Work- and Studycamp in Galta
Work- and Studycamp Sarthak Manav Kushtashram
Galta, India
10th to 29th July 2003
Orientation programme in Germany
I was surprised how good this orientation, held by IJGD, was. All volunteers met up for two long weekends – 8 days in total. We got a lot of information about India, especially about the culture, the nature and the everyday life. We also talked about do s and don’t s. But I was a little bit disappointed considering the information given about this specific project. I received a brochure from the indian organisation just a few days before my departure, so I didn’t have a real chance to prepare myself well enough.
Orientation programme in Delhi, India
I met the other volunteers on 10th July in the Ghandi Peace Foundation, a guesthouse in Delhi. Three other young people attended the workcamp, Lars from Denmark and Jacob and Elisabeth from the Netherlands. It was nice to meet them before we started to work because we had the opportunity of getting used to each other. We enjoyed these three days a lot. Mr. Deena, the leader of the camp, organised everything, so he prepared a slide-show about SAHYOG’s different projects combined with conversations to other local people, for example a worker from the Ghandi Peace Foundation. Moreover we met 12 girls from Delhi’s slum-quarters in the Foundation because they joined the workcamp for the first week. During these three days we had also time to do some sightseeing in Delhi, Mr. Deena showed us the most attractive places in this indescribably big city, round about 15 million people live there. We rode with a taxi through the city and we saw a lot of interesting sights, like the fantastic lotus temple.
The Ashram
After the orientation programme we rode by bus to the small village of Galta, nearto the “pink city” Jaipur. The people in the ashram live in a sort of collective society, a very peaceful atmosphere. During the whole two weeks, we stayed in the ashram, everybody was friendly to us and they did not hesitate to start a conversation, mostly with hands and feet. Moreover many patients invited us to drink a tea or to play some games. Especially the children in the ashram were quite open-minded. Mr. Deena organized many meetings with the people in the ashram and we were moved by their individual stories. We also met the local doctor and he explained many facts around the disease of leprosy. The purpose of the ashram is the re-integration of the leprosy patients back with the community as independent people, through dynamic, innovative, respectful and pioneering community based projects which are as much self-sustainable as possible.
The girls from Delhi
The first week together with the girls was really special. They were much more open-minded than we had expected and we learned a lot – some Hindi, Indian Dances and the fact that they are full of happiness and power even though they do not have any luxury in their lives. This was one of the best experiences I carried home.
Visits in Jaipur
As we did in Delhi, Mr. Deena showed us the city and all places of interest around. In the state of Rajasthan nearly every city has palaces and forts, like the two-million-metropolis Jaipur. We visited the Amber Fort, the City Palace and of course many Hinduism temples. By ourselves we went to the zoo, a quite depressing sight in Jaipur caused by small and dark cages. We were surprised about that because we only knew the relationship between animals and humans on the street – fulfilled with love and respect.
The work
The idea behind our work was to built a path throw a garden in the ashram. Our job was really simple, we just carried soil from one place to another. The temperature reached enormous heights and we worked only two hours a day. The girls from Delhi helped us in the first week, this fact added an important social dimension to our work. After the first week we changed the ashram for three days. We went to a rehabilitation centre outside Jaipurs. During these three days we did not have the opportunity of going to the city because the centre was 25 km outside. The work consisted of planting some trees in order to prevent erosion and create shadow for some cows. This kind of working felt much harder and furthermore it was a little bit boring without the girls supporting. We planted 75 trees and in the end we enjoyed seeing a positive result.
Conclusions
A workcamp in a foreign country is more than a “normal” holiday. You have to work and you do not earn any money but you get something instead of materialistic things: experiences, contacts to the local people and unforgettable moment full of joy.