Mission

Tear Fund - Asha Project Delhi

Mark Kirkpatrick’s visit to the Asha project, Easter 2007

Summary

My trip to Delhi went well. I went as part of a Transform team. Transform is a ministry of Tearfund. They organize trips that go all over the world. The trips can last anything from two weeks to four months. It’s a fairly long involved process to get on one of these teams and you have to attend an orientation weekend and be interviewed. However, it is well worth all the effort and I thoroughly recommend anyone to go on one of these trips. There is no age barrier (luckily). You simply need to be a committed Christian with a taste for adventure (and I got plenty of that).

Our trip lasted two weeks and we were guests of the Asha charity. This charity is working in about 48 slums in Delhi – mainly involved in health and development issues. There is a strong Christian ethos and there is a weekly prayer meeting in most (if not all) of the slums to which anyone is welcome to come. Our group attended two prayer meetings. One was in the slum where we were working and one was in another slum. There were about 20 or so women in each prayer meeting. They sang songs, danced, shared testimonies about how God had answered their prayers, and prayed in small groups. The Bible was read. So the Gospel is definitely being proclaimed. The challenge is to take this initiative further and encourage the people to join churches.

Our group worked in a slum called Ana Nagar. There are about 7000 people living in this slum. It wasn’t quite as desperate as I had been expecting though it was easy to tell that you were in a slum. People lived in tiny houses but these varied quite a lot. Some had televisions. We were decorating the community centre. In practice this meant painting wall murals.

Education is one of the big issues for these people. Relatively few people were literate. Only one person spoke English (apart from the Asha employee). So they tend to be at an immediate disadvantage in society. However, the women are learning to stand up for themselves. We gathered that the children were more likely to stay in education – though there is some pressure to get out onto the streets and start earning money.

This is a terrific project. Asha is doing a lot of good work.. People are hearing the Good News. The money we send is being well spent. I commend this project to you. Thank you very much for supporting Tearfund.

The experience in detail : Mark's Diary

Tuesday 2nd April

We land safely and soon we head for the YMCA. This turns out to be a 3 star hotel- fairly basic but adequate. It’s huge - five stories. There are ten of us. Six men and four women. Most are in their twenties apart from myself and a retired lady called Ros. In the afternoon we nervously venture out onto the streets of Delhi and head for the Emporium - this turns out to be an upmarket craft centre. Several in the group buy clothes. Then we walk down one of the busiest market streets I have ever seen - perhaps half a mile long. Hundreds of shops and stalls line the road - spilling out onto the street. Inevitably, our group is a target for salesmen and beggars approach us too. I see several hardship cases - a man with no hand; a blind man being led. At one stage we see a cow sitting by the side of the road. Another hazard are the proliferation of wires hanging everywhere.

Wednesday 3rd April

At 9.30 am the Asha minibus arrives and we are taken to the Asha HQ - a fairly sophisticated place complete with a seminar room and a roomful of the latest computers, all connected to the internet. We are given a powerpoint presentation about Asha. This is given by Paul, who is in charge of promotion / publicity. Afterwards we have a long discussion about how we spend the Easter w/e and the pros and cons of going to Mussourie, in the foothills of the Himalayas. We decide to go. After this, we go to Anna Nagar - the name of the slum where we will spend most of our time. A group of 20 or so women and children greet us. Each of us is given a garland of flowers as we go in. Over the next hour or so we hear about their work. Their organization is amazing. In this slum there is only one Community Health Volunteer (CHV). Only one woman speaks English - her name is Sweeta Jacob. She is the daughter of a Salvation Army minister. We will get to know her quite well. Paul does all of the translating. We all sit on the floor for the meeting. It turns out that the ladies want murals so they are pleased to hear that I am an artist. A man called Sam, from Northern Ireland, has joined us for this first day. He has come out by himself to be a volunteer for a month. He says he will search on the internet for murals to copy. After this, we return to the YMCA. We briefly go into the town centre - only about 20 minutes walk away and I get my shoes polished for 20 rupees.

