Serving lunch at a government school

We went to a government school to serve the children their mid day meal. i played with the class which was 6th standard (6th grade). Although they are Emily's age, the kids were at least two sizes smaller than Emily because of mal-nutrition. The kids were very very smart and outgoing though. I played with them (actually I scared them when I came in). They saw me walking in but I was hiding behind the door and when they opened it I jumped out and scream and then they screamed and we all started laughing out loud.

Then they sang for us and did a dance before we served them lunch. They each have a metal plate, they get a scoop of rice and a scoop of curry soup. They go to the open space to sit down and then eat with their hands. They all came back for seconds and thirds!

Ashaya Patra Foundation

This central kitchen is attached to the famous Iskon Temple and the people running it are absolutely passionate about changing the face of India by feeding the children from government schools so they will stay in school!

Ashaya Patra Foundation

A group of us went to see the central kitchen at Ashaya Patra Foundation to see how they feed 150,000 children from the slums of Bangalore. This is the NGO we raised funds for last Christmas. We did an online and a live auction. Altogether, Cisco in India raised enough to feed over 30,000 children for one year!! We had to wear these very unfashionable hats when we went for the kitchen tour. It was a very impressive operation from the huge pots used to steam the rice, make the soup and chop the vegetables!!

Finale

The kids absolutely adored Brooke and appreciated her efforts. Everyone went back to the classroom and when Brooke entered, they gave her a thunderous roar and applause!

Charlie and the chocolate factory

The play went so well and the costumes were great. The Azamians (Linda and Parisa) stepped in and sponsored the costumes. They also came to help with the setup and music!

Brooke and the kids from Parikrma

Brooke had been teaching the 6th graders at the Parikrma School drama. For 6 weeks they had been practicing the play. Brooke had downloaded the script from the internet and gave each them roles. 8 of them were the Umpaa Loopas and they had to do a dance. I went to support them at the performance which was in front of the whole school. The kids did a fabulous job and I was so proud of Brooke. Actually she was not feeling well but she had to be there. She was a bit pale but nonetheless very proud and happy!

Dog Birthday Party

Another Dog Party! This day just continues.. I went to Palm Meadow to pick up Emily and our two dogs Kodi and Dee Dee. They had enjoyed themselves tremendously at Emily friend Sachi's house the whole afternoon. Dee Dee won the obedience contest and the scavenger hunt!

I was beat! I had to rush back into town (had rushed here to pick up Emily from the middle of the town) to go saree shopping and to a jazz/art show and then dinner!

Lazy Lunch with the Ladies!

This day just continues - after Sunny's I went to Jessie Pauls to have lunch and cake with the ladies. I was very proud to be the "connector" to Priya and Jessie who met each other through me over a year ago! They are now close friends. I also met a few exceptional ladies who are writers, lawyers, marketing professionals and editors!

St. Patrick's Day at Sunny's

I went to support Kiran Mazumdar Shaw who has been a friend for nearly two years at Sunny's. Kiran is the honorary Irish Council and she has been hosting this community event bringing together the Irish in Bangalore for many years.

Brunch with the Scrivners

We are starting to say good bye to our good friends in India. We hosted the Scrivers (Olivia who is 12 and in Emily's school) and Leo who works with me and the lovely Patty who is always cheerful and helpful. You can see a little bit of Brooke and Emily is in the back. Brooke was very sick the whole weekend. She was still not feeling well but she wouldn't want to miss the brunch with such good company!

Mrinalini and Seema's 40th

Here's to celebration in style. Their two husbands (Tom and Sameer) are taking them to the base of the Himalayas for a long weekend and they've chartered a private plane to take them to the top of the world (top of Mt. Everest!).

Mrinalini and Seema's 40th

Mrinalini and Seema celebrated their birthdays in style. Tom organized this huge party with great food, music and fireworks! They setup a bar on the rooftop terrace and we enjoyed dancing outdoors until 1pm. After the neighbors called the security to shut down the music, we went indoors and continued the dancing until about 3.30pm! Happy Birthday!

Talent Show

The kids put up an awesome talent show for us. They had setup a stage in the front of the auditorium by using the girls sarees!! It was beautifully prepared and the kids sang, danced, recited poems and had a costume / fashion show!

Art contest

These kids are so excited to draw - at first they had no idea how to draw or what to draw. We talked about fish, birds, trees, cars, schools..etc. Many of them drew homes as this is something they don't have. A home and a family. It makes me sad to think about these kids - some are orphaned from the struggle between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan Government. This is a safe haven for these kids to be sheltered and to get an education in Bangalore. However, the funds from the government has dried up and the school is completely dependent on donations. Some days the children get sent to bed without dinners. All the kids are small for their age. This classroom is age 6-8 and the kids look like they are 4-6!

Women's Day at Indira Gandhi School

A group of us went to Indira Gandhi School on International Women's Day to do a day of service. We played games with the children and organized sports competitions during the day. Lunch was a wonderful traditional Indian meal which both the volunteers and the children enjoyed very much. In the afternoon we continued with the art competition and the children put up an outstanding talent show for us! It's a great way to spend this special day!

I love this picture! The girls were getting ready to play the games and I asked whether they want to beat the boys in sports and this is their response!!

Habitat for Humanity

I organized a group of people to help build two houses for the poor. The way it works is the home owner buys the land and we provide the labor. Cisco foundation then matches the employee hours into a fund towards the purchase of the building material to complete the home. We had 17 people split into two home sites. The marketing group helped to form a supply chain line to move a huge pile of bricks from the road to the brick mason who was building the wall. We also transported mortar in metal bowls. In the afternoon we swapped jobs with the other team who was digging the foundation for a brand new site. That was even harder work! AT the end, it was back breaking work but all worth the effort because two more families have homes to live in! The homeowners were only too happy to have us there they offered us milk tea, snacks and helped us along the way.

A cow and his master came back to show us some tricks. The cow was all decorated and he stood on his master's laps!! Then the guy forcefully opened the cow's mouth and stuck his neck in there. If the cow had bitten down, his neck would be snap into two and his head would come off! We had to pay to watch this so I took a whole bunch of photos!