Monday Evening

I'm running out of catchy titles so I'm resortong to days of the week in their place. Today was the day I was to leave Delhi and go to the suburb of Noida to work with a small orphanage of 35 girls. There's been a change of plans. The volunteer who I was to replace has extende her stay. So I have been sent to an alternate location, still in Noida, but the set-up is quite different.

This children's home house all grade levels. The younger children, approximately 200, are housed in the main building and are taken care of by a group of Indian nuns. The complex is quite large having been built prior to the development of the area. Next to the main building, which is three floors, is a soccer field, basketball court and volleyball court. On the far side of the property is a three story building housing 25 boys and 25 girls between the ages of 11 and 17. I will be spending the next three weeks with this group.

I am already so impressed with the organization. They have utilized every contact they can find, have pushed education to the point that most of the children attend classes at a private school in New Delhi, and have found counselors to donate there time for those kids who have histories that would break your heart. For those students who struggle in the traditional classroom they have begun the Open School program, a type of independent study. There are two girls attending beutician school, one attending design school and hopefully there will be a girl beginning an apprenticeship at a local five star restaurant by the end of the month. Two boys have begun a woodworking craftsmanship class to learn a marketable trade in lieu of traditional schooling at which they struggle. Just today they had 8 computers donated by a local IT firm delivered and set up. So where's the downside? There are only two men caring for all 50 children. While the kids are at school they are making the contacts and arrangements for many of the other projects. But they have such a pasion for and are so ecited by what they have been able to change for these 50 kids in just the past 4 months.

Four months ago the children were taught here on site with the highest level of education being sixth grade. Tonight I worked with a girl on solving for 3 variables - I wasn't sure at first I could even remember all the steps!

This wasn't what I had planned but after my postulating this morning why am I surprised God did his own thing with no regard to my expectations. He is simple awesome. I've been here 7 hours and know already that I'm hooked, I'm coming back with Joey, and I can't imagine a more perfect place for me to be.