STET (short term exposure trip) - South India

The STET group and the Australian volunteers based in the Diocese of Madras recently went on a trip to Coimbature, Nilgiri Hills, Mysore and Bangalore. Mel writes: 'We arrived in Coimbature at 4.30am and were met by a few church committee members and taken to a local hotel for a few hours to sleep. We were then taken to the Bishop of Coimbatore's house for breakfast and given an amazing smorgasbord of western and Indian delicacies and welcomed with shawls and sarees for the girls and shirts for the guys. We headed to Ooty, which was unlike anything I've experienced here in India - very quaint and quiet on the side of a hill, very misty and beautiful. We then travelled from here to Gudalur and stayed in this amazingly secluded hotel for 3 nights (with no other guests) while during the day we visited tribal villages which again were unlike any villages I'd seen. Two of the three villages had seen white people only once or twice in their lives as they live a bit of a hike from civilisation. We went with the Project Officer for the integrated tribal development programme, which helps provide education through preschools and womens groups which has had a positive influence on the communities. I really enjoyed these tribal villages and though they spoke zero English and knew about as much Tamil as I do (they are being taught Tamil) I managed to make some deep connections with women to the extent that they felt comfortable enough to want to stand with me and hold my hand, dress me in their traditional dress, teach me their traditional dances and lead me out of the village through mud and muck. I must admit although I spent less than 3 hours with these women, I was feeling just as teary as them when I left them. It was a bizarre experience to connect so deeply with people that you don't speak the same language (at all) as!!
We visited a wildlife park and saw elephants, deer, peacocks, monkeys, bison etc on the way to Mysore and stopped briefly at a huge palace and had a look around before heading to UTC, the United Theological college in Bangalore, where we stayed for 2 nights. Bangalore is apparently the most western city in India, though I have very little to compare it to. We spent a few hours with a ministry to street children. The street kids are all boys who have no parents because of death or just being rejected, and forced to live on the streets. The social workers find these boys and bring them to the centre (much like an orphange or Indian hostel) where the boys are given, food, shelter, education, and most importantly love and hope. The social workers and wardens are amazing!! These boys are so sweet and well behaved and they performed a cultural program of Indian dramas and dances, then put on western music and we all boogied on down!!

For information about the People in Mission program, Kathy Periera, People in Mission Coordinator, Ph 02 8267 4230, kathyp@nat.uca.org.au