Tina My dear sweet cousin, who as kids, we grew up like sisters. She is a marvelous girly who moved to NYC last summer and has so far lived to tell about it.
If there was one day on our trip where we could feel solely like pampered tourists, this was it. One of the most famous attractions of Kerala State is it’s beautiful “Backwater Tours”. We were fortunate enough to have one of Rani’s sister’s former students (she is an English Teacher) with connections to a houseboat so that we could experience this peaceful and magical ride. After a couple of hours’ bus ride to the boat, we boarded (removing our shoes) and immediately could tell we were in for a wonderful afternoon. Calm waters, beautiful trees and landscapes, relaxed locals, and great company (some of Rani’s family joined us for the ride)
made for a terrific experience.
Traveling through these backwaters felt like going back in time.
All along the water’s edge were homes—Keralites living in the simplicity of a lost era… bathing, washing clothes, doing dishes in the water, playing with their babes or hanging laundry on their lines.
We felt, at first, that we were invading their private space, but as folks waved and smiled when we sailed by, we recognized a pride in their homes and families, in their way of life.
Young boys rode bicycles on narrow dirt paths right next to the water’s edge
, women swept their porches with branches, men put their fishing nets into the water for the evening meal. The staff served us freshly prepared, traditional Indian fare for lunch, but not before stopping to cut off fresh banana leaves to use for our “plates”!
As is typical in this country, we ate the rice and saucy chicken dishes with our fingers (only our right hand, mind you), tossed our leaves and scraps into the water when done, and had fried bananas for a treat afterward. Three or four hours of this treatment will make you forget about the word “sacrifice”!
It was really a special day of connection with Rani’s family members as well as down time with our team members, and provided some restoration for the second half of our trip…
This was an absolutely incredible day! (I think I say that every day…)
We woke up early to get ready for our flight to Kerala, the southern State where Rani was born and where most of her family still lives. (This was also Pilvin’s first-ever flight—we enjoyed experiencing it with him!) After checking in to our new hotel and enjoying some Indian lunch at its restaurant, (we loved the dish called “Chicken 65”, and some tortilla-like flatbread called porota!), Rani, Tyler, Samantha, Gripson, and Pilvin headed to the village to spend some time with family while the rest of us took it easy in our rooms and slept/relaxed in preparation for a big night…
Rani’s family –and entire village--had spent days preparing a monumental celebration—the official welcoming home of the child who was lost for so many years! They had constructed a fancy stage with a powerful sound system, hired professional traditional Indian dancers, set up multiple chairs with fabric covers and ribbons, and fashioned small bouquets for each of us as honored guests. Upon our arrival, Rani, her mother (“Ama”), her sisters, and Samantha greeted us in gorgeous, colorful saris.
It was an emotional moment as Ama hugged and held each of us—speaking her heart without words, not allowing the language barrier to interfere with her communication.
They led us into her home—the home where Rani lived as a little girl--where we met up with Tyler, wearing a traditional Lungi
(men’s “skirt”, if you will), and other members of the family and the village.
We realized here that we were also honored guests, and that this was the first time since Rani’s return 10 years ago that her village was celebrating the homecoming of the child they had been missing for 20 years. In other words, this was no small party!
It felt like an undeserved honor to be there, and Rani, Ama, sister Lilly, and some of our team members stood up to speak about the significance of this event.
We enjoyed the music, dancing, home-cooked food, and conversation well into the evening.
It was most certainly an event that each of us will remember always. And, in the end, we all felt like family!
This is going to be a doz-ie of a post, but if I don't get it onto my Blog now, I will forget it all...here it goes.
Saturday June 25th:
The 16 of us who were traveling as Tronie Foundation ambassadors met at 4:15 am to catch a flight headed to Mumbai India. We had been meeting for months discussing and planning for this trip. The co-founder of the Tronie Foundation, Rani, had spoke to us often about the purpose and mission of this trip. Our goal was to spread the message about human trafficking and bonded labor .
Our group, called "free2play" had a skit prepared
. The kids had a basketball routine memorized and even had a few dance steps to add to the mix. We started the program with a introduction from each of the youth members who described something that they were "free" to do..like dance or ride bikes. But even with all of this planning and preparation, we still couldn't grasp the magnitude of this issue. We knew that india was going to change us and we were as ready as we could be.
