News letter1st Edition - 2017

Received new volunteers fromEcuador, Austria & Germany forJanuary 2017 batch :-) wewelcome them to IncredibleIndia and wish them forpleasant stay.

The picture on the first day oftwo volunteers at host family,the volunteers welcomed byhost family by colorful Rangoliin front of the house.

ORIENTATION CAMP

LIVING THE WEDDING DREAM / by - Mira, Austria

Being able to attend a realIndian wedding with all thestereotypical Bollywood dancingis a dream of many people Iknow. This month, I was able tolive this dream. The Madame( B h a g y a ) i n m y p r o j e c t ,Shakthidhama – a women'srehabilitation and developmentcenter, who is responsible forme, took me with her to aclassical but also modern wedding which took place in Bangalore.

About my project:

I, Mira Denzer, am working and staying in an institution where women from all over India areseeking shelter, help and counseling treatments. These services are free, however, the womenhave to work in the garden or kitchen and are stitching greeting cards as well as bags. Thosewomen often have lived a very complicated life. Most of them are only speaking Kannada orother indian languages but I am trying to understand them. Their life stories are heartbreaking,which is why they often cry. Most of them come to Shakthidhama because their husbands areharming them physically and mentally. They sometimes also come with their children. I spendmost of my time in the kitchen, cleaning and cutting vegetables but I also do some office worksuch as report writing and I spend my free time playing with the children or listening to thestories of the women.

ICDE - INDIA

News letter

The wedding lasted three days and the bride was thedaughter of one of the brothers of the husband of BhagyaMadame's Sister. The bride is originally from Mangalore,however, the groom is a Panjabi from Punjab, the reasonwhy the bride's father at first did not agree to thatwedding. Marrying somebody from a different religionthan yours is very usual and no big deal in my homecountry Austria, however, it is not at all like this in India.Due to this religious issue, everyone was very happyabout the wedding being that beautiful and that thefather finally came to terms with the groom and hisfamily. Bhagya Madame, her husband and I took the trainon the 10 of November to Bangalore. After arriving thefamily informed me that I should dance one dance withthem, so I had to learn the choreography of oneBollywood dance in approximately half an hour.T h e o t h e rdancers werepracticing ontheir dancess i n c e o n emonth, so it isnot surprisingthat I slightlyfailed at theactual danceperformance,which tookplace on the next day during night time. This so calledSangeet was amazing! It was a moderated evening withlots of Bollywood dances, two singing performances andof course lots of tasty food. Moreover, I had to dancethree dances totally, however, I never saw thechoreography of two of this dances before actuallyparticipating in them.

On the last day was the traditional south Indian wedding,where all of the women had to wear Sarees, however, Ijust wore one of mine Lehenghas and it was okay.This wedding was completely different to anywedding I have ever seen. Compared with traditionalChristian weddings the only similarity was that all

th

......................................................

family members came together to celebrate and also thateveryone tried to look their best.

I also attendedanother weddingin Mysore thismonth, however,t h i s o n e w a sboring and notthat beautifulcompared to theother one. Weonly went therefor food and thepresentation ofthe gifts.The rest of themonth I spendonly in Mysore. Ihad to do lots ofkitchen work andi m p o r t a n tpeople came toour institution in order to celebrate their birthday. Onehigh range police officer celebrated his son's birthdaywith an actual function with lots of balloons and singingand also catering services. It was very nice and differentbecause nobody celebrates his or her birthday like this inAustria.This month, I was lucky to experience a new partof the Indian culture and I am looking forward to the nextfew months for more exciting experiences.

My highlight of November:

About the rest of the month:

1st Edition - 2017

ICDE - INDIA

News letter

December- Christmas in Makkala Mane by - Pascal (Germany) / Lea (Switzerland)

Makkala Mane is Kannada for childrens home. It's also our homefor the last 5 months. It's a hostel in Mysore for girls from difficultbackgrounds. They're from destitute families and were oftengrown up in a violent atmosphere. The most important for us isthat the girls find a loving athmosphere in the house without anyforms of violence.For us christmas is a time that you spend withthe loved ones, with your family.

We wanted to celebrate this christian´s day with all the girls andemployees. It was the opportunity to enjoy together and to offerthe girls chocolate, gifts and for them to take rest from school and

studies for at least one week-end. We started the prepartions early in December. We had so many things we wanted todo.We planned to make christmas craftings, bake cookies and sing christmas songs to get a nice christmasatmosphere.

One week before christmas we bought a small christmas tree in astore that we found by coincidence. To decorate we also boughtsmall christmas ornaments. In addition we crafted papersnowflakes with the girls to feel even more in the christmasatmospher.

