WOW, what an amazing time Ainie, Gary, and Miles had in sharing their experiences from their recent Habitat for Humanity trip to southern India. A total of 14 keen Rotarians around New Zealand decided to embark on a Habitat for Humanity build. Gary was clearly gripped by the truly humbling experience where the group spent a week building two houses, in a village situated 2 hours south-west of Bangalore. Just to get there the Team undertook 16 hours of air travel and a one-hour bus trip arriving at 2:00am. Tourists don’t go to this village, so the 14 Rotarians were the first Europeans to visit this community.
Prior to commencing the build the Team stayed in what they thought was meant to be a salubrious hotel, Club Magnolia but re-named ‘expect the unexpected. It only had a total of 9 rooms and indeed most of the complex was still being built!! A nice touch for the team was the early morning Tai Chi, which was embraced by Ainie. Miles brother-in-law facilitated the opening ceremony and the females had touches of turmeric applied to their temples symbolising fertility. Ainie was flattered as she was assumed to be 25 and single!It really was a culture shock with the people being the poor of the poorest. Gary talked about this one week of "service", and becoming for a short time, part of the village people’s lives. In their eyes the Rotarians were building them a palace. It was life changing - Gary reflected on how we live in a bubble and how much the experience was sobering and changed his life.
The group’s task was to build two houses which would be 4 x larger than their current dwellings of a garden shed where they ate, slept and cooked. He said they lived on very little rice on a daily basis. These people were the lowest of the lowest caste system, born into this life and not usually able to get out. To exist they would glean seasonal work and on-sell any scrap of millet, rice etc. But with the new houses this meant the children of these homes would rise in status and could potentially marry someone else 'with a house'.
The Team certainly experienced being out of their comfort zone and learned that getting along with everyone was essential. Miles said there was no proper tools and to achieve the right level to build the concrete walls (each block weighing 23kgs), Miles used his tried and true string line. They formed a chain gang to lift and transport the blocks to the building site.Lunch was provided daily, which consisted of curry. Curry was also was the main staple for breakfast and dinner. It was noted that the 11 year old daughter of one of the families, carried 5kgs of water on her head. Local dress retailers would call in which was a fun time for the Village who offered the team flowers for their hair and cups of tea. The Women e.g. Ainie did the laundry which entailed a 2½ walk to the river. There was an eco-toilet which was handy as it was step up from going in the bush. However, the locals wouldn’t use it and besides it cost 1 or 2 rupees to use. Mulberry bushes were the main vegetation which fed silk worms which then became a cocoon for silk. The primary language was Kannada with English the universal language taught at school then Hindu but the adults mainly smiled and pointed.
The two houses were built which was a resounding success for the families and everyone involved. It was time to head home via a 1900 km touring track visiting intricate stone carvings and ancient temples such as at Halebid - which required climbing 60 steps to see it! They came across all sorts of agriculture such as coconuts, millet farms and bananas. They visited the second most frequented Palace after the Taj Mahal called Mysore – pretty shabby on the outside but full of splendor once inside. In Singapore there was time for sightseeing which included an elephant sanctuary and shopping for silk.
The Team felt it good to be heading home with Miles missing his Weetbix. It is an experience that will live with Team for ever; literally life changing and indeed quite unbelievable.