Thursday 4th April

We are picked up by the Asha minibus and taken to anna Nagar. Our hosts are ready for us. There is a decorator who has all the paint ready. The nine of us (Kevin is ill) set to it and start painting the main room. In the afternoon we all start painting murals - though it is me who does the initial organizing. None of the team has painted much before. We produce the beginnings of several murals and Sweeta, one of the leaders, seems pleased. We finish at 2 pm because of the elections. Later in the afternoon we take auto-rickshaws to the Red Fort - a huge complex. There are a lot of large, beautiful old buildings made from red sandstone. These buildings include palaces. Many are ornate. The journey there is an experience in itself. Very busy roads with constant near misses. There is no escape from beggars- several approach us as wait at the traffic lights. Some are ‘hardship’ cases.

Friday 5th April

We leave for Mussourie at 6.15 am in the minibus. It takes 12 hours to get there - the longest journey by road that I have ever taken. Thankfully we stop three or four times for meals and drinks. However, a journey in India is never dull. The variety of transport on the roads is amazing- everything from bullock carts, horse-drawn trailers to expensive coaches. Eventually we reach the hills- these are really mountains - and the scenery becomes spectacular. We finally arrive at our fairly upmarket hotel. There are only double beds in the rooms so I end up sharing a bed with Rob- he tactfully sleeps the other way around.

Saturday 6th April

After an elaborate breakfast we drive to the waterfall- only about ten minutes away. Then we walk up into the hills, following the river. It is stunning. There are breathtaking views everywhere. After about an hour we reach a small pool in the river and I go for a swim- swimming in cold mountain rivers is part of my tradition. It feels incredible to swim in the Himalayas. As it happens I am completely alone as the others have gone on ahead. I turn back and rejoin the others. We return to the hotel for lunch. I meet a sophisticated Indian couple after the meal who both speak fluent English. She tells me that she’s from a Brahmin caste. We talk for a long time about India and Britain. He is a financial journalist and says that the rich are getting richer in India and the poor are getting poorer. They also explain some of their Hindu beliefs. Our group then walks up to a nearby hill. Later, our driver takes us further up the mountain and I walk a little along the road. Later in the evening we dance, along with lots of Indian guests, to very loud Indian music.

Easter Sunday

We leave for Delhi at 9.30 am. The journey is relatively uneventful. For lunch we stop at an upmarket motorway-type cafe, complete with a beautiful garden - the first really nice one I have seen. There are several ‘tight’ overtaking manoevres when it looked as though we are heading for a head-on collision. Thankfully, the worst does not happen. Our return journey ‘only’ takes ten and a half hours. Sadly, we do not attend a service. In fact, we don’t even pray with each other during the day. Our drive through Delhi at night is fun. The roads are packed, as ever. I see a cow walking by the side of the road. It could easily cause an accident.

Monday 8th April

Picked up at the YMCA at 10 am and we were at Ana Nagar, the slum by 10.20 am.  We moved onto the next room and started painting murals. Again, as the only artist, I try to help other people. Mostly, though, I let them get on with it. I start a shark mural with Stuart, who has never painted before. Lunch, a salad burger in my case, is brought to us by Paul. Then more painting in the afternoon. We return to the YMCA and I and two others swim in the huge pool. After the evening meal we walk into the town centre and drink coffee in a western-style cafe. It feels incredible walking through Delhi at night. A woman, disconcertingly, comes up to me, begging, pointing to her mouth. What do I do?

Tuesday 9th April

We return to Anna Nagar, though due to Stuart, Pedro and Katie cashing traveller’s cheques, we are late, not getting there till 11.15. We continue with our murals till lunch. Then, after lunch, we are driven to another slum to attend a prayer meeting. Each one of us is presented with a garland of flowers. For the meeting everyone, except for our group, sits on the floor. They sing three or four lively songs and a few ladies dance. Then several of the ladies tell us how their prayers have been answered. They read the Bible. Someone gives a short homily and after this they pray in small groups. The meeting finishes. It turns out that Sweeta, the leader, is the only Christian. She says that all the other ladies are Hindus - though most of them have stopped worshipping Hindu gods apparently. I manage to get a photo of some of the ladies. After returning to the YMCA we take auto-rickshaws to a very good craft market - very spacious.

