Charlie 1 – Uyyamballi
Once upon a time Charlie 1 arrived at Uyyamballi where we
were greeted at the school by a hoard of scrambling children wanting to shake
our hands and introduce us to their games. We decided to use our first day to
settle in and get to know the village. As we walked around to introduce
ourselves to the villagers we were invited into many houses for chai and Parle
G biscuits.
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Having a first look around Uyyamballi
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At the house of the local tailor we were shown a locally grown
cotton plant. The last house we visited belonged to the president of the
village self-help group (SHG) – Malama. She and her daughter in law had grinded
some henna for us and used it to decorate our hands and arms.
The overall highlight of day one had to be watching Daniel
running around the school yard being chased by about 30 excited children.
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| The village map isn't lacking in colour |
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| Appu, Dan and Thejas get to know the locals |
Tomorrow Alex and Fiona from our Fieldbase team will be going to spend two nights with each group on the loop, getting their hands dirty building toilets and celebrating Alex's birthday on the same day as the 'chicken festival'. They will be bringing back the next blog instalment from our teams who have been looking into the poverty cycle and no doubt some action pictures too. They will be taking your comments with them which will no doubt be much appreciated s please keep commenting and you might hear something back!!
Hi Dan,
ReplyDeleteIt's brilliant to see photos of you and hear of your exploits. You look so happy and well. We had to smile at the idea of you being chased by a band of wee ones! Did you let them catch you? We are really impressed by what you're doing and the process you and the team are going through with the villagers. I'm sure you're learning so much. We're thinking about you all the time and obsessively checking the blog for updates. Love you, Mum, Dad and Ruth
For Ellie Whittaker, Charlie 1
ReplyDeleteDear Ellie - great report - thanks! All looking good - I notice all the girls have their hair down - it can't be that hot???! Hope you've learnt lots of games from the children and managed to teach them some too. Hope to see some photos of your hennaed hands...what are Parle G biscuits? How are you communicating with the villagers - do they speak English or have you all learnt a bit of their language? I wonder if you've had any letters yet? Anyway lots of love, missing you, looking forward to getting a letter! Mum xxx
Abby Sheppard Charlie 2
ReplyDeleteHi Abby,
Thanks for your wonderful letter. So interesting and a real insight into what your up to. Love your drawings. I have sent you some jelly snakes. can't wait to see your photos & film. Everyone says 'Hi' and so proud of you. just picked up your e-mail :) Joe at Boomfest this weekend. Have a fantastic time. Love the blog makes it real for us. Love Mum & Vincent X