Day 4: A trip to the country

Venturing out into India

Not sure how to begin.  Got picked up at about 7:40am for an adventure, really not knowing exactly what I was doing or where I was going.  All I knew is that once a month IJM invites freed slaves for a meeting to help them with various skills they need to be successful post slavery.

What I soon found out was that I would be driven nearly 2.5 hours out of Bangalore to a town called Dharmapuri in the state of Tamil Nadu.  The trip was the usual exciting ride, but being used to that now, it was just a fascinating trip through the heart of southern India. 

There were beautiful mountains, lush coconut forests, and many unique scenes capturing the culture of India,

 including McDonald's of course. Sorry for the picture quality, I took it through the window as we arrived.   The young man seemed oblivious to Ronalds arm around him

 Of course, I got the veggie mcmuffin

As we were riding to the site where we would meet the clients, the IJM staff introduced a couple of new folks coming with us.  They were from a Bangalore Bible college and we coming long a community service project and to learn about areas of injustice.   They also told us that we were going to be training the clients today on the importance of registering for benefits that they were entitled to, and then help them do that.   Although they were free there is still the ongoing battle to get back established in society.  

My job was to take photos that were needed to get their "passport"   This passport enabled them to receive their benefits.  Being that many lived until a year ago under the constant control of their slave owner they did not know about these benefits and since many could not read or write, they needed help completing the forms.  This reminded me of the verse Isaiah 40:29 "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak"   We were there to empower the weak.

Probably one of the greatest parts of the day was completely unplanned.   As I was taking pictures I kept hearing laughter and singing from some kids nearby.   I walked outside and immediately attracted attention.  At first just a few boys came by and I showed a few family photos to ooos and ahs

Apparently, next to the building we were helping the IJM clients was a 50-75 kids wanting needing to get away from household chores a little bit to spend time studying.   If they would be home they would be tied up all the time with household responsibilities but this session allows then to get away from home and study.   This was organized by a compassionate man named Isaac Newton.   No not the ancient astronomer, a man (38 years old) who spends his time helping kids do better in school.   Education is a key differentiator in life in India, and without encouragement from Isaac, many of the kids would have dropped out.   So when I had finished taking pictures, Issac takes me up to a big open space where kids are in circles drilling each other.  I see books on math, biology, social studies around the kids.   Isaac releases them from their studies for a few minutes so that they could gather around. 

Instantly I had about 60 kids surrounding me in this building, and I mean as close as they could get.   As I sat there,  Isaac quizzed them regarding their lessons.   He grabbed a textbooks and asked them questions like "what was the median income of the United States, or Pakistan.   What where the 2 US presidents during the great depression? And even, what topic is covered on page 262 of the book?"  I was completely amazed as it appeared the kids had memorized the textbook.  After that I told a little about myself and then they asked me questions.  They asked me for what reason I came to India.   They asked how many children I had, how old were they and what were their names.   Earlier some of the kids had gathered around me to see pictures and I think there was one 12th grade girl a little bit taken up by my son Josh.  I gave the bad news that he had a girlfriend already, but they said he could have 2!  It was so fun to hang with the kids !!!   But sadly I had to go with all of kids yelling good-bye and waving.

On the way home, I saw brown shapes on the side of the road and at first assumed that they were the standard stray dog, but as I got closer, I saw that they were actually monkeys.   I saw 3 or 4 of them, just hanging out by the side of the road, watching cars and people go by.   First time I had seen a monkey other than a zoo.  Did not get a picture, unfortunately.

Overall, an amazing day, and this is just day 4.  Tomorrow back to a full day of work, then off to Chennai for a couple of days to see Bobby Gupta, HBI, and the IJM Chennai office.