Week 4: Delhi Belly

Last weekend I took a flight to New Delhi to meet up with my school friend Michael and two of his friends, Rob and Dan. It was without a doubt the craziest city I have ever visited, with people riding elephants on city streets and cows roaming around as they please. You could buy street food (samosa burgers, rotis or just lemonade) from any corner. As a foreigner, I was widely perceived as a walking wallet and was often approached by men in the street to buy anything from SD cards to toy helicopters.

We visited a large palace called the Red Fort, which was home to the Indian emperors up until the battle for independence in 1857. Whilst the markets, gardens and monuments inside were supposed to be the main attraction, we were asked to pose with Indians on around 10 occasions in the space of just a couple of hours! In the end, we decided to tell people that they’d have to pay a small fee if they wanted a photo with us.

A couple of days after returning back to Vasai, I had my first proper dose of illness, with vomiting, fever and ‘loose motions’. One of the guys took me to a clinic on a motor scooter, where I was given an injection on my right buttock and was asked to take 6 tablets with every meal for the next 24 hours. To be fair, I felt a lot better the next day!

I haven’t really been teaching much this week. Other than taking a day off to recover, a number of lessons were cancelled because a lot of the children hadn’t paid their school fees. We also had preparation for ‘Parents Day’, where children spent half the day making cards for their parents.

Praise Points:

• The people at the orphanage are really good at making sure the children are fit and healthy, with good food, sports and a nearby clinic if necessary
• I've been able to speak more with the teachers  this week, which has been really important for understanding how the school works

Prayer Points:

• Prayer for the children at the orphanage who were unable to celebrate Parents Day
• Prayer for the families of the children outside the orphanage who are struggling to pay for school fees