Two days of service for children from rural Karnataka, a lot of fun with a fantastic team bursting with enthusiasm , a trip to the historic Thungabadra river that witnessed the rise and fall of Vijayanagara empire , satisfaction that you were part of making a small difference in the life of a few children - all this made my trip as part of Project Samudaya to Raichur a unique experience.
Raichur, part of North Karnataka, is a small town that is 409 km away from Bangalore. Our plan is to conduct a health check up camp for about 1200 children from villages around Raichur. Raichur was worsly affected by the floods occurred in 2009 and the villages were almost destroyed. Cisco as part of project Samudaya adopted these schools around the area and also built houses for people whose houses were destroyed. This was the last program organized by Cisco in Raichur as part of project Samudaya. We started in Nanded express from Bangalore with a team of around 60 people. After a few minutes in the train I realized that I am in the company of a lot of energetic exciting people and all of a sudden the initial hesitation due to unfamiliarity went away.
We had a few briefings in the train with our team members and lead and yes you can't help attending meetings even in a trip :-). The whole trip was very well planned from the beginning and the facilities provided and co-ordination was excellent. As the train was late we reached Raichur by 10.00 AM and had to rush to the place after breakfast at hotel Kubera.
Day1
Our group of about 15 volunteers went to Thalmari a village about 40 kilometers far from Raichur. The destination was Kannada primary school Thalmari to conduct an eye check up camp. A team of refractionists accompanied us in the cab. The cab was going through the fields of cotton and paddy fields through the dry village road. After a while the Sun flower fields compensated for the journey through the bad road. We reached the school by 11.45 and rushed to set up the room and chairs for refractionists. We first screened children from 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Gireesha Shankar , Divya and Chitra were with me in the team and Satish joined later. Some children started crying after seeing us thinking we were there for vaccination :-). My job was most of the time to manage kids and noting down their names and issues after the initial screening. I was polishing my broken Kannada and most of the time it worked :-).
After the screening a list of children having issues with eye sight were identified and we handed over the list to the refractionists.
We had lunch followed by a meeting in the school where teachers and children expressed their thanks for conducting the check up.
In the evening while coming back we visited the Panchamuki Anjaneya temple. Reached back in Raichur by 7PM and roamed around Raichur town for some time with my friend Gireesh. While coming back we also met our friends roaming around the city.
Day2
The second day started very early. We started around 8.15 AM from Raichur. Our destination was the same school at Thalmari.
On the way we couldn't keep going seeing the beautiful Sun flower fields and there was a photo session by woman too :-). The second day our plan was to conduct a dental check up. Again we were separated into different groups and I joined a team of dentists with Anitha. Our job was noting down the names of children and the issues and we conducted check up for about 80 children. One disturbing thing was seeing a girl who came to school with her young sibling because mother was working away to support the family and nobody is there at home to look after the small child.
A meeting was followed and we left the school by around 1 PM. After lunch we went to see the Thungabadra river. The water level at Thungabadra was very less and villagers were crossing the river by foot, on tractors or on bikes. Watching it was a unique experience. We joined them for a while and crossed the river. Some one was telling that during the time of Vijayangara empire crossing the Thungabadra river was considered as a heroic act and they were rewarded by the king. Water is their or not we also joined those heros by crossing it by foot :-). We reached the hotel by 4.30 and had a small walk around Raichur town. Our train was late and we had a good time till reaching bangalore whether playing cards or singing songs while playing Antakshari.
My Take from Raichur
I had made a few trips to rural Karnataka in the last few years. Rural India is far behind whether it is education or health care facilities or living standards is my experience. Kerala may be an exception. Experience in Raichur was also the same.The government schools lack even the basic necessities. The disparity between the enrollment register and attendance shows that a lot of children are also dropping out in the middle. Most of the issues we face in urban life is not significant if we compare it with the rural life in India.
These are disturbing factors but I had the satisfaction that I was part of a group who was making a difference however small it is. The trip was very well organized and every one in the team showed dedication and enthusiasm for the jobs they were assigned. We had a lot of fun during the trip and every moment of the trip we enjoyed.
Kudos to Cisco Samudaya for this opportunity and a big thank you to every one who were part of it.
How to Reach Raichur
Raichur is the district headquarters and it is about 400 km away from Bangalore.
Trains are available from Bangalore to Raichur. KSRTC and Private buses are also available.
Places of Interest
See the following links for information about places to visit around Raichur:
Places of Interest in Raichur
Monuments in Raichur
Raichur is extremely hot so better to avoid visiting during peak summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment