Today was our first opportunity to meet the children from Girls Village and the new Children's Village. To make the day even more special, SJDT had planned for us all to travel up to the hill resort of Kodaikanal - a three hour journey through rainforest, eucalypts and past waterfalls.
We headed out early to SJDT's head office, passing by Girls Village where the 98 girls in residence were already waiting on their own bus. We drove on through Batalagandu, a small town nearby where 20 boys from SJDT's hostel at Dindigul were waiting on the side of the road to be picked up by the girls' bus behind us. They recognized us as we rode past and waved and cheered madly, excited to be going on an excursion.
Finally we arrived at SJDT, and met 10 of the children from the cottages at Children's Village who were also joining us that day. Meredith had the chance to meet up with Delasalle, a 9 year old boy living in the cottages that she has sponsored since he was 18 months old. All of the children were excited and looking forward to the trip.
We headed out on the road again following the children's buses, and every time they went around a corner and could look back, they were waving and cheering us.
Just past SJDT we started the slow climb up the mountain range to Kodaikanal. After an hour or so, we reached a lookout point with a spectacular view of a large waterfall and across the valley.
We jumped out of our van and were mobbed by 130 excited children, all calling us "Aunty, aunty" and dragging us by the hand to the lookout point.
Meredith met up with her other sponsored child, Infanta, a gorgeous 12 year old girl who is a talented dancer.
For all the chaos and the noise, the children were beautifully behaved, and excited to practice their English with us. After enjoying the view, we got ready to head further up the mountain, and Jo, Carol, Ann and Christine decided to join the girls in their bus for the next part of the ride.
An hour later we stopped in another little town for coffee and tea, and discovered the girls had been teaching Jo and the rest Bollywood dance moves all the way up the mountain. Each bus had music blaring and disco lighting inside, and the journey was very much a party on wheels! Shelley decided to join the action, and jumped on board for the next leg of the journey.
Another hour on and we reached another waterfall scenic spot, and stopped with all the children for photos in front of the falls. All the way up the mountain we had seen monkeys by the side of the road, and at the falls they were swinging from trees and stalking the tourists.
As we loaded up again we did a quick headcount on our bus, and found Sherri had also defected to the girls bus, although Rosemarie, Paulajane, Megan and Meredith were happy to enjoy the quiet on our own.
The temperature dropped as we got higher into the mountains and by the time we reached Kodaikanal, it was quite chilly, especially for the kids who were shivering.
Along with the girls from Girls Village, and the younger kids from Children's Village, we had been accompanied by 20 boys from SJDT's hostel at Dindigul. Many of these boys are former child labourers, who are now being cared for and have returned to school. Some are orphans or abandoned, and three of the boys were HIV positive. It was wonderful to meet and spend the day's adventure with them.
All along the trip we were amazed at how well behaved the children were. In Kodaikanal, they were all given pocket money, and went off in groups of ten to shop for trinkets at the market stalls before lunch.
We headed up to one of the many lovely hotels for lunch with Br Sebastian, the Executive Director of SJDT. Over lunch he talked about his work and how Girls Village operates.
Traditional Indian villages operate with a form of self-government called Panchayat, where the community elects a council of representatives and a President who deal with community decisions.
In Girls Village, each cottage also elects a representative and an overall President for the Village, and each week they meet to discuss and resolve their own issues of governance, as well as act as a court of justice.
The problems the children deal with are on their scale - such as one girl being mean or not talking to another. The system works very well and teaches the girls how they will need to co-operate later in life.
The girls also earn pocket money by doing extra chores around the village, and can either save it or use it as they wish, so they learn budgeting and how to manage their own money.
After a terrific lunch, we headed back down the mountain for the long journey home. We stopped at the bottom of the mountain to give our fantastic driver, Vira, a break and to stretch our legs, then it was back on the home run to Madurai.
As we drove the sun lowered in the sky, and the patchy cloud cleared reveal brilliant blue. The golden light at that time of day lit up the countryside with the incredible iridescent green of ride paddies, coconut palms, banana plantations and the mountains behind. We rode through villages and across rivers where the locals were taking their baths and washing their clothes.
It is such a beautiful country, and so peaceful out of the city. We saw monkeys, and elephants in the villages, water buffalo, oxen, goats, pigs and chickens!
We arrive back tired but fulfilled after our day with the kids, and headed off for an early night. Tomorrow we return to Children's Village for the start of our building project!
