Back from India safe and sound, having covered about 3500 km, from the heart of the Rajastani desert to the coastal mountains of the Arabian Sea it was truly an epic adventure....a challenge is an understatement with the rickshaw being almost 20 years old, a minimum of 2 breakdowns a day where we pay a visit to a local 'mystery' (Hindi word for mechanic) man who fixes if merely through trial and error, many a push start, towed by all manner of vehicles and a 2am breakdown in the mountains resulted in an awkward nights sleep but we can truly say that it is the most unbelievable country and we saw it in the best possible way - all beit quite slowly.
Unconditional generosity and kindness from the people (fixing the rickshaw for 5 hrs and not accepting payment to quietly paying our restaurant bills when we gave their child a book that Room to Read asked us to hand out)....seen exorcisms in Hindu temples, visited a village school in the middle of no where that Room to Read built, were invited onto the pitch to shake hands with the players in a Kabaddi tournament (national sport of India) and kilometre by kilometre have experienced some stunning scenery and sights.
All in all an unforgettable experience and I assure you that your generous donations are going to an extremely worthy cause.
Many thanks and best of luck in 2010
Room to Read (www.roomtoread.org);
Over 300 million children around the world do not have access to education and most likely will never learn to read or write. Room to Read believes that all children, regardless of gender or background, have a right to education. By empowering children through this lifelong gift, we see a world in which people are able to realize their full potential.
We currently work in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Zambia – with plans to expand so we can bring educational opportunities and resources to children throughout the developing world.
Room to Read’s programs have reached more than three million children so far and hopes to improve literacy for ten million children by 2020.
Imagine a world in which every child has access to an education. We are doing our best to make this dream a reality, one child at a time.