So we flew 6 hours to Newark, NJ and then 16 hours to Mumbai India. We were greeted at the airport by the massive wall of heat and humidity, and members from Rani's family: Joy, her brother
. Gripson and Pilvin, her nephews who had agreed to come along with us as our guides and interpreters. Bensy, Grispson sister and a few other family members. We loaded into 4 cars and headed to our hotel. The first thing we noticed was the cars use their horns perpetually. It appeared as though they had traffic lines dividing the roads, but no one stays within them so they honk to warn the cars that they are there. They come within inches of hitting each other and it doesn't phase them
.
They will not slow down to people, dogs or other cars, but they do however tend to slow down for the herds of cows that are walking around.
We arrived at our hotel at about 11 pm. It was suggested to us that we eat from the buffet then so we could go to bed and not wake up hungry since our schedules were so totally off at this point. We all dove into that buffet. There was gorgeous curries and rice dishes. Everyone filled up and then went to bed.
When we got up the next day, which was now Monday 6/27, we decided to go for a walking tour around the vicinity. Holy Cow! did that ever wake us up. Just crossing the street was an adventure. Gripson lead the group int he front and helped us cross the busy streets.
.
Pilvin stayed in the back to help describe what we were all seeing.
What we noticed right away was the garbage. it was everywhere!!
Piles and piles of it. And among this garbage was the people who had set up their plywood shacks as their homes
.
This was not just in the "slums" this was everywhere!!!. We walked along, taking it all in.
We came upon a stand that was making fresh pineapple juice. There was a young man there who made all of us the most refreshing glass of pineapple juice we had ever had.
Rani started a conversation with the boy and we learned that he works there everyday from 6 am until dark with his "uncle".
Later,we learned that this was our first glimpse at Bonded Labor.
We carried on down the street admiring the many booths and shops. the people were very friendly and desired having their photos taken. Even in rubble and trash, people smiled like they were on top of the world.
Hard not to fall in,love with them when they appear so carefree! One gentleman prepared some chai tea for us which would turn out to be the best Chai we would encounter while in India.
We noticed also that there were many dogs roaming about and cats. When I discussed this with Pilvin, he said some of the dogs would be cared for by the shop owners but the cats were seen as rats. Later I showed Pilvin some photos from my home including our cats, who appear to run the show. :) We returned to our Hotel, dripping with sweat.
The next day , Tuesday 6/28, we spent touring downtown Mumbai. We took a chartered bus into the city.
I couldn't believe the poverty just outside our window.
It blew me away to see so many people living like that.
But with in it was still so much beauty too.
In Mumbai, we did our first presentation at the Bombay International School. The kids did surprisingly well considering the facility and the lack of space to really spread out and do the whole show in its entirety. But the short amount of time before the program started I was amazed at just how resilient kids are. We had just driven through some of the poorest areas and seen some pretty startling things, but yet, when they had a bit of down time...they just bounced right back to being goofy teenagers.
After each show the kids had time to interact with the students and this proved to be the favorite time throughout the whole trip.
The kids from india really took to our kids. they loved looking at the photo books and chatting about life. Even with all of the differences, the conversations always showed how much they were the same.
After the performance we drove to the "gateway of india". When we first pulled up we were warned by Gripson that the street peddlers would be all over us but to continue to walk and just decline.
We could see out of our window the masses of people coming to the bus to show off their goods: Balloons, drums, bangles, & postcards.
We walked onto the pavilion which is the gateway and admired the bold basalt arch structure. But we didn't get far before people noticed us and wanted our photos taken with them or their photos taken for us
.
Our eyes were amazed at the masses of people just mulling about. it seemed like everyone was divided by family, but what they were missing was their homes. The streets were their homes. Amazing!!
later we experienced our first Monsoon rainstorm. Out of nowhere, huge drops of rain fell, soaking us to the bone. We all laughed and laughed at this lack of planning because we had all brought ponchos but they were back at the hotel. We learned our lesson for sure.
Back at the Hotel, Julie Bradshaw and I would often stay up late working on a mass email that we wold send back home to America. We had planned on using "Flickr" for the photos, but it took hours to upload so we decided facebook would work. So, burning the midnight oil, we diligently uploaded the days photos for our love-ones to enjoy.
The next morning, 6/29, we had a very quick breakfast in the hotel which now we have noticed is the same day after day, meal after meal. Some of us had started to experience travelers diarrhea & cramps just 3 days in. WHile some stayed at the hotel, the rest of us headed back into Mumbai for some shopping and touring. Our first stop was the laundry area called " dhobi ghat".
This is a 140 year old human powered washing machine. Everyday hundreds of people beat the dirt out of thousands of soiled Mumbai clothes and linen in 1026 open air troughs.
