A Day at the Ashram

I'll start off this post by explaining a small but substantial change we've made. First of all, with the way that things are going in the school, we feel that it is more accurate to be called an Ashram. This is more than a place for teaching/learning, and the rest of this post goes into more detail about what we're doing and you'll be able to see why that fits.

We open the ashram every day at 10, except for Sundays when we take the day off. For the first few days we were starting at 9, but no one seemed to be able to make it on time. There were some passionate conversations involving punctuality and what not, and ultimately it turns out 10 is just better for everyone. 

I love this picture of Jesu being greeted by her incredibly giddy minions first thing in the morning.

We begin the day by helping the kids and parents get their hot baths (Indian style with a bucket). This is a very big deal for them, as this is the first time in their entire lives they have ever experienced having hot water on their bodies. The first time the kids got a hot bath on Christmas day, they were very emotional, crying with happiness. This was a very big moment for Jesu to see this, and she explained that the hot water for them is like medicine, because the cold water in the already cold winter time without proper clothes and shelter further exacerbates their illnesses.

Everyone is given previously donated clean clothes to change into. Often times these end up being some pretty eccentric outfits, as people just put on whatever is available in their general size. We get a nice mix of Western and Indian clothing, and these boys are certainly not afraid of some glam and glitter if it fits ;)

Bath time is always super crazy as kids are running around the house getting wet and changing clothes, and it is usually Jesu and Marta who are the warriors of these tasks. It is always worth it to see how happy everyone is to be cleaned up and feeling fancy. Everything changes from their appearance to their positive spirits.

This is Gotum. He is one of the sons of Babaji (who was doing the painting in the kitchen in the last post). He was the first child to get a bath from Jesu on Christmas day. He looks incredibly handsome with his freshly combed side part!

During bath time, the older family members are responsible for washing their old clothes and hanging them upstairs to dry, so they are ready for the next day.

Laundry.

Next on the morning agenda is breakfast. We keep it simple with bread and milk, and as per the rules, everyone eats on the rooftop away from the working areas. 

Breakfast!

During these first couple of hours, the focus is on meeting the basic needs for the families that cannot be met so regularly in the slum. These are the essential things we understand help with further motivation and inspiration to be creative and stay motivated.

This is Leela hanging up her clean clothes in a lovely donated ensemble. Leela was one of the first women with us on the ghats, and through her we have truly seen one of the most inspiring transformations.

After breakfast, the dishes are cleaned and we break into small groups to do different activities, depending on the volunteers available at the time.

Here are some examples of what we have going on right now (sorry for the inevitable misspelling of the volunteer's names)

Jaquelina and I can usually be found leading the ladies in crochet. We are working really hard to get them to follow through with projects and try new things. Jaquelina is the one with the crazy orange colored hat with pom poms, made by Leela.

Lisalotte was a volunteer from Chile. She taught them how to make these amazing little books out of regular paper, glue and fabric. The men at the school are really good at putting these books together. The man with the black sweater is Nagina. He is our most talented book engineer and another painter.

This is Mathais from Argentina helping one of the kids study Hindi. Mathais has been living in Varanasi for a long time, so his fluency in Hindi helps a ton with teaching and translations.

This is Giovani from Italy leading the kids in a song. He is one of the only magicians who can keep them interested for an extended period of time. Sometimes we end up having little parties in the kids' room to some of his songs. They absolutely love it!

Another volunteer named Chandana from Italy brought her art of mandala making. These are really popular with the kids. In this pictures is Giovani in the middle leading Babaji and Saraswati in some mandala making.

As soon as we start the work, someone is assigned to getting lunch together. For the first few days we didn't have any gas in the kitchen, so we were picking up some stuff from outside. Now, we have an amazing set up in the kitchen complete with gas and a (functioning?) refrigerator. Our usual rotating cooks so far have been Guli, Leela, Sagar and Jesu.

Here's Guli whipping up some chapati for lunch.

Everyone enjoying the food made with love!

After lunch we get cleaned up and send the mothers and fathers out to the store. We still have our same store on Assi Ghat for now.

In addition to the store, we are trying to branch out to other tourist shops as well. Just in the past couple of days, we got a friend of ours who is a shop owner to display some of the products in his store on the main road.

Yep, that's the shop owner Suresh combing his mustache in preparation for his big photo.

One of the books Lisalotte taught how to make (the one in the center). Notice the tag placed inside the plastic covering. This was a brilliant idea of Jaquelina's to include with all the products to explain the project and make everything look more polished. 

One of the bags hanging up. 

A couple of the adorable baby hats. 

So, as you can see, things are very steadily moving along. From the last post I made until now, a ton of things have changed and been fine tuned. We are discovering every day the challenges and rewards, and there is always something new to figure out and make better for next time.

Namaste!!