Saphara teams give young people the opportunity to engage in issues of justice and global citizenship through working with educationally disadvantaged children in India. Saphara is a non-profit, non-denominational Christian organisation which welcomes young people from all backgrounds, races and religions.

Best trip I’ve been on and I definitely want to do it again. Eoin
Archive for July 2010
Day Three 26th July 2010
Posted in Belfast Team 2010, Trip Blog

Today was a later start for the team – 9am breakfast then packing to leave the Legend Inn. We had a short reflection and we talked about our thoughts of the trip so far. We packed ourselves and our rucksacks into the taxis and headed to McDonalds for lunch. It was sad to see the homeless kids living on the streets of Delhi but this made us eager for teaching tomorrow. Waiting on our delayed train got pretty sweaty but we managed to buy fans from a street seller for 10 rupees (14p) which helped cool us down. In particular the ‘gingers’ were quite popular with the locals at the station and a few sneaky pictures were taken.

The 8 hour train journey gave us to time to plan lessons for teaching in Kaplani along with some intense card games. We arrived at the President Hotel after 11pm and had chips and naan for supper and a good night’s sleep.

Eimear and John

Day Two 24th July 2010
Posted in Belfast Team 2010, Trip Blog

Spot the Taj!

After a grand total of about 6 hours sleep, we woke at 5 for a quick breakfast before heading to Agra. We had another few thrilling experiences in the taxis, but just about made it to the train station in Delhi. Crowds of people surrounded us and made it an interesting wait. Once safely on the train we started our start-stop journey, enjoying the air conditioning and the views of rice paddy fields, random cows, and Indian graffiti (which seemed to stretch on forever).

We arrived in Agra and met our tour guide, who brought us to the Taj Mahal, where he gave us a ‘brief’ history of the monument. The Taj Mahal was awesome (in the true sense of the word), and we were surprised to note the intricacies of the architecture. After getting caught in a small monsoon, we took shelter in the Taj, and then headed to the Trident Hilton Hotel for a buffet lunch.

When we’d finished our scrumptious lunch, we visited the magnificent Agra Fort, where the ruler who built the Taj Mahal lived (and was subsequently imprisoned by his own son). After striving to avoid the hawkers we toured the building, finding an enormous bath, more gorgeous architecture and some locals who (to our complete bemusement) wanted to take photos of us taking photos of the Fort.

We visited Pizza Hut and the marble factory on the way back to the train station, receiving an interesting tour and even buying the odd baby marble elephant. The wait at the train station was challenging, but at least we had a five hour train journey to recover! After a few delays and some interesting Indian music in our carriage, we arrived in Delhi and got taxis back to the hotel, falling in to bed at 2am (on average).

Charlotte and Lee

Belfast Team – Day One 23rd July 2010
Posted in Belfast Team 2010, Trip Blog

The Belfast team have arrived in India!

The team met up at the airport for a last farewell to our families at 3pm. We checked in and killed some time before the flight with some card games and coffee, then flew to Heathrow. After several bus journeys and a walk, we made it to the terminal, and even had time to get some dinner (albeit at somewhat extortionate prices) before we just about made the flight to Delhi.

We survived the eight and half hour flight, thanks to the in-flight entertainment, the food we’d stocked up on at Heathrow, and carefully avoiding the plane food.

When we arrived in India, our first impressions were of extreme heat, the cacophonous noise and the smells. After getting the bus back to our hotel and discovering the climbing wall, we freshened up ad headed out again to FabIndia to purchase our fabulous Indian clothes (obviously). The boys had a very single-minded shopping experience (in-buy-out), and had a considerable wait in the café for the girls to finish trying on various combinations of kurtas, dupattas and salwar.

Then we headed back to the hotel for a lovely Indian meal and a chat with the Down team, who had plenty of wisdom to share. We ended our amazing first day with some well-earned sleep.

Day Fifteen 23rd July 2010
Posted in Down Team 2010, Trip Blog

The last day, these are the teams final reflections;

“Saphara to an Indian means journey (literal Hindi translation).To me it also means love, self-discovery, friendships and most of all the way the faces of the children light up when you touch their lives.” -: Alastair

“You don’t discover the true meaning of charity until you experience it first hand!” :- Ryan D

“A completely life changing experience. A discovery of friends, love and how one small sacrifice can make such a difference to so many people. Best two weeks of my life.” :- Claire

“The past two weeks have been some of the best of my life. The experiences I have had have made me reconsider what I believe to be important in my life. Seeing how the children in these schools live and then going to school with them, you realize how well off you are. They are always so happy and friendly and never complain. It has been a life changing experience.” Orla

“An amazing experience, a country that seems to be constantly buzzing and somewhere where anyone will say hello.” Steven

“This journey was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I shared it with a fantastic group who I believe really made a difference to the lives of the children and to myself.” Olivia

“This trip was one of the best experiences of my life, especially experiencing it with this group of people. Everyone bonded so well and it left me with a real sense of friendship. I have left India feeling inspired and most of all fulfilled.” Caroline

“Saphara has widened my horizons further than I ever imagined. My experiences during the trip made me realize a potential I have to make a lasting difference to the people I have met every day and those I have yet to meet. I would like to thank all those who helped with organizing and fundraising- this has been the experience of a life time.” Kerrie Stevenson

“By far the most fantastic experience of my life. I have met some of the best people ever! Everyone bonded so well and I am leaving India with a new group of friends. Thanks to everyone who made this trip so fantastic.” Ryan I

“Absolutely life changing. I will never forget the experiences or the people I have encountered. Truly eye-opening, thank you so much everyone.”  Alexi

“Loved the teaching, loved the children and loved the team. I had the time of my life and thank you to everyone.” Kathryn

“Every moment I spent on the trip has been the best in my life. I’ve learnt that you can take yourself seriously and still have fun.” Neil

“India has been the most rewarding and fulfilling educational experience I have ever had. I’ve loved the group and everyone has been so kind, friendly and has been amazing. I have learnt a lot about myself and the world. It was an inspirational and life-changing experience. Thanks to all involved.” Vikki

Day Fourteen 22nd July 2010
Posted in Down Team 2010, Trip Blog

Our last day of teaching in SNEHA, was emotional but worth it, especially since our entire group had now experienced visiting the community. We taught our two final lessons and the pupils clearly enjoyed our teaching. Some pupils put on an amazing performance for us consisting of dancing, singing and fire eating for a grand finale!

Our group responded with three beautiful performances from the girls of our group. Dr. Reeta and Harry Rao, spoke appreciatively of SNEHA’s parternership with Saphara and Christine and Dominic responded by saying that Saphara’s partnership with SNEHA was equally beneficial to us. Dominic, on behalf of the student groups and the board, presented Dr. Reeta with a cheque to support new projects at the school. Our time at SNEHA has all been about love- sharing love to the wonderful children and enjoying their enthusiasm in return, knowing that together we can make a difference.

After a final meal at McDonalds, we boarded the express train to Delhi, from where we are writing.  We will arrive in Delhi towards midnight.

Neil and Kathryn x

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