Jacob's Well Foundation

Why the Rubbish Removers are proud sponsors of Rejoice Childrens Home, Jacob’s Well India

Jacobs Well’s vision is for “Justice and hope for the desperately poor throughout the world by virtue of improved health, knowledge and quality of life.”

Wendy and Julia (our daughter) stayed in Orissa, India early 2007. We love the land of India, everything is passionate, the colours, the smells, the spicy food, the beautiful clothing the woman wear, the ancient palaces and customs. We stayed in a local ‘hotel’ and daily went to the children’s home. There we swept them up in crafts and stories. Oh, we made grass heads, modeling balloons, bead bracelets, juggling balls, play dough, puppets and hand painted wall hangings. We had games and fun, even some Australian food. And the children took our breath away, with their huge brown eyes, giggles and chuckles and warm hearts.

They didn’t always look like this. Coming in from tribal villages, some having lost both parents and care givers they were malnourished and uneducated. These little ones treat their basic concrete home as a palace. Education, food, clean clothing have transformed their lives.

It’s a step by step process – slowly Jacobs Well is sinking wells to provide fresh clean water for the tribal villages, organizing health services, education, working with the people to bring hope . So much to do. So little time!

So thank you for supporting our business, and in doing so enabling us to support Rejoice Children’s Home - Jacobs Well –India.

Some entries from my journal from our stay

Our first afternoon out at the children’s home was unforgettable. We pulled up in the car to two lines of children. A line of boys and a line of girls, holding a welcome sign. The two littlest put a garland of flowers around our necks and we then were given the most heart touching concert of singing and dancing, and actions.

After that we broke the ice with some mad modeling balloon making fun and got them all equipped with a sword and a dog. Their eyes are so shiny and bright and faces so radiant. We played games (What’s the time Mr Lion and ball games ) and then as it got dark cracked glo-stick bracelets and we all had them on and sang and danced the night away! Being here watching them has made all the effort of getting here so worthwhile. More later - we are living a year in every day and so much has happened.. we are off to another tribal village this morning.

Morning spent looking at tribal villages where the children come from…

Then it was back for lunch at the hotel before trekking off with 3 m fabric and paints to the children’s home. Julia led the kids in a bundle of games and I whipped up some bright powdered paints. Then on the flat roof top Julia & I told them stories and then painted their hands with paint to create a hand print wall mural! Looks great all sparkly and pretty and there was a lot of giggling and enjoyment as we pulled it together! Some more games and stories and a spray of glitter hairspray to all the heads before our friend returned at 8 pm to take us back to our hotel.

So enjoying the children’s home. Yesterday we pulled up in a rickshaw (its 8k out of town on a little farm) Happy kids waiting for us bouncing out of their skin. We produced the materials for grass heads and each kid slowly assembled their very own grass head. We have bought a sprayer and told the kids they have to spray the head with water regularly. And with great care and diligence the heads are being watered every 10 mins or so, Should have got rice seed! Then it was on to a story of how the world began and with 2 big material banners we have made the heavens and earth. Heavens is assembled of sticky paper (jak paper) stars (all cut by the kids to their own star pattern) and rubbed over with red, blue, silver, gold or purple glitter on the dark fabric. The earth I’ve painted a background of land river tree and sky and the kids have drawn fish birds, various animals from yaks to elephants dogs to peacocks which have been all stuck on. Looks amazing. The kids are all so nice to be with, No shouting or fighting they live in harmony and peace. Big helping small. They sit quietly chatting or giggling as they do things, soft voices. They are sharing everything and look out for each other as second nature.

I was sitting on the edge of the concrete porch watching the sun sink behind the mountains, the big red globe as it is here, most of the children playing ball with Julia and a little girl comes up quietly and sits by me, snuggling up. Every now and then looking up at me with a radiant smile. I am so happy.

Then off to the shops... strolling the streets with my hand firmly clasped by one of the college girls was an experience in itself... I’m not used to the whole girl holding handing thing, did have its advantage as she pulled me away from passing traffic! Purchase of odd things (4 cups salt, 12 cups flour, vinegar,) before back to the hotel for a girls lunch out. I had bailed up the restaurant manager to use his kitchen and he organized us to use one upstairs. It was much smaller than a bathroom! Oh my goodness, not good! Not a spoon or knife in the kitchen. 1 pot. Everything so so so very grimy!!! Dark brown walls (were white!) the odd cocky! They are not a small breed of cockroach here I must say!!

Anyway we all squeezed in and with a recipe firmly clutched in one hand and my travel spoon in the other produced 4 big batches of bright play dough. All lovely smooth and supple in yellow green blue & red! Astounded the local hotel lads and one was leaning though the internal window in awe giving me a hand to hold the handle-less pot over the gas fire!

