre along the bridge to our platform where we awaited the arrival of our train. Fellow travellers mainly in family groups sitting on clothes, packages, cases or each other provided a colourful backdrop along with NO SMOKING, NO SPITTING, NO DROPPING LITTER signs to the accompaniment of announcements in Hindi and English interspersed with the DUDUUUU of an annoying yet somehow comforting hooter.

The train journey is very relaxing and we can chat, read, knit, write blog-proof, download photos, listen to Christine talk about future plans for Saphara and discuss the issues that these plans bring up, all while looking out of the window at the Indian countryside – green squares of paddy fields and upright spikes of sugarcane breakup the mainly brown, dusty, landscape. We pass a number of small towns and villages – mainly poor tumble-down houses, some single-storey and some up to 4 or 5 storeys. Children run about or sit or play cricket. EVERYTHING can be seen – even people relieving themselves or making cone-shaped heaps out of dried cow patties.

After 6 hours or so we will reach Dehra Dun which will be our home for the next 2 nights.

Rosie

When I was standing outside Belfast City Airport on Thursday afternoon, a taxi went past. On the side was a picture of the Taj Mahal with the words ‘Incredible India’. Just 24 hours later, we actually visited the Taj Mahal and it certainly was ‘Incredible India’. Words hardly do it justice. It seemed ethereal, almost other-worldly, this solid marble building. Despite the crowds, it just exuded serenity. It was well worth the journey. And what a journey!

If someone had told me that I would get up at 5.30 am, catch a train at 7.00 am for a three hour journey which actually took six hours due to thick fog (in India!) and have a return journey delayed by four hours so that we don’t actually get back the hotel until 3.15 am, I would have been totally horrified. But it was an absolutely brilliant day. We chatted, laughed and joked, had a delicious lunch in a beautiful hotel in Agra, visited the Taj Mahal and spent hours in Costa Coffee.

A 22 hour day – I don’t think even Christine could have organized a better team-building experience!

Karen

We’ve arrived!

By 12 noon today the team had arrived in Delhi airport – Rosie and Pauline via Dubai and the rest – Anne D, Anne McR, Elma, Joanne, Karen and Vivien – straight from Heathrow. After a short rest in the hotel we hit the shops – Fabindia to be exact – where many brightly coloured kurtas, salwars and duputtas were tried, on much to the dismay of local ladies who had to queue for some time to get into the changing rooms.

After purchases were made we returned to the hotel for a delicious spicy Indian meal – even spicier for Pauline who accidentally ate a deep fried chili!

Now everyone is in bed except me – Christine – for our early start to Agra tomorrow to see the Taj Mahal. Just one sad note – Gillian Fitch has not been able to join us as her father-in-law has taken ill. We’ll miss you Gillian – and send you all our love!

Christine

Snow in India!

I’ve been in India since Sunday visiting our Saphara partners. It was a great joy to visit SNEHA to meet with Dr Reeta and Hari and see the 900 children educated at their school. Then up to Mussoorie to be met with snow – my first snow experience in India! Surender at MGVS brought me up to date with all their exciting developments including the new school building at Kaplani. I was blessed by the hospitality of Shonila Chander of Woodstock school who put me up at very short notice and I greatly enjoyed meeting Woodstock principal Dr Laurenson. Today I’m back in Delhi where I visited new projects – now I’m awaiting the team’s arrival tomorrow!

Christine