rising star outreach = our best vacation ever

as i was perusing my friend's blog last spring (2010) about her adventures the previous summer in india at rising star outreach (RSO), i considered how fun it would be to spend some time with my dear friend catnip on her birthday, especially since she would be going back to india for the entire summer as the volunteer coordinator for RSO. what started as just a fun thought became the best vacation we have ever had. in early august 2010, j and i spent 10 days at the rising star outreach (RSO) facility near chennai, india in tamil nadu. for the three days prior to arriving at RSO, we did a whirlwind tour of delhi, agra (taj mahal and agra fort), and jaipur. this trip was my second to the taj but first to jaipur and i have to say, i LOVED jaipur. the fort and surrounding landscape was awe inspiring. but nothing we saw or experienced during this three day jaunt compared to the experiences we had at RSO.

some basic facts

RSO is a non-profit established to serve leprosy afflicted communities in india. see the RSO website (risingstaroutreach.org) for more info. basics about leprosy:
--it is a curable disease if caught/treated in the first or second stage;
--if caught in the first stage, a simple course of antibiotics wipes it out but leprosy afflicted among third world populations either don't have access to medical care or can't afford the antibiotics;
--95% of people are naturally immune to it;
--there is still not a clear understanding of exactly how it is transmitted;
--there was a recent article in the New York Times about armadillos transmitting leprosy to humans.

a day in the life of an RSO volunteer

RSO volunteers stay in a dormitory-type building with a central courtyard, shared kitchen, and male/female bathrooms. the rooms all had AC which was fairly reliable so we slept in complete comfort. volunteers assist with three main tasks- support to mobile medical team visits to leprosy colonies in the area, construction projects at leprosy colonies in the area, and tutoring children at the RSO boarding school which is on the same compound as the volunteer dormitory. RSO boarding school students are children from leprosy-afflicted families. the school gives them an english-language education giving them a wide range of employment opportunities after graduation thus breaking the social stigma associated with coming from a leprosy colony. female volunteers wear traditional indian clothing and RSO has a community closet of long tunic-like tops and baggy pants to choose from each day- so comfy and so convenient. (sidebar- i wish i could dress like this everyday in normal life too. i get away with tunics and leggings as much as i can but it's not quite the same.) whichever of these three tasks we did in a given day, the day always began with a group huddle to discuss the plan of the day and to share an inspirational thought. likewise, each day ended with playground time with the children from 4:30pm until devotional time followed by dinner. fabulous indian dinner every night, eaten on the roof of the student dormitory, with a banana leaf plate, and each volunteer sharing one high and one low experience of the day. after dinner, volunteers went in pairs to their assigned homeroom, aka "family," to help the children in that family with homework, reading to the small children before their bedtime, and having cuddle time with whoever needed it. evenings were magical and J and I fell in love with the group of 20 boys in our "family." the room mother was amazing as well, Kala. she was sweet, kind, caring, but stern when needed and the boys both loved and respected her. she was such a source of strength and inspiration for me during those 10 days.

here are some photo highlights of our 10 days at RSO. i hope you can get a sense of the impact this trip had on both j and i- we went to serve and we ended up reaping so much more than what we gave. i can't wait to go back.

first day doing support for the mobile medical team, we were greeted by this sweet man. we called him "the hallelujah man" because he continually raised his hands over his head and shouted "haaaaallelujah!" he had been blind for over 20 years due to complications of leprosy and thanks to a simple surgery RSO Dr. Kumar finagled from a state-run hospital that had previously refused to perform it, the hallelujah man had vision restored to one eye and was able to see his children and grandchildren. out of pure gratitude, he bubbled over with joy and praise nonstop. it was inspiring and brought the parable of the 10 lepers* to life. (*this term is actually a derogatory term that should not be used to refer to a leprosy-afflicted person and i only use it in this instance to reference the particular story from the bible.)

we helped the medical team by washing wounds (my favorite task by far), taking blood pressure, and measuring insulin (a lot of them were diabetic). when we didn't have any of these tasks to do, we visited with the people and played games, sang songs, or just chit-chatted.

a post-construction group photo followed by photos of us mingling with leprosy patients after we finished the project. (we worked hard! we were there before 9:00!)

this man was so intently talking to both j and i... alas it was in tamil and we had no clue what he was saying. but he was so sweet, it didn't matter.

this is a photo from our visit to the bindu art school. we bought this painting and got to take a photo with the artist. i look so chubby but it's the best photo we got with the artist holding his painting so i'm posting it anyways. google bindu art school for more info on this amazing place.

there was a pack of goats outside the art school. they were pretty cute, i want goats someday!

the standard stop after a day of construction is a gas station with ice cream cones. i couldn't decide between dulce de leche and chocolate so i got both. maybe this is why i continue to look chubby in photos.

here is the morning school formation. the students all look so sharp in their uniforms! during a day of tutoring, volunteers stay in the library and students are rotated through to get help on whatever task they may need a little native english help on. it was so great to have this one-on-one time.

after school comes PLAY TIME!! here is a shot from the playground looking toward the student dormitory building. girls live on the right side, boys live on the left side. each "family" has about 20 boys or girls ranging in ages from kindergarten to high school.

the merry-go-round was quite the popular spot during play time.

the children loved adding water to dirt and making little shapes from clay balls. who doesn't love playdough??

j's paper airplanes were a ginormous hit. the boys couldn't get enough of them.

sweet jessy, the girl i decided to sponsor. when i told her i was going to be her sponsor and i wanted to take a photo together, she insisted on changing out of her play clothes. this outfit, complete with the rainbow socks, is what she came back in. SO cute!!

volunteer dinner on the roof. i think we're about to start going around the table to do our high/low of the day soon. notice the banana leaf plates! i wasn't exaggerating- they were perfect and super easy to clean up. compostable plates anyone?

after dinner it's family time. j and i were with a group of boys who were so fun. each had their own unique personality and all were the best cuddlebugs! such a great way to end each evening filled with hugs and "i love you auntie and uncle!"

these two were enthralled by a thunderstorm raging outside. i love this shot because the one little boy is just chilling in tree pose. the children do yoga as part of their daily routine.

here's our family photo. i'm standing next to kala and making an i love you heart with krishna moorthy- an amazing young man! i can't wait to see them all again!!!

a magical 10 days. this year, we're doing 3 weeks. i can't wait.

who wants to come with us?