Our first day with ASHA.

It was quite a shock this morning when we woke up and I (John) remembered that we would be heading over to the ASHA office, or maybe it was the realisation that it was 7 in the morning. What was more of a shock was that I had brought a Valentines all the way from the UK to give to Louise and unfortunately I was left empty handed (Awwwwww). Louise has very good reason not to bring one because I am very poor at giving cards at the appropriate occasions so there was no reason why I should make the effort this time, other than the fact that I did......

Anyway, as previously mentioned we spent our first day with ASHA today which started with a short meeting in their office and then we were driven, with the usual rush of adrenalin, out to the resource center where we shall be doing our English teaching. We were welcomed with a garland of flowers round our necks and petals thrown over our heads which I think should be standard welcome procedures for us (take note parents and friends). It was very humbling though as we both felt very inadequate in terms of what we are bringing to them, yet they treated us with such warmth and generosity. We spent the rest of the time there meeting some of the children and the members of the health care team. We heard some very inspiring stories which really do give you hope, which is actually what ASHA means in Hindi. One particular story is of a lady called By-yan, a Muslim lady who did not leave her home before ASHA came along. She is now the leader of the womens group and not only leaves the home but communicates to the government if a water pump is broken or certain conditions are not being met on behalf of other women.

One thing that struck me as we where shown round some of the people's homes in the slums was that even in some of the worst conditions these people were beautiful. They were happy and rejoiced in the birth of a healthy child and welcomed us into their homes. There is a lot we can learn from these people, and we hope to over the next month.

P.S. Here is a we photo of us with our flower garlands, brings out my eyes doesn't it??