24th August, 2008

Jelle and Lucie volunteered at SISP in Spring, 2008. They wanted to write something for the web to tell everyone about their experiences...

What part of the world are you from?

Jelle: I'm from Bruges in Belgium.
Lucie: I'm originally from the UK but now live in Antwerp in Belgium.

Have you visited SISP before?

Jelle: I've been visiting SISP for the last three years. The first year I worked there for about four months as a part of my education as a social worker, and the other two years for about two to three months as a volunteer.
Lucie: I came to Kovalam for the first time this year staying in the project for two months and two months travelling.

What were the dates of your most recent visit?

Jelle: Since I'm working in Belgium during the summer season I can only leave for India in November/December. I can usually earn enough money in Belgium in about 6-8 months to be able to get around in India. Mostly I leave in December and come back to Belgium in April.
Lucie: As I also have seasonal work at a pattern-making company I was luckily able to leave Belgium for four months to join Jelle on his yearly visit and stayed in India from January till end of April.

If you visited SISP as part of a longer holiday, where else did you go?

Jelle: Except for the first year when I worked in SISP for a longer period as a part of my studies, I divided my time in India in two. For about two months I work in SISP, the other two months I travel. Normally I first go travelling and, since India is such a diverse and beautiful country, my travels have taken me all over the country. From Rajasthan to the borders of the Himalaya and from the mouth of the Ganges to the most southern point where three oceans meet. This year I landed in Bombay and travelled my way down, worked in SISP for two months and then left for the Andaman Islands for a month. I thought it would be easier to have a holiday after my work at SISP, because normally when I leave SISP I have to start working straight away in Belgium. So then I have a double clash. One because I'm leaving my beloved ones in Kovalam, the home of SISP, and two, because I have to adapt to Belgium again. So this year I planned a trip after my time in SISP, to make the change of going back home more gradual. On one hand this was a good move, because I came home more relaxed. But on the other hand it was very difficult to leave SISP knowing that I still had one month left in India, doubting whether it's a good move to go play the tourist for a month while it would be far more useful to help in SISP one more month. But this is a doubt that plays mindgames with me quite often. What do you give and where do you draw the line and take for yourself. It's not always easy to find an answer.
Lucie: As the flight tickets were a lot cheaper to Mumbai than flying straight to Trivandrum and as Jelle knew that the local trains are cheap and more or less comfortable it was a great introduction to the country, its landscapes, its culture and its people (as it was my first trip outside of Europe) to get an impression before starting to work within the project.

Did you agree with Paul beforehand what dates you'd be there?

Jelle: Since I can only leave my work between November/December and April, Paul knows I 'll be coming in that period. But he doesn't have to put much time and effort in me, because I know the workings of SISP already and know my place in the project.
Lucie: As Jelle stays in regular contact with Paul I lazily let him do the organisation (hehe!) but Paul knew I would be coming and we sat down for a talk about what exactly I would be doing when I arrived in Kovalam.

Where did you stay?

Jelle: I always rent a house from a family I know. I try to find a modest house but, on the other hand, a house that is big enough to receive guests, because when I'm in India there are always people coming to visit me and other volunteers in the project.

What did you do while at SISP?

Jelle: I took the kids out on Tuesdays and Thursdays to the beach where they can play and swim and get the opportunity to be a child. There's also a group of ten kids I try to get to school by offering them surf-classes at the weekend. Mostly this gets them motivated. Besides that, I help in the project where my help is needed. Mostly this means I assist in teaching.
Lucie: I started a sewing workshop (as I studied fashion design and tailoring) within the 2 months I was there, teaching a beginners group three afternoons and the advanced students two mornings a week, accompanied by the lovely local creativity teacher Esther who assisted and helped me translating to the students throughout my lessons whilst joyfully participating herself... It was quite an embarrassing experience when the beginners group had to first teach me how to work a foot-pedal sewing machine rather than my usual electronic one... but my aim was to make a useful product at the end of the workshop: a bag. I thought this could either be used as schoolbags within the project or otherwise be sold to benefit the project alongside the other crafts items from the coconut and paperbag units. Alongside basic sewing skills we worked on decorational methods including applications, smocking and patchwork as they had bags full of beautiful leftover material scraps of old saris and blouses which we could rework in patches applied onto the bags. I was very glad to see that each single one of the students succeeded in achieving what I taught.

Did you visit SISP's projects in the community?

Jelle: The first year I followed the social workers during their house visits to get to know all the aspects of the project. The second year I was involved in the micro credit unions, since I wrote my thesis about this subject and needed some practical information. Throughout the three years I 've been involved in SISP I ran a class once in a while. By now I know some of the beneficiaries of SISP personally. So I pay them a visit once in a while out of personal interest.
Lucie: I did not give any further classes apart from the workshop as there were three other volunteers teaching at the time of our arrival and, as I have no real teaching experience, I was glad to give a technically-based course.

Did you meet any particular children who had been helped a lot by SISP?

