CHILDRENS PROJECT 2

Right. So. More detail.

I arrived here last Saturday night, utterly relieved to have got out of Mumbai. As we taxied off the runway you could see the shacks of the slums pressed up against the walls of the airport. As I think I intimated before, if one has any care for one's fellow man, Mumbai is a shock. I later read that the 18m people living there are being accentuated by unscrupulous politicians bussing people in and letting them live in the slums in return for votes. It was a Bollywood actress who was protesting about this. Clearly someone is trying to raise awareness. To my surprise, another actress (or rather 'actress') raising awareness is one Pamela Anderson who has personally written to the Mayor of Mumbai not to cull the stray dogs. She has suggested neutering them instead so as to stop them spreading the population. I am not sure, but I suspect Pam has never been to Mumbai as if she did, she would know that it simply doesn't have the resources to do such a thing. Having said that, the Mayor has apparently written a lovely letter back apologising that the cull has to go ahead but next time she is in town, she should pop in to see him and he would be happy to chat with her personally (he didn't mention that she could bring her two friends with her but I am sure that is taken as read).

Arriving at Bangalore and being driven to the School, though, was magical. I was not prepared for how lush and green India is - or at least this part of India, Kanataka. Once we started driving, I was staggered by the expanse. Coming from the UK, you are not used to feeling you are part of a vast country. I am sure this does something to the psyche. It effects the soul, as I am sure any Americans or Russians reading this will agree.

THe drive was, as I say, beautiful. We stopped off for a simple curry and enjoyed the heat and atmosphere. On the way, the standard of living I saw from the car was no worse than places like rural Turkey or Greece, in many instances better. Again, people didn't look unhappy. The beauty of the landscape was on offer, something I assume they didn't get in Mumbai.

It was a ten hour drive so arriving at the school I felt pretty numb. At first I was a bit scared. It was very dark and conditions were primitive. I was billeted in a small hut with another guy - a lovely bloke called Tom. There was very little light and one toilet/shower which the teachers used. But it was swarming with kids. And after the first night, to be awakened by the sound of the kids playing and the cawing of the birds was magical. Two days in I was smelly and stiff but just loving playing with these wonderful kids in this sublimely happy atmosphere. Although I was pleased to be moved temporarily to a house nearby for a week for accomodation, it hurt to leave the children, even after only a day or two.

So, the school. Its run by devotees of Indian Mystic and Guru Sai Baba. Michael and Alili, the couple who founded it, are dedicated to helping street kids and Untouchables have a chance to be safe, loved and educated. It was Sai Baba's idea as far as I can see and so far, is working wonderfully. If you saw these kids, they would break your heart with joy. There are about 40 of them, ranging from tiny little ones to teenagers. Over the weekend, they play all day - boardgames, a swing, a hammock - and that's about all. The openness and warmth they show is overwhelming. They are always giving you hugs, offering to do things for you, wanting to play. On my first day, barely awake, ten of them took me off for a walk. Two tiny hands appeared in my hands - a boy and a girl wanted to walk either side of me - and I was taken into the fertile plantation lands above the school for an adventure and a race through the leaves....

Untouchables are children who belong to the lowest level of teh Indian caste system. As such they have no real prospects and would normally never get near any kind of decent education. Some of the kids were found dumped on rubbish tips, most have alcoholic parents and histories of abuse and yet you wouldn't know it from the happines you see all around you. These are some of the most beautiful, joyous kids I have ever met. One of the teachers, Julia, said to me on the first day that she learnt from the kids. A few days in I knew exactly what she meant. It gave me more pause for thought. What is it we do to kids which turns them into unhappy adults? What are we doing to our own kids in the West that turns them that way? In this tiny school the possibilities for play are endless, even though the physical resources are virtually nil. These kids just love love love being alive and running around.

Its clear from the towns I have seen that ordinary Indian life is pretty tough. What Michael and Alili and the other volunteers working here have done is extraordinary. THese kids have an extended family of what I can only say is pure love. On the second day Michael brought four new kids and the way the others gathered round them, hugged them and vowed to take care of them was amazing. One kid, Suresh, who is known as my 'Limpet' because every opportunity he gets he jumps on me and wants to be carried around, could barely move when he came, it appears. After two months of real investment in him from Michael, he is now a joyous little kid.

Lives are being turned round here and little is being asked in return. It is very inspirational...

More later!