During the month of December many guests visited MakkalaMane. They came to sing christmas songs, bring food and more. Agroup of guest invited us to their church on the 23 of December.The girls had to prepare a christmas song which they had to sing at the mass. The mass there was very different fromthe masses we know from our countries. There was traditional dancing, many songs and at the end there werehounours to members of the church. Following the mass there was a nice dinner in the church.

Every Saturday all the girls have morning school. During this time on the 24 we baked the cookies and decided torealize one of the project we wanted to do since a while.

rd

th

Actually in our project thegirls are not allowed toleave the house on theirown. They are neitheralllowed to invite friends tocome to the house. They never get tohave time to relax and have time forthemselves that isthe reason whyw e c h o o s e t ocreate them a nicep l a c e o n o u r

terrace. We painted the wall, repaired a couch we already had, put plantsand a small table.

After we got the small girls from school we started to decorate thechristmas tree and the house with the crafts they made.

1st Edition - 2017

ICDE - INDIA

News letter

In the afternoon we took all the girls to the SaintPhilomenas church in Mysore. It's a Catholic churchwhich was build in 1936. It's architecture was inspired bythe „Kölner Dom“ in Germany.

We went to the central bus stand and from there wewalked to the church. From outside the church is reallyimpressive. It is around 53 meter high and is consideredas one of the tallest churches in Asia. We spent a bit oftime there before going back home.There we prepared the terrace to show the surprise tothe girls. We put lights on the handrails, snack, sweetsand punch on the table to watch a Christmas movie in a

cozy atmosphere. The girls enjoyed it so much and thanked us a lot.

Every morning we have to take one of the children to a very nice lady in our neighbourhood who provides the hostelfree milk.One week before christmas she invited us to come with her to her church on the 25 of December to have lunch there.Before leaving we offered to the girls the presents we had. The lights in their eyes, the smiles on their face warmed ourhearts. How beautiful it is to see children happy, how touching it is. It makes you realize how beautiful life is and howsometimes the simpliest things are the best.

We left then and ended up in another celebration in a school nearour place. After one hour of songs, prayers and honours wereceived food there. Then we went back home where guest werewaiting for us to provide more food so we ate a second lunch..After a while a group of young members of an NGO came to playand sing with the girls. Once again it was a lovely sharing momentthat we will never forget.

Then we both decided to take one week off to celebrate new yearwith friends in Goa. We left home between the 25 evening andthe 26 morning. It is always difficult to leave home as we are very

th

th

th

attached to the girls. We spent the week enjoying and discovering Goa and itssurroundings. It is the paradise on Earth. On the 31 we met other volunteers and staidtogether in Goa. It was great to spend time together after such a long time withoutseeing each other frequently. We enjoyed the music hence we danced all the night. Ourlegs were a bit less happy the following day..The first year in India and one of the best andthe craziest ever. And we're exited to see what the new year will bring!

st

DECCAN Hospital :France Daillencourt,

Student in General Medicin - From France

Du 14 novembre au 16 décembre 2016.

I spent five weeks on the project DECCAN Hospital inChintamani, « small » city of

76 000 people located at 70km north east of Bangalore

in Karnataka where the temperature varies from 12°C at

night to 28°C during the day.

1st Edition - 2017

Thank you for reading

ICDE - INDIA

News letter 1st Edition - 2017

I was able to disco ver another type of practice of medicine and

another way of organizing a hospital but above all another way

of life. The adaptation was a Little bit di cult, in fact I had never

eaten with my hands, I had never washed in cold water with a

Seal, and I don't speak about the absence of paper toilets, but

we get used quickly! I was supported by the hospital sta and

especially the nurses because I lived with them on the top floor

of the hospital. They made me taste the good and very rich

(especially in spices) Indian cooking, they helped me in the

choice of my menus from breakfast to dinner while going

through the tea that Indians drink with milk, sugar and.. spices

obviously!

It was a stay

rich in encounters,

discovery, sharing

that allowed me to

exchange with the mole

sta of the hospital and to

realize the luck we have to live in France.

On the médical level, I've been able to observe the di érences in

treatment and the Organization of care between our countries, I

participated int the discussions about the patient management,

in the care they received, I was an assistant in the operating

theater and I tried to teach them the rules of hygiene that they

don't always apply.

We went for two days in Mysore with some doctors, nurses and

hospital management to attend the weeding of the daughter of

one of the anesthesists. So I discovered a typical ceremony. We

spent the second day visiting various monuments :

palaces, temples, fountains animated by sounds and

lights.

I returned to Mysore few days later to attend a second

wedding but this time with other volunteers and wearing

a sari!