Jelle: Too many to mention. In a range of about twenty kilometres around Kovalam daily I ran into kids who are still involved or used to be involved in SISP. An involvement that changed their lives and those of their families in a positive way.
Lucie: I think every single kid in the project has been helped a lot purely just for keeping them busy and off the street, having social contact with other children, with a great staff who always give their utmost, showing that they care and giving them the opportunity for having an education which their familial financial situation would normally not allow. But probably this is also something you see in retrospective, and seeing Jelle impressed that over the years of his returning, children he had once been teaching are growing up to being proud young adults of which some are lucky enough to receive financial support to attend a higher education.

Were there any sad or encouraging stories from the children you met?

Jelle: Unfortunately these stories are also too many to mention and sometimes very painful. But in general these stories are not caused by the kids, they are just a product of the society they grow up in. These stories make me sad but on the other hand keep me even more motivated to help them and put my time and effort in the project.
Lucie: Being amidst poverty and frustration, the constant fight of being able to nourish the family is surely not the easiest circumstances for a child to grow up in. But I was impressed to see how much trust the children put in the school staff, often approaching teachers (rather than the other way around) during their breaktime to openly talk about troubles at home or things that were bothering them.

Did you take any kids out for entertainment (to beach, football, cricket, cinema etc etc)?

Jelle: That's probably my biggest input in the project: to put a smile on the kids' faces and give them some happy times.
Lucie: I sometimes joined going to the beach which was great, playing games and swimming and, if being the only female teacher present, trying to focus on the girls in the group.

Impressions of people and places and country?

Jelle: Also too many to mention. Throughout the last four years India has taken in an important place in my life. Not a day in belgium goes by that I dont think about my second home. Just take the time to get the know the country and it s inhabitants outside of the touristic trail and you will understand what keeps me going there year after year after year.
Lucie: Ever so giving and warm-hearted people! Amazing! I think I saw so many smiles during those months as I have here in twenty years...my cheek muscles even hurt during the first week.The food is great, the country is beautiful and widely diverse, but still so much more to discover-as I ve only seen a small part of it! Next time....

How did the children benefit from your visit and how did you benefit from it?

Jelle: Firstly, as with many aspects of India, but especially with the children of SISP, my encounters make me stay humble throughout my life and make sure I keep smiling and appreciating my daily experiences, even when sometimes I have to deal with what is, at first sight, not so happy news. I try to take the best of both cultures: my Western background and my time in India, and try to balance what I've learned from both cultures throughout my life. What I mean to the kids and how they benefit from it, hmmmmmm... indeed a difficult question! You should ask them, actually, to get an adequate answer.

When I'm in Belgium, of course, I try to get as many people as possible involved in SISP by organising all kinds of activities for the cause of SISP, talking daily about SISP, and encoraging and informing anyone who shows interest. By doing this I raise funds for the project and ensure that more and more people start to support SISP. When I'm in India the most important thing I do is make the kids happy. When I'm there it's a bit of a holiday for them. I give them so much attention that they feel special. What these kids miss in their life is a guide, someone who helps them throughout their path. When I grew up as a little kid in Belgium I had my older brother and my parents that were positive examples for me and I made friends in a positive environment - like the boyscouts and sports clubs. Most kids in Vizhinjam don't have any direction in their life and nobody cares about them, they make friends on the streets which is mostly not a good environment and makes them easy victims for all kinds of addiction, criminality and paedophilia. A lot of these kids are helped by SISP and, as soon they get really involved in the project and they feel at home at SISP, we can make a big change in their lives. But some kids are harder to get to school and keep on falling back into their old habits. Some of these kids look up to me and, when I'm there, I get them to school because they trust me and they look upon me as an older brother. But unfortunately I can only stay in the project for a certain amount of time which makes the changes I make in these kids lives very fragile... sometimes it works out, sometimes I have to start from zero again the next year. I hope that in the near future I'll get the opportunity to stay long enough in the project to help out on a larger scale.

Lucie: I suppose we both benefit from one another. When I remember watching the students whilst teaching, following the lesson with such pleasure and motivation and just being so grateful of having the opportunity to learn.... Even occasionally having to actually force them to take their break... would just put a smile on my face and make me feel I am doing something useful and appreciated. It makes you see that every one of us can make a difference and contribute in his or her way. Even if they never sew again I hope they just have some nice memories and had a good laugh, which is just as important (if not more important) than the actual learning itself. Otherwise, I suppose their English also improved whereas I learned to express myself creatively with hands and feet and noises... I have learned to cherish the possibilities you have which you often take for granted and, even if it sounds cheesy, to look on the bright side of life, as being negative is in the end just such a waste of time and energy.

All in all it was a great experience which I will never forget! I'm grateful to the people at SISP for allowing me to take part in their project, the kids that welcomed us new strangers so warmly, and I should also thank Jelle for being so enthusiastic that it actually got me over there in that far, far place, and made it all really happen. On my departure from Kovalam I promised that I will return and I will keep that promise.

Jelle and Lucie at their farewell presentation (enlarge)

Jelle with the "Kovalam Surf Club"