Dear all
I decided to just run the main blog for the Pilgrimage - it was a time and sleep deprivation thing!
You can reach the blog here:
http://web.mac.com/poh07
Latter was created using iWeb (software that ships with every mac) and a .mac account.
It was much easier getting the connectivity in India to create the blog in this way. Epecially since the photos were so important. iWeb allows you to create the pages off line. Very easy to use etc etc
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Friday, January 12, 2007
Day 2 (11/1/2007)
Started the day early with a great breakfast. Lots of different tastes. I am glad that the food does not allow piglrims to completely miss the Indian foods, but there is enough familiar food to ensure no one goes hungry.
Berenice, Mark from Riverview and I headed out to the Don Bosci Ashalayaam which is a new service area for us and found a wonderful organisation being adminisitered by inspired leaders, giving abandoned railway children love and family experience.
Young children are given the opportunity to come to the shelters where they are, over time and as trust builds, given an education and a trade. When they leave at the age of 18, they can have emmased a sizable sum, they can be further assisted in housing, employment, land and marriage.
The trades that are taught at the main centre included carpendary, Welding, Driving, Tailoring and Baking while skills beading, book binding and card art
We returned via 2 more of the shelters in suburbs closer to train stations - these teach air conditioning, knitting and beauty parlour skills.
We hope to send 8 pilgrims and 2 staff to the main rehabilitation centre to assist where possible, and learn ourselves of the work that his being done there.
After lunch back at the hotel (another sensational meal!) we walked as a group though the streets to the Mother House where we spent the afternoon visiting Mother Terasa's tomb, a Museum that is dedicated to her life and the seeing and learning about the current Sisters of Mercy.
The walk itself was 40 mins each way and was fascinating, allowing us to experience some of the street culture.
After dinner we listened to an Australian, Rod who runs a clinic on Kolkata Railway station and in a number of villages. He was an inspiring man with a great message and we hope to assist him while we are here. The vitamins, toothpaste etc that we brought are for his project.
Our day finished with reflection and journaling.
Berenice, Mark from Riverview and I headed out to the Don Bosci Ashalayaam which is a new service area for us and found a wonderful organisation being adminisitered by inspired leaders, giving abandoned railway children love and family experience.
Young children are given the opportunity to come to the shelters where they are, over time and as trust builds, given an education and a trade. When they leave at the age of 18, they can have emmased a sizable sum, they can be further assisted in housing, employment, land and marriage.
The trades that are taught at the main centre included carpendary, Welding, Driving, Tailoring and Baking while skills beading, book binding and card art
We returned via 2 more of the shelters in suburbs closer to train stations - these teach air conditioning, knitting and beauty parlour skills.
We hope to send 8 pilgrims and 2 staff to the main rehabilitation centre to assist where possible, and learn ourselves of the work that his being done there.
After lunch back at the hotel (another sensational meal!) we walked as a group though the streets to the Mother House where we spent the afternoon visiting Mother Terasa's tomb, a Museum that is dedicated to her life and the seeing and learning about the current Sisters of Mercy.
The walk itself was 40 mins each way and was fascinating, allowing us to experience some of the street culture.
After dinner we listened to an Australian, Rod who runs a clinic on Kolkata Railway station and in a number of villages. He was an inspiring man with a great message and we hope to assist him while we are here. The vitamins, toothpaste etc that we brought are for his project.
Our day finished with reflection and journaling.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Day 1 (10/1/2007)
Well, we made it! What seemed like an extraodinary number of hours (7 + 4), with the time difference, translated to us arriving in Kolkata only 7 hours after we flew from Sydney.
We enjoyed the hospitality of Singapore Airlines. The flight from Singapore to Kolkata was not heavily booked so the Pilgims took advantage of the spare seats and most got to know each other better.
Brother James (BJ) had arranged for the local police to meet us at Kolkata airport and we were given an escort (complete with flashing red light!) all the way to the Peerless Inn, our accomodation until the 24th when we fly to Delhi.
The bus trip from the airport was in the dark, and certainly not through the most beautiful part of the city (we hope!) and the main impression so far is that there is a lot of smoke and smog haze. It's winter here - 16 degrees when we landed - so there are a lot of open air fires burning for warmth, as well as the usual pollution from traffic.
We have been asked by BJ to visit a new organisation that might need our services and will do so in the morning. One of the potential problems that we experience is that a troup our size (75) can swamp the existing service opportunities and it is simply not possible to know in advance the numbers of volunteers who may be required to assist the Sisters of Mercy or the other organisations. We'll soon have a better idea of how we'll all be placed.
So, cases have been placed in our rooms. We've had supper and are ready for bed.
We enjoyed the hospitality of Singapore Airlines. The flight from Singapore to Kolkata was not heavily booked so the Pilgims took advantage of the spare seats and most got to know each other better.
Brother James (BJ) had arranged for the local police to meet us at Kolkata airport and we were given an escort (complete with flashing red light!) all the way to the Peerless Inn, our accomodation until the 24th when we fly to Delhi.
The bus trip from the airport was in the dark, and certainly not through the most beautiful part of the city (we hope!) and the main impression so far is that there is a lot of smoke and smog haze. It's winter here - 16 degrees when we landed - so there are a lot of open air fires burning for warmth, as well as the usual pollution from traffic.
We have been asked by BJ to visit a new organisation that might need our services and will do so in the morning. One of the potential problems that we experience is that a troup our size (75) can swamp the existing service opportunities and it is simply not possible to know in advance the numbers of volunteers who may be required to assist the Sisters of Mercy or the other organisations. We'll soon have a better idea of how we'll all be placed.
So, cases have been placed in our rooms. We've had supper and are ready for bed.
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