India

It took 48 hours of traveling to get here (including a very long layover in Singapore), but we finally arrived safe and sound in India. We got in late Wednesday night and made our way to the AIMS hospital on Thursday. We spent the day getting a tour of the hospital (it is incredibly massive!) and meeting different doctors. Then on Friday, we went back early in the morning and spent the day working. Another volunteer and I spent the first half of our day in the nnicu. The doctors and nurses there were very excited to have us and asked us to provide training classes for the nurses so that they could carry on with our massage work when we're gone. So this weekend will be spent putting together some slideshows and lesson plans for a class next week!

After the nnicu, we had lunch and then were taken to various ICUs to work on patients there. It turns out that a lot of the departments want their nurses to learn massage so that they can provide it to the patients, which is a good thing! It will help Heart Touch become a regular part of the hospital and add to the sustainability of the project, which is definitely a goal of ours.

It's been an exhausting week just getting here and working, but it's always rewarding to be appreciated. The parents of one of the babies I worked on approached me outside of the hospital to thank me. They were so sweet and I'm looking forward to seeing their little one again.

Unfortunately we can't take any pictures at the hospital, so I can't visually share the work we're doing with anyone the way I did when we were in Cambodia!

Babies!

Well, in one week, I will be en route to India! I'm still recovering from the end of the semester, so the excitement hasn't quite hit me yet. But what I am incredibly excited about is the fact that I will get to volunteer in the NNICU while in India! It turns out that I'm the only one on the trip who has extensive (or any) experience in the nnicu, so I get to be the one who volunteers in that area. And for that, I'm very excited. I love being in the nnicu here at home and have missed it since starting school, so I will be very happy to get back there. I'm sure I'll rotate around to other areas of the hospital as well, but knowing that they are eager to have someone experienced with the babies in there makes me very happy!

Getting Closer....

So my trip to India is a little over two months away now! I have been so busy with school that I almost keep forgetting that it's coming up. Of course, I have been aware enough (thank goodness!) to get all of my vaccinations, as well as a prescription for malaria meds, some Deet lotion and other assorted things I will need for my trip.

My fundraising is currently at about 61%, which is not quite to my goal, but it's still pretty good and I am just incredibly overwhelmed by each and every donation that comes my way. I know that times are really tough for everyone right now, so it's asking a lot to even ask for a little. I am extremely grateful for the support I have received from my friends and family so far!

Touching the Untouchables

Well, we finally had our first meeting for Heart Touch International! Even though the trip is 6 months away, there is a lot of planning to do, which is why we start the meetings early. It was great to see a few of my old friends and wonderful to meet the rest of the group that will be going with us. It feels like we are going to have as wonderful of a group for this trip as we did for our Cambodia trip. And that is SO important when doing this work. You need just the right mix of seriousness and light-heartedness, along with understanding, comfort and the ability to know when to give each person either the space or the hug they need.

We also learned more about the hospital where we will be volunteering: AIMS Hospital. Amma created this hospital so that everyone in India would have access to advanced medical care, regardless of their income or place in society. As a result, the hospital is very advanced and will be VERY different from the hospitals we visited in Cambodia. But, the patients at the hospital will be very much the same: the poorest of the poor. Or, the "untouchables," as they are known. And that is completely in line with the mission of Heart Touch: Touching the Untouchables. Those who others are scared (for whatever reason) to touch and show love and compassion to, those are the ones we will step in for and touch. To show them that they are worthwhile, they are loved, and they do matter. It is always so much more than a simple touch. We will offer what we can and while it might not be advanced medical care, it is emotional care, and those two can, and should, go hand in hand.

 (At work at the hospital in Cambodia)

Amma also has an orphanage that is a bit far from the hospital. So as of now, it looks like we will be spending most of our time at the hospital and not the orphanage. This is fine with me, as I'm happy to serve wherever I can. We will also have the opportunity to do "community outreach" and go into the more remote villages with hospital staff to do our work.


And so begins the planning! I have vaccinations to get, a visa to apply for, funds to raise, and so many other things to take care of. Good thing I have six months to do it all!

Meeting Time!

I just received my schedule for the meetings we will have for our India trip. The reality of the trip is starting to kick in! I'm excited to have our first meeting and see some of my friends that I volunteered in Cambodia with, as well as meet the other people who will be going with us on this trip.

Unfortunately, along with the schedule, we received news that the cost of the trip is increasing. I am still planning on sharing a room with my friend Terry to keep our costs lower and I will just have to budget more (and hopefully get some more donations between now and December!) to make it happen. But if there's one thing my friends know about me, it's that I WILL make it happen!

For whatever reason, this is usually about the point where my excitement mixes in with some anxiety and nervousness about the trip. I will be spending my winter "break" from a rigorous academic program to travel to India and work very hard every day. I know that it will be physically and emotionally exhausting. I will miss my home and the comforts that come with it. What am I doing?! I could take the time and money spent on this trip and take a relaxing vacation instead! Or I could stay home and relax a bit while working and getting an income, since I certainly don't get paid time off in my job! But I'll push the pettiness aside and remind myself that the need of the people we are going to serve far outweighs any of this. And, as with my volunteer experiences in Cambodia, with hospice and in the NICCU: the beautiful experience that I will have during this trip will be MORE than worth any sacrifices I have to make to take the trip. There is just so much fulfillment that comes when you give of yourself.

Fundraising!

And, my fundraising site is officially online:

Click here!

I have plenty of time between now and the trip to get closer to my goal and have heard from some friends who are planning on donating, but can't do it quite yet. And for that, I'm grateful! It's so true that every little bit helps and is appreciated, and if you know someone you feel might want to participate and help, please don't hesitate to send my site to them!

It's Official

I just received confirmation from Heart Touch that I will be going on the December/January trip to India this year! I'm incredibly excited to be doing another international trip with this wonderful organization! I'm also thrilled that two of my fellow volunteers from the Cambodia trip will be going to India as well.

As soon as my firstgiving fund-raising page is set up, I will let everyone know. Honestly, I wasn't even going to bother with the fund-raising for this trip because it always feels a bit strange to ask for money. BUT, a few people have expressed that they would like to donate and previous contributors have told me that they really liked being able to feel like they were a part of the trip, even though they couldn't physically go with us. So, I will put it out there again. Any and all contributions are incredibly helpful and appreciated (even a few bucks helps!)!!! And I am completely committed to covering the cost for whatever funds I can't raise. The time and monetary sacrifices I make for this trip will surely be worth it, just like they were for Cambodia. :) And, as before, I plan on blogging the trip so that people can see what they helped to make happen.

Time Flies

My how time flies! It's hard to believe that it's been over a year since my trip to Cambodia. Sadly I had to miss the trip this past year because I've been back in school. And I can say that my heart felt heavy with sadness when the other volunteers were over there with the kids. Of course, I was also thrilled that the kids were getting their attention, love and massages and loved getting status updates on them. The fact that they all knew immediately what the Heart Touch volunteers were there for and were demanding their massages right away was just heartwarming to hear.

Unfortunately, I will be in school during the next Cambodia trip as well. But I've heard that there might be a trip to India to do similar work during my winter break... I'll let you know what happens! :)