This was such a remarkable sight. Many of us commented that our laundry back at home doesn't seem half as bad as we had once thought.
The street kids around this area were very persistent. They were used to the tourists and had the perfect amount of determination to sell their goods. It also helped that they were so darn cute too.
Many of us purchased bags and linens from these vendors.
After visiting dhobi ghat we headed over the the train station. We walked underground after viewing the busy train station from across the street.
The underground walkway was so hot and stuffy and crowded.
This was the first time I feared losing Ayden. Once in the train station, Rani explained the real danger of this place. This is a main hub for traffickers. The goal is to successfully take a person just a state away where they speak a whole new language, and that person would most likely never return home again because they are so disoriented. Rani spoke of how some have been snatched right off the ramp to the train and transported across state. Many homeless children hang out at the train station begging for food or rupees and get approached by someone who offers help. Instead of helping them they sell them to the highest bidder.
Fondly, I look back on this train station as the turning point for Ayden and I. Since our travel began, he has acted very 15. distant, rude, and bothered by me. Once we visited the train station and discussed how easily one of us could be kidnapped, ayden immediately changed. He was very protective of me. He comforted me and kept me safe. As much as I hate to think about the thousands of kids and adults who have been lost at that train station, I am so pleased with it's lesson.
We then took advantage of the large markets Pilvin and Gripson to do our bartering.
It was so interesting to wander the shops.
About 1/2 way through, a few in our group started getting ill. Specifically our loan blonde hair, blue eyed phenom, Julie. We searched and searched for a bathroom and air conditioning. Our respite
turned out to be the Nike store.
And thankfully, they loved us. At each "prominent" store there is a guard who lets you in or out. You must leave your bags there in the foyer before you can shop. For us, this was not the case. They welcomed Americans in because of the perception that we have money to spend. And we obliged. It felt weird buying something from a Nike store in India, but if it meant allowing Julie to regroup, worth every dime.
6/30 today we went to visit the shelter called "Pranthum"
This shelter houses, feeds and educates kids rescued from slavery or bonded labor. The first thing we noticed while waiting outside were the boys looking out at us through barred windows.
There was a sign on the wall written in Hindi with the exception of one English sentence "No child labor".
The shelter was dark but you could tell there was LOVE throughout.
A few kids spoke some English but most just smiled and shook our hands. The kids did their performance and role play and then sharedsome sports bracelets with the children. What glee for them!!
One boy, who Rani had met when he was just 4. He is now 9-10 years old.
Another boys shared his beautiful artwork with us. Amazing to see his shining eyes even when faced with such huge obstacles.
The girls at the shelter had very short cut hair. Rani said that usually a "owner" of a slave or child prostitute will cut off their hair so that they will not flee. in India, girls without longer hair are an embarrassment.
Seeing all of these sweet kids really put our trip into perspective. Human trafficking is REAL. This happens to REAL kids. Kids just like ours. Again, we shared our photo books,gave them new basketballs and nets and chatted with the kids.
Always fill our cups with joy to then be able to continue our trip.
After Pranthum we made our way to a very remote area and pulled into what appeared to be a dirt area surrounded by abandoned building. Within minutes kids of all ages started pouring out of the run down buildings.
We stayed there visiting for over an hour. We interacted with the kids, shared photos, danced a bit and enjoyed the kids gorgeous hearts and smiles.
(man did they love blonde hair :) )
Once on the bus, dripping with sweat, our kids could not stop talking about how much they enjoyed it there.
We would have loved to stay longer but towards the end it became almost like a mob, We had a hard time getting onto our bus and the situation could have gotten a bit out of control had we pushed our time.
We loaded back into the bus, got some cold refreshments and carried on.
Each time we loaded intothe bus, it gave us the best views of the Indian culture and environment.
At the end of the day, after eating the only American food we could find, KFC ( which by the way did not serve biscuits or mashed potatoes), we stopped at Gripsons house. While driving there we witness numerous goats and chickens being slaughtered right there on the streets. It was a little more than I could handle. whew, that took some deep breaths to recover from. We met Gracie, Rani's sister and Gripson's mom, and Gripsey, who is 8 months pregnant. While driving there, Gripson showed us the the slum neighborhood where they lived for over 20+ years. The recently had to move because a developer bought it to build a high rise. Once the building is completed they will have the option of moving back in. Which is hard to understand because it is the slums. But to them, it is their home.So refreshing to visit gracie's home which is smaller than my kitchen, but filled to the rim with love!!!
The next morning we flew to Kerala. I will share this in my next post. But what a stark contrast.
