Educational Tour - 2014

Since 2012, we have been taking the Hope House that have finished 8th grade on an educational tours to expand their horizon of thinking.  In 2012, they went to Hyderabad and in 2013 they visited New Delhi.  This year they've been Bangalore and Mysore.  Here is an account of of our visit to Bangalore and Mysore by the day.

1st Day :

Months of planning n preparation boiled down to this day - day to start our educational tour. Girls reached the railway station way before our Social Worker and I reached. 

Once we reached the platform, we took a stroll to the entire stretch of it. Right away we started chatting and more chatting and even more chatting after we boarded the train. Although they are reserved tickets, girls felt that the journey could have been better. 

@12:10 PM we got off at contonment station n straight went to Calvery Chapel Trust where we r being given accommodation n food at no cost.

After lunch, we headed to FUN cinemas where we watched Mary Kom.. By the time we returned, it was 7:30 PM n had our dinner right away. We had a recap of the day for few minutes before we ended the day with a prayer. 

Tomorrow, all day, we are going to be at Wonderla - a water park and in the evening off to Mysore.

Thanks for your support n following us.  

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2nd Day:

Our Social Worker and I met the girls by 7:30 AM and had breakfast. We had a short prayer asking God for his providence and protection before we headed out to Wonderla - a water park. We were there well before the opening time so we strolled around and took lots of photos.

As soon as the doors were thrown open, our girls went to business. They were riding some of the toughest rides. What we learnt on these rides is that some of the laid back and docile girls (at least we thought they were) are the toughies and the biggest chatter boxes are the softies as butter. 

We went to watch a 3D movie which was more than a visual entertainment. Movie theater was equipped to entertain all the senses. When there was bomb thrown, there was smoke in the theater and the earthquake on the screen made our seats to almost topple. This was such a fun event girls were screaming the whole time.

We had lunch and straight jumped into water park. First we decided to do the water splash. Looking at the height, they all wanted to be in the same vehicle as Ruby uncle thinking that he'll protect them in case of danger. Uncle advised them all to raise their hands and scream as they plunge into the water. Park set up a camera so strategically to take a shot during the plunge to sell it to the customers but the girls laughed their hearts out as they saw camera catching scared Ruby Uncle and rest of the girls smiling and screaming.

Then came the pool. We kept the best for the last. Girls had such a lot of fun going down the slides n tubes, our staff had hard time to get them out of water. Last part of the pool activity was waves. Oh my goodness this was such a fun place and played so hard that one of our girls had muscle cramps.

With a heavy heart, we said good bye to wonderla at 5:15 pm. We reached Mysore at 11:00 PM and its raining cats and dogs. Before we left the girls, we had a recap of activities and held hands and prayed before saying good night to them..

Tomorrow, we plan to visit Mysore Zoo and Mysore palace. Thank you for following us and please do write your comments for girls to take notice of you. God bless.

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3rd Day:

In Mysore, we are put up at a local girls home. Social Worker and I are staying at the boys home.

By the time I reached the girls home, HH girls were in a prayer with the local girls so I joined them. It was so heartening to see the HH girls interact freely with the local girls. 

After that, we left to the Zoo. For many girls, seeing wild animals in captivity is the first experience so they ran from one sight to another with lot of excitement. Many girls took time to read the details of animals kept asking questions. We took many breaks but halfway through the visit, we took a break and had an ice cream and then continued again. Girls learnt about animal adoption program where local individuals or entities pay for the wellbeing and welfare of the animal. It took four hours to complete the entire zoo. My personal observation is that it is one of the best kept zoos in the country. It is clean with plenty of trees to ensure that the pathways are covered for shade yet the visibility is ensured. Animals looked healthy with adequate amount of space for each group of animals.

By the time we finished the zoo, girls were tired so we rested for an hour. During this time we talked about the planning of such educational trips and the efforts of the staff members. We talked about the cooperation we expect from the children to keep the costs low (for example not staying in commercial establishments for accommodation but the places of acquaintances) and they were happy to learn about their role in making the educational trips a success.

