Some of our team departs - February 11, 2008

Much to our sadness and great loss, several of the team members depart today - from England, Mark Little, Ray Sykes, Chris and Hilary King (she reminded me that she does NOT spell it the way the junior senator from New York does!) and Didier Fosse from France are returning to their homes and back to the normal grind of true Rotarians. To witness this very diverse group of fifty-four people, ranging in age from eleven to seventy-three years, from six countries (and seven if you count Ireland separately from the others in the UK) with differing levels of experience in and with Rotary, and how we all came together, set to work hard the day of the NID, to finally push polio out of India, and then to work at the village of Chahalka in transforming two parts of a large, decaying building into a viable vocational and computer training centre and also a day-care centre, the evolution was absolutely amazing - could this be what I have long termed THE MAGIC OF ROTARY???

Mark Little was almost immediately up on the ladders, both inside and outside the larger part of the building, slapping paint on the walls, to bring it from a dingy dank set of rooms into an inviting environment. Didier Fosse and Hilary King were right along with Mark, as well as Liam and Clare Dunne and Audrey and Ann Marie Athavale.

If you check out this photo, you can see the building (or blank canvas) in the background that would be the focus of our collective attention for the week when we were working there.

It truly was pretty awful - cold concrete that had not received any prime coat of paint or any attention for several years, and in just a few days, not only were the interior walls and ceilings, doors, trim, windows, etc. all painted several coats of freshening cover, but the exterior was treated in like manner. However, the greatest transformation was what occurred in the other end of the building, where the day-care center is to be located.

Under the guidance of Mark Brown from Newfoundland (accent is on the LAST syllable!) and Ray Sykes from England, a wall was primed and then a mural was first drawn out and then painted by several of the team members. Even some of the local children ventured inside and befriended Cari Roberts and Anna Looby (both from Chaska, Minnesota) who were painting the animals and flowers on the mural. Our hostess, Jyotsna Saran put the finishing touches on the butterfly, and one of the local children actually drew some flowers and leaves to act as a border on either side of the mural.

You can see from these photos that a tremendous effort was launched and so much appreciated by the other members of the TEAM, but more importantly by the villagers.

Outside, another totally different mission was not only POSSIBLE, but was being accomplished. Ramish, my friend the brick mason from last year, was leading us all in the creation of a brick wall to surround the yard for both of the centers. The object, according to those who had designed the plan was to enhance the yard area to be one which is special - one which is not only attractive but inviting, and one which when entered would set the students a bit apart from their friends in the village - THEY were taking advantage of a wonderful opportunity, to become trained in computer literacy and to enjoy the chance to perhaps attain an entry-level position with one of the IT companies in nearby Gurgaon. During the week on the job, we must have moved about ten thousand bricks - one at a time, passed by hand from one person on the line to the next. Sometimes, we even realized we had been a bit overzealous, and had to re-pass bricks back to the pile where we had begun. The following photos show the results of our efforts...

Suffice it to say, that even with the WALL WATCHERS, we accomplished what we set out to do - transform a decrepit building into something for which the villagers can be proud and through the use of which will improve their lives greatly.