Posted: 05/06/2007
A team of ten volunteers from South Wales came to Delhi a couple of weeks ago to renovate the Asha centre at Chanderpuri and to spend time with the community there. They raised money in a number of innovative ways, including a marathon 26-hour session spent watching the entire TV series "Lost" and a sponsored swim in the freezing Atlantic on Boxing Day!
The seven young people and three adults got to know the women and children of Chanderpuri really well during their two week visit, and the children were delighted that some of their UK visitors were nearly their own age - the youngest, Sophie, is only 11 years old.
They braved temperatures of over 40 degrees to paint the centre with stars, rainbows and garden scenes, and spent lots of time running craft workshops and playing games with the children. A whitewater rafting trip to Rishikesh on the middle weekend was a welcome break from the painting, and from the heat and dust of Delhi.
The completion of the centre was marked with an inauguration ceremony. The guests were presented with flower garlands by the grateful residents who then sung songs and danced for them.
The visit ended with emotional farewells between the team and their new friends at Chanderpuri. We'd like to thank the team for all their hard work and the money that they've raised for Asha and the residents of Chanderpuri.
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The best thing about the loan scheme is how quickly people have seen benefits, whether they are able to earn more or improve their homes...The direct relationship with the banks helps them a lot, and I'm glad to have been part of it.
Ramesh, Asha Programme Officer
