TUESDAY means TURBANS!!! (Feb. 12, 2008)

When we arose this morning, there were a number of things we needed to complete before the end of the day. First of all, the wheelchair and the commode had arrived from Delhi, and several of us were going to be leaving for Nusera to deliver these items. Finishing touches needed to be put on the "work project" in Chahalka village, as we were going to be leaving the following morning for the travel portion of our experience. The unveiling of the total project would take place in mid-afternoon, with a ceremony at the schoolyard adjacent to the training centre and the day-care centre.

The majority of the team members ventured back to Chahalka for completing the work projects and even adding a few more, before we would sign off on our part of the project. Painting was to be completed, both inside and outside the buildings; the mural in the day-care centre was to be completed, including the painting of the floral design created by one of the local schoolgirls - that serving as a border to the mural design (that included, of course, the ROTARY WHEEL!); parts of the wall along the street that bordered the "green space" inside the walls which we had been building for the past several days also required painting. The banner needed to be hung and prominently displayed in front of the training centre. In addition, since there were extra bricks and sand and mortar and crushed stone, a few of the team members, principally Rick Mutchler, determined that if we were to create a "French drain" around the perimeter of the community well, any spillage would simply seep into the ground and be dissipated into the earth or if a great deal of water spilled, it would drain over into the drainage system we had created the previous year. The ditch was dug, then lined with crushed stone and then the sides were faced with bricks and mortar. The new drainage ditch already lessened the amount of standing water which will bring about a total drying of the area, and make it more healthful. Also, due to the fact of an excess of bricks, Ramish and a few of our team members built not one but two sets of stairs for the women and girls to be able to access the top of the community water supply (the well cover) without having to hoist themselves up and jump down. We were able to have one of the panchayat call to a young girl who walked in a stately manner to the bottom of the steps, carrying her water jug on her head, and then climb up the steps! Life in this tiny poor village of Chahalka are slowly improving, provided by the members of the team.

Following the "christening" of the new stairs, we then adjourned to the schoolyard, where hundreds and hundreds of grade school children awaited our arrival. The children had been gathered (350 of them with only 3 teachers!) to sit on the ground and attend a very important event. There were two parts to this event - one was the official acknowledgment by the members of the panchayat of the work we had completed to benefit their village. The other was the disposition of thousands of tiny gifts we had all brought with us to pass on to the children of the village. We have been working to try to convince children to remain in school, to convince parents that in the long run, it is better to have their children educated than to let them roam aimlessly through the streets and alleys of the village. We wanted to share this by rewarding those who DO stay in school with recognition of their accomplishments. Each teacher was asked to provide the names and ages of the top three students in his classes, so they could be publicly recognized, not only by us, but in front of their peers, to receive gifts which they could and can use for their education.

The three teachers for the students in the school maintained a tight reign over their charges, and the old-fashioned stick kept the children in line - at least most of the time. The ceremony began with the most senior member of the panchayat addressing the crowd, speaking through an antiquated and crackling public address system. He spoke and then Sanjiv translated from Hindi into English, so that the members of our team could understand the comments being made. This gentleman first spoke of how the team from 2007 had come to the village and had rescued the water supply that was deteriorating by the day, through mixture of waste water in with the clean drinking water. The team had come and through the construction of two washing platforms, which had been piped with water, and had proper drainage for the waste water to be eliminated from the area, slowly the drinking water supply cleared itself to a state of safe potability. He was most grateful for this effort.

He went on to talk about the team for this year and how with over fifty people, including several youngsters, we were able to transform derelict buildings into two viable resources for the village - one, a vocational and computer training centre, and the other with the painting of the wonderful mural on the wall, into a day-care centre, where mothers could bring their tiny children and leave them in a safe environment, while they went about their chores or actually enrolled in courses of study to better their own lives, through education.

Once he had concluded with his remarks, he called his "lieutenant" (also named Elias) to assist him. As the highest sign of respect and honor, the panchayat had decided that each male member of our team should receive a turban, one which was personally tied onto our heads. The fabric used was most colorful, and the process took a few minutes. Elias seemed to be very pleased to be able to place a turban on the head of another Elias. The honor was all mine! What a wonderful expression of respect and gratitude shown for all of the members of our team. Each of the women and girls also received an honor - the presentation of colorful scarves to each one, to use for head covering, but more important to remain as a lasting memory of how the people of the village of Chahalka appreciated the efforts made by each of us on their behalf. Rotary International Director, Kjell-Ake Akesson and I had the privilege of being seated in a place of honor throughout the ceremonies, and to oversee the passing on of gifts to the children. As mentioned before, the top three students in the classes from several schools which serve the community, received prizes - book bags filled with pens, pencils, writing tablets, crayons, marking pens, and so much more. Our team had taken seriously the charge that they were to bring lots of "goodies' to be given to the children of the village, and my recollection is that if counted individually, we brought some 20,000 items! Obviously, it was impossible to recognize each and every student. One comment that RI Director Akesson made was the observation that in many cases, the top students were the young girls, and it is hoped that by recognizing these girls, the parents and the panchayat will see to it that the girl children will receive the same opportunities as the boys for receiving an education.

With the turbaning ceremony concluded, the scene turned quickly to chaos, once the magic word CANDY was mentioned. The children literally stormed the front of the venue, reaching out to grab one or two pieces of candy out of the many carton boxes we had brought with us. The smart policy was to have us leave and return to our buses, and to allow the teachers and the members of the panchayat handle the distribution. Walking back to our buses, most of us had mixed feelings about leaving. For most, this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For some, we will be returning to Chahalka in the coming year, hopefully with either a Matching Grant or better yet, a 3-H Grant to help fund the construction of sanitary enhancement facilities (toilet blocks) in several locations in the village. There is a desperate need for improvement in sanitation, and we have the capability of raising the necessary funds, as well as the ability to help construct these facilities in the coming year. Bidding farewell to some of the villagers who had made a deep impression upon us, and upon whom some of us had made a lasting impression, was difficult to say the least.

I had boarded the bus, and we were about to leave, when I looked out the window and saw my friend, Ramish the brick mason looking around him with concern on his face. I got off the bus and called to him. When he heard my voice, he came toward me. He extended his hand to me and I took his hand in mine... we shook hands and I noticed his eyes filled with tears. I drew him closer to me and opened my arms to him, whereupon he clung to me, sobbing against my chest. We stood there, still for a few moments, until he had regained his composure, and then I said, "Ramish, it is time for us to leave." He dropped his gaze and then turned and walked away, still with tears streaming down his cheeks. We have promised to return and we will.

We followed this year's theme - Rotary Shares, but more important, we made a positive difference in the lives of the people of Chahalka, by Making Dreams Real! For this, we are most thankful.