India - The Canal

My first memory of India occurred after landing in the town of Vijayawada. Upon arriving we were given an afternoon to relax and recuperate after the 36 hour journey. One of my teammates left our secure hotel for a walk outside, but soon rushed back to get us. He said “you have to see this..” We had to sneak out of the hotel because we were headed to an area our host did not want us to see; we traveled by foot to the streets by a nearby canal. We meet up with Sebastian, a teacher who left a job at university to teach the children who lived on the streets. In Vijayawada alone there were 23,000 children who lived on the streets. We met the children, played with them, and spoke English with them. These children were dressed—some in rags, some barefoot or in shoes too big. But the amazing thing is that they were still happy and smiling. They loved us and loved posing for pictures!

We let the children get on with their studies and headed to the canal. Hut after hut lined the canal—one room straw huts held a family of 4 or more. Many had 3 generations living in one hut or one husband and several wives and children. The amazing thing – they were happy, proud and clean. They were excited to invite us in into their home. The huts were cleaned and all their material possessions filled the corners.

The canal was their main water source. In the canal, men, women and children could be found washing clothes, taking a bath, washing dishes, fetching water for their homes and staying clear of the bathing cows.

We were amazed; we had not even reached our final destination, the poorest area of India. We all took a deep breath and realized that our five week trip was going to be an emotional roller coaster.