Wednesday 10th April

Picked up at 9.30 by the Asha minibus and off to Anna Nagar. Only worked for an hour or so before we are given a tour of the slum. We are joined by Paul’s aunt and her daughter. Paul’s aunt is a doctor from Chicago - very sophisticated and has an expensive SLR digital camera. She snaps away - usually without asking. She addresses lots of medical questions to the slum dwellers. We go into two houses. Both only have one room and the first one is dark. Two families live there but there is only one large bed. The next house is much lighter and cleaner. There is a young woman there with a tiny 17 day year old baby. We are told that she attends the prayer meeting. She only speaks when she is spoken to. Then it’s back to the community centre. The treasurer of Asha has offered to take us around Delhi. But first he takes us to a very expensive restaurant. This seems quite bizarre after wandering around the slum. He tells us that he is a financial journalist working for The Times of India. He is very personable and says that he is a Hindu though an ‘open’ one. We drive to the main parliament buildings and walk around in the scorching heat. Then he drives us around Delhi, pointing out the historical sites. Finally, at 6pm, he drops us off at the YMCA. Later in the evening, some of us play a hilarious game of Pictionary.

Thursday 11th April

In the morning we do very little work. Instead all the group do another tour of the slum and visit several more houses. These vary but nearly all have only one room. Amazingly, some have all the latest hi-tech stuff - television, DVD player, hi-fi and a refrigerator- all crammed into a small room. Some cook using kerosene. Some use calor gas on simple camping style stoves. All the ladies are well dressed and seem pleased to see us. In the afternoon we have a prayer meeting at the centre- led by Sweeta. There are about 20 ladies there as well as children. We sing them a song and offer a few testimonies. After this our group does a chidren’s workshop, led by Ali and Debbie with the children getting more and more excited. We play games, have an art contest (judged by me) and tell a Bible Story. Then it’s back to the YMCA and a swim.

Friday 12th April

Our final day at Anna Nagar. We arrive at 11.30 for the final good-bye ceremony. Our hosts are well prepared. Several give short speeches. there are four very good dances by children to recorded music. Our group then sing a few songs, perform a sketch (The Good Samaritan) and give speeches (I was nominated to do one of them). We finish by everyone dancing.

Saturday 13th April

We drive to Agra in a minibus. It’s the same driver that took us to Mussourie. He picks us up at 6 am and it takes five hours to get there. We pick up our guide when we get there and he takes us around the Taj Mahal. It is spectacular - well worth the journey. The gleaming white marble is terrific. The inside is marvellous too- lots of intricate designs. Inevitably, the whole site is packed with tourists. We spend several hours there before having lunch a a nearby hotel. Then we visit several craft centres, being treated to sales pitches by smooth-talking salesmen. We head back to Delhi, arriving back at 10.15 pm.

Sunday 14th April

Our final day. We are joined by the other Transform team that had gone further north to work in an ETA (Christian) hospital. We take auto-rickshaws and taxis to a very lively Assemblies of God church. The service starts at 10.30.All the singing is in Hindi. Howerver, the sermon is in English (translated into Hindi) - we later find out the the pastor has trained in England. The service finishes at 12.30 and the pastor and his wife invite us into a room to talk to us. They also work in a nearby slum. Soon we head back to the YMCA and then onto a western-style restaurant for a late lunch. After returning to the YMCA, I have a long conversation with a woman who tells me about another Tearfund sponsored project that she visited called a Discipleship Training Centre- which is really about agricultural training for people living in a drought-prone area. There are several of these places in India. It sounds very interesting. I’m glad that our final day has gone so well. It seems a fitting end to our trip.