We had our lunch and walked to Mysore palace. This is not a very old palace but the extravagance of it definitely took us all by surprise. By the time we finished the palace, girls were ready to return so we decided to come back. Those who wanted to rest, went and crashed out and few girls and I sat in a circle in our premises and talked about our fears. Our seniors who will not be with us next year talked about their fears. None of us were hungry so we decided to fruit dinner. Our Social Worker brought an apple and a pomegranate fruit for each of us. Around 8:30 PM, our Social Worker and I left to our room leaving the girls with the lady staff in the girls home.

Tomorrow is our last day and we planned to visit Brindavan garden and few other attractions before heading out to the railway station to head home. Girls are actively following each of the FB comments and likes.

Thanks for following us and supporting us. Please do consider helping us with our annual fundraising and the details can be seen at this link: http://www.indiahopehouse.org


God bless.

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Last Day:

Since the girls were very tired from the previous day and also the attractions that are to be seen are at distant locations, we decided to rent a vehicle for the transportation. Vehicle was on the dot at 10:00 AM and there we went. There were so many smaller attractions we didn’t know that existed but thank God we had a local driver to take us around.

We saw Chamundeshwari temple, St. Philomina Church and Tippu Sultan Mosque and tomb and many other attractions. Had lunch at roadside restaurant (that’s all we could find in that location) and reached our last attraction – Brindavan Garden, by about 3:30 PM. We sat and rested, walked around, played hide and seek, duck-duck-goose, and chatted for a while before we headed to see the dancing fountains at 6:45 PM. There ended our educational tour. 

Headed back to our place to pick up our luggage and reached Mysore railway station at 9:45 PM to catch the train to Bangalore at 11:55 PM. 

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DEPARTURE & ARRIVAL TO VELLORE: Our train left Mysore around 12:05 and all the girls had a berth to sleep and reached Bangalore at 4:00 AM. Got into the connecting train at Bangalore and reached Vellore by 9:45 AM. We had the Hope House van waiting to pick us all up but driver surprised us all by bringing the little one with him. As tired as we were, seeing their little sisters, big sisters had a big grin on their faces to tell them all the details of the trip and had them on their laps. We said a prayer to thank God for all the protection that He provided to us during this trip.

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MY THOUGHTS ON THE TRIP:

Undoubtedly, it brings a child out of me. I loved spending time with the girls and getting to know them more during each trip that I didn’t know about them before the trip. There was a mixture of emotions to welcome the new girls onto the trip (those who have passed 8th grade) but sadness to see the seniors struggle with the thought that they won’t be part of this trip around this time next year.

Being acutely respectful of hard earned resources that are given to us by our donors, we try to go on these trips on shoestring budgets and we get a kick out of that to a save a penny at each occasion. We want to say a big THANK YOU for supporting the girls and I want to assure you that they are growing up to be strong and assertive young ladies.

This trip wouldn’t have been fun without the girls taking instructions to their hearts to comply with. There was a special needs child on the trip and the way they took care of her at every step of the trip was simply heart warming. They would literally hold her hand everywhere we went and call out for her at every crowded place to ensure that she is with us. When asked them if any changes are to be made, they simply said “Please continue”. I want to say thanks to all my girls for being so sweet and disciplined as they have always been.

My staff plays an important role but they seldom get recognized. Countless discussions and planning goes on to make sure that the trip goes as planned. They go beyond the call of their duty and take risks to fulfil our promise to the girls that we’ll take them to these trips. I want to say a big thanks to all my staff (including those who remain back to take care of the little one’s) from the bottom of my heart.

Last but not the least, they say that even God wants to be on the side that is hard working and well prepared. If I don’t sound too boastful, we felt the presence of God throughout our journey. If I may quote two incidents, while in Bangalore, there was a political unrest (started in our state of Tamilnadu but spread to Bangalore) and many were sending messages to us to be careful but not a single place we felt unsafe. In Mysore, we were told that it was raining (on and off) for a week before we arrived but for the entire two days it was so pleasant without rain and remained cool. We just stepped into Mysore railway station to return, heavens opened to pour down. We thank God for all His mercies.

It was an unbelievable satisfaction to see the girls laugh, enjoy and grow up in these four days. When they told me in the railway station after arrival “Uncle, it feels like we just left”, I knew it was a trip well worth it.

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