Thursday 25 April 2013
Cleaning day
Thursday 25th April
Today I am very proud of myself. Barbara and I decided that the clinic needed a good clean and sort out of all the bits and bobs of medicines and equipment that had accumulated there. Most of the stuff was broken or out of date so we had a clear out. We took down the curtains, took up a rug and washed down the cupboards, walls, paintwork etc with stuff we bought from Harrods on our way to the orphanage this morning. And then, it happened! I felt compelled to go into one of the children's toilets. I put on my face mask to try to keep out as much of the stink as possible. I scrubbed the walls, the floor and the hole and then cleaned the little wash basin with a plastic scourer as I don't think it had ever been cleaned. I have to say, you could have eaten your curry off it afterwards and it smelled like a rose garden. The photo above is a "before" pic.
I gathered some more information about the orphanage that may interest you. It was founded 13 years ago and is run entirely on donations and sponsorship. It is made up of two very old, decrepit buildings with a yard (see yesterday's photo) between them. One building houses the admin room, a meeting room and the committee room (there seem to be loads of chiefs compared to the Indians) On the first and second floors are the boys' dormitories and toilet cum shower rooms, one per floor. The second building houses the kitchen, didis' accommodation, the washing room, (all washing done by hand as there are power cuts for 10 hours a day, so no point in having a washing machine) the girls and the babies' dormitories and the classroom for the pre-school children. The babies sleep in what look like supermarket baskets on a frame. Look at the photo above, there is a baby in it. The children sleep in iron bunk beds which are narrow, close together and far too short for the big boys. They have their clothes stuffed into a little square locker which is the size of a staffroom locker. Other than that, they have no personal belongings or space. There is also a toilet and shower per floor and the "clinic"
Even though the building is due to be demolished, the rents are very high and the committee are trying to raise funds to build a new orphanage outside the city. They have bought the land and got the plans drawn up but now need the money to start building. The new place looks as if it might be a huge improvement in the living conditions for these children.
On the staff is a youngish woman called Bijaya who seems to do all the admin. There are two didis, a cook, a constant coming and going of mainly young girls who seem to volunteer as part of a college placement. Oh there is also the gate man. Not really sure what he does other than open the gate. But what they don't seem to have is a cleaner. Hence the smelly holes in the floor and although the staff toilet is western style, it is equally filthy and stinky.
It is humbling that these children who have almost nothing, look out for each other so well. Boys of 13 will play nicely with the babies and carry them round if they are crying. So it was nice to see that today, it being a Hindu festival, a benefactor had sent in some traditional treats, which were golf ball size pieces of sweet corn stuck together with syrupy sauce with nuts and sweets inside. It was extremely sweet but the children loved it.
Tonight I am having the deepest bath I can get. Just hoping desperately that there is no power cut or I will have to have it in the dark.
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