Life at Odai Home |
On my early morning arrival, after a night spent in a bus on bumpy roads, I am immersed in real India. It is still night but streets are already getting busy and people pass by, observing me in the half light.
Tamil Nadu is a part of India that is as poor as it is welcoming. I recognize again here well-known smells, colours and sounds for it is my third stay in this fascinating country. After almost two hours waiting on the side of the road, a man finally comes up to me. It is Potumani, the father of the big family that is Odai Home. Exhibiting a big smile, this short man immediately has a comforting effect on me. We both get into a rickshaw that takes us home.
Far from the more or less organized chaos of cities, with their swarming people, cows and rickshaws, we arrive at an isolated place by a river. The welcoming red brick house is surrounded by a garden with fruit trees that is quietly waking up in the rising sun. On the doorstep, the 12 children of the house are expecting my arrival with Maheswari, the house mother. As soon as the rickshaw stops, they rush up to me all together and take my huge and incredibly heavy suitcase. A warm welcome expects me inside. Their smile is even more dazzling than the rising sun. They observe me and giggle, they are so lovely. One can only become attached, it works like magic.
Little by little I take my place in the ‘tribe’, this new family for children coming from very varied backgrounds and where they all live in harmony. Some are siblings, they all are between 5 and 15 years old, girls and boys mixed.
In the morning, after shower, children put on their uniforms and make themselves ready for school. We all gather in the open-air space at the center of the house. Children sing and chant prayers. Afterwards, everybody has breakfast together. Children thereafter leave for the close-by school and the day is free for me. I like to join all the activities, which means I often spend time with Mahes et Pothumani during the day ; we go to the vegetable market, buy rice or just spend some time in their house in town. I help with all tasks, from cooking to gardening and games…
Children come back from school around 4.30 pm. After they have changed, we all go and play in the garden, dance or do some gardening. At the end of the day, before dinner, the children do their homework. Then comes the time for prayers followed by dinner, and if it is not too late, we dedicate some more time to games.
I am very fond of cooking, therefore I took the opportunity of my stay here to buy them an oven and make them discover some recipes. We cooked cakes, bread, pizzas. They loved it, especially chocolate cakes.
Children enjoy happy days here, far away from sadness, poverty or hunger. Even if some of them suffer from HIV. All young DILSE ‘protégés’ can fully blossom. Their families are welcome, and most of them pay a number of visits.
Pothumani and Maheswari administer the shelter in an exemplary way. They play their role as surrogate parents full heartedly and try their best to give those children the best education possible. All take part in domestic chores and in gardening. These are easy but very useful tasks. Life at Odai Home unfolds in joy and good mood, the children are properly fed and very healthy, except for the illness that affects some of them. They are all polite, full of joy and mischief. They have good school results most of them and want to become teachers, doctors or policemen. We encourage them to follow their paths and make good life choices.
To make a long story short, these two months spent here have been a extraordinary, rich and unforgettable experience. I can only wish you could live the same adventure.
Frédérique Recordon, volunteer from Switzerland