Well the rain in Nagpur has continued, so yesterday it was far too muddy for us to play outside with the kids. Instead, we got stuck into some 'indoor games' we'd picked up from the market a couple of weeks ago.
The girls made jewellery, and the boys did mechano. It was a stack of fun! The time went by so fast, and soon it was time for study. The kids made some really good things, and it was a great time of interaction for us - enjoy the pics below!
This week Marty is getting stuck into assisting with bits and pieces for the construction. A couple of priorities are getting some of the income-generating projects off the ground. The first is the book-binding, which is ready to go, but we need to get some orders happening. Marty has been working on a brochure for this so that this week the guys can go around to various schools and institutions to advertise. The second is hiring out a large hall on the ground floor - there are still a few things in this room that need to be completed, including a small PA system, perfect area for Marty to be involved in. Once it is fully finished, we can advertise this also.
I'm lending my admin skills to assist with finalising and formatting of budgets, as well as some reporting. Fun to get stuck into this type of thing again, knowing that these small things can make a big difference.
So all is going really well....apart from last night when we had a bit of a TII ('This Is India') experience. The power went out just before we went to bed - as we've already mentioned, this is not an unusual occurrence, so we didn't think too much of it. But rather than coming back on within 15 minutes or so, it was still out when we got up this morning....and other apartments had power. So we decided that this required further investigation - but who to ask? what to do? Our limited Hindi definitely doesn't cover electrical terms! But God is so good and even in the little things like this, He is looking after us. Marty went down stairs and just happened to meet one of our neighbours who not only spoke good English, but knew what the problem was and how to fix it. So he helped us out and the power is back! Some may say coincidence, but we know God is with us.
Unfortunately though, we then encountered another problem which is that the water has completely run out to our apartment. If you've read the 'For Those Who Are Interested' post, you can understand that this has something to do with the water needing to be pumped up in the flats. We're still working on solving this problem, trying to sort out who to talk to, who's responsible for this, where the pump is etc. At time of writing, all we have is one and a half buckets of water we quickly collected before the taps completely dried up, plus our drinking water. Load of washing is also sitting half done in the machine! So, TII! Hope we can water back soon.
These small issues are inconveniences for us for sure, and pretty annoying. But again, it is such a good reminder that we have so much! I'm annoyed because I have to use candles and a torch and go without the ceiling fan and risk the food in the fridge going off.....but hey, I have a ceiling with which to install a fan....I have a fridge! (So many people here do not have fridges).....I have electricity!! I'm frustrated because I can't shower, I can't use my washing machine and when I turn on the tap nothing comes out....but hello, I have taps! I don't have to cart water from miles away (water which will be unsafe for drinking anyway). I have a washing machine! I don't have to wash all of my clothes by hand, all the time.
So much we take for granted and so much we don't understand or realise. TII, This Is India, yes, this is how many of the world's people live - 1 billion people living in slums - that's one in every six people! I'm reminded again that what we think is normal, are actually luxuries that most people don't have - TITW, This Is The World. That is, the world as most people know it.
The girls made jewellery, and the boys did mechano. It was a stack of fun! The time went by so fast, and soon it was time for study. The kids made some really good things, and it was a great time of interaction for us - enjoy the pics below!
This week Marty is getting stuck into assisting with bits and pieces for the construction. A couple of priorities are getting some of the income-generating projects off the ground. The first is the book-binding, which is ready to go, but we need to get some orders happening. Marty has been working on a brochure for this so that this week the guys can go around to various schools and institutions to advertise. The second is hiring out a large hall on the ground floor - there are still a few things in this room that need to be completed, including a small PA system, perfect area for Marty to be involved in. Once it is fully finished, we can advertise this also.
I'm lending my admin skills to assist with finalising and formatting of budgets, as well as some reporting. Fun to get stuck into this type of thing again, knowing that these small things can make a big difference.
So all is going really well....apart from last night when we had a bit of a TII ('This Is India') experience. The power went out just before we went to bed - as we've already mentioned, this is not an unusual occurrence, so we didn't think too much of it. But rather than coming back on within 15 minutes or so, it was still out when we got up this morning....and other apartments had power. So we decided that this required further investigation - but who to ask? what to do? Our limited Hindi definitely doesn't cover electrical terms! But God is so good and even in the little things like this, He is looking after us. Marty went down stairs and just happened to meet one of our neighbours who not only spoke good English, but knew what the problem was and how to fix it. So he helped us out and the power is back! Some may say coincidence, but we know God is with us.
Unfortunately though, we then encountered another problem which is that the water has completely run out to our apartment. If you've read the 'For Those Who Are Interested' post, you can understand that this has something to do with the water needing to be pumped up in the flats. We're still working on solving this problem, trying to sort out who to talk to, who's responsible for this, where the pump is etc. At time of writing, all we have is one and a half buckets of water we quickly collected before the taps completely dried up, plus our drinking water. Load of washing is also sitting half done in the machine! So, TII! Hope we can water back soon.
These small issues are inconveniences for us for sure, and pretty annoying. But again, it is such a good reminder that we have so much! I'm annoyed because I have to use candles and a torch and go without the ceiling fan and risk the food in the fridge going off.....but hey, I have a ceiling with which to install a fan....I have a fridge! (So many people here do not have fridges).....I have electricity!! I'm frustrated because I can't shower, I can't use my washing machine and when I turn on the tap nothing comes out....but hello, I have taps! I don't have to cart water from miles away (water which will be unsafe for drinking anyway). I have a washing machine! I don't have to wash all of my clothes by hand, all the time.
So much we take for granted and so much we don't understand or realise. TII, This Is India, yes, this is how many of the world's people live - 1 billion people living in slums - that's one in every six people! I'm reminded again that what we think is normal, are actually luxuries that most people don't have - TITW, This Is The World. That is, the world as most people know it.
Yamini, Kaiya and Anita showing off their jewellery
Sharon and Moni
Om and Ankit
Rohit
Harsh
Santoshi and Taashu
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