Finally out to the children’s home where after a quick round of fairy bread for every one, Julia did the a story about a great flood and all the animals. We gave them each 4 chunks of play dough and bid them to create animals. Create they did, snakes were popular but dogs, turtles, a mouse, all manner of creatures came to life under their imaginative hands. Giggling happily at each others creations! Finally put it away for another day and a quick game of volley ball on the new "court" (evened out dirt) before moving along to the next event.

I showed the kids a blow up world and told them we ate with forks in Australia, that was OK, and in India we ate with our hands, again that was OK. Well children in China they eat with 2 sticks!! No Way !! Big eyes and disbelieving expressions!!

So we pulled out a pair of take away chop sticks for each kid and made up groups of 4 with a paper plate of gummi bears and smarties between them and the instructions no fingers! That kept them amused for ages! (Kept us amused watching them to!)

For the grand finale of the night we had drawn up some 'Nikko' pictures on 6 huge pieces of cardboard. (like a boat on the ocean with fish underneath swimming) then with some bright colorful tissue paper the small groups glued on pieces of tissue mosaic style. Whilst the kids were finishing this the house parents made a supper for us of cake and fruits and coffee, all set up in style! So with Vicky we sat there like 2 princess and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Their bedroom (a huge concrete box like room with mats and pillows stacked neatly in 2 corners) is looking colorful and happy with all their creative work hanging up!

The farm itself is neat and tidy but so very impoverished compared to the lushness of fertile QLD. Newly planted and growing well are a few neem trees, lemons pawpaw, mangos. Some the ground is hoed by buffalo and is neatly planted with tomatoes and egg plant etc A couple of grapes vines are trying to survive. Chooks, 3 cows and a puppy are the life stock.(hoping for ducks soon) All so neat and well cared for.

The home is rectangular concrete construction with basic rooms, one for sleeping, one is food preparation (and eating) porch running the length, concrete floors, some neon lights in the corners. No furniture bar 3 plastic chairs and coffee table. No kitchen bench, all the kitchen pots are stacked neatly in the corner near the (camp style) gas burner, and with these modest things the children are thriving. School during the day and tutoring in the after noon plus chores keep them busy. They all dance and sing with gusto. If only our Australian children could be so content with so little! (If anyone wants to sponsor a child is very worthwhile here.. let me know)

Watching their eyes light up and faces shine is the most fulfilling moment!

We rushed off to the markets this morning, not that anything we do in India is really a rush... rather we were going quicker than the general population. A quick stop on the way to photo opportunity a dozen people climbing off the roof of a jam-packed bus. No-one else stops in amazement.. just us.

Find a rickshaw, always easy because we tip well!! (10r =30c tip) Tackle the markets. Every shop sells a very narrow selection of goods. The rice shop for instance. Sells 10 varieties of rice, nothing else! the veggie shop sells only vegetables , the fruit shop sells only fruit, the pot and pan shop sells only pots and pans... so we rushed here to there hunting up the odd items we needed for today’s activities! Causing not a little chaos as English is not a well spoken language in the local shops and we were purchasing odd items for tourists in Koraput.. butter, 6 kg rice, 2 big spoons, could not find a whisk. (even though we drew a pictures and one of the store owners sent it from shop to shop trying to track it down for us) photocopying (2 pictures x 25copies taking 2 men 15 mins)

Anyway finally gathered up all the stuff required and with Vicky, got a rickshaw to the children’s home. I love pulling up there... the kids are positively bouncing!

Sometimes we look at them and smile and their smile back is so big, so intense that it almost heart stopping.

The day fled by with bubble making, big round bubbles that went floating off up into the sky, stories, juggling ball making (each kid got 2 balls that we helped them make and in a quiet moment you can see them whip them out and have a practice!) We bought the kids biscuits and each kid got one cream style biscuit. It took them ages to finish it as they carefully pulled them apart, licking the sweet icing with gusto and delight, finally crunching the biscuit with enjoyment. I found that the best value 18r I’ve ever spent!

We had the kids make A4 size fish, coloring them in bright colours and stapling them together with polyester fill inside to make them big fat fish and hung them from the ceiling. In swirls of colour they move in the breeze. Their room so bare at the beginning now looks fabulous with colourful artwork on the walls and hanging! The children go around gazing at it.

We then whipped up Pikelets! Sitting on the floor Indian style, with a bizarre selection of cooking implements, a wicked looking gas burner, and flour usually used for chapattis (only flour I could find.. first it was the plastic garden flowers the shop keeper thought I wanted) I managed to pull together some fairly decent Pikelets, generously anointed with Australian strawberry jam and they were offered around for general enjoyment.

I went looking for my camera and saw the kids, some back to the bubbles, some playing with their balls, some playing a memory game we have bought, the sun was easing down to late afternoon and there was happy laughter and chatting from all sides. Such a nice place to enjoy the days.