VanTravels To Prime Trust.....India!

Welcome!

Thanks for visiting. I depart for Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry), India on December 15, to serve at a small NGO (nongovernmental organization) called Prime Trust for approximately five weeks. This small NGO is located on the coast of the southeastern state of Tamil Nadu. Prime Trust is dedicated to improving the lives of women and children through Self-Help Groups (SHGs) facilitated through microfinance tools. Programs including educational awareness campaigns aimed at women's rights, domestic violence education, HIV/AIDS awareness and health education motivate and assist the women in the community and surrounding area.

I hope to keep you posted of my experiences and share pictures with you of my journey. Feel free to post comments, suggestions, tips, your own experiences, good will wishes and prayers. Godspeed!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Me leading Simon Says during a break from our presentation

Two of the girls at Bonne Nehru school

All the school boys love getting their pic taken

Monday, January 4, 2010

Diabetes education campaign at Bonne Nehru School

Check out some pics of the kids (16 yr olds) at this rural school about 1 hour from Pondicherry in a city named Thirukkanur. Caroline from Ireland, Rosanne from Holland, Prabu, Prime Trust office manager and myself traveled via bus. We held the diabetes session for two hours one day and then returned on another day to conduct HIV/AIDS awareness. On the diabetes session day, we created an interactive game where some kids formed a cell line, some formed the pancreas, some acted out the part of food converting to glucose and the final group consisted of a group within the pancreas that acted as insulin cells. Then, we conducted two actions - one where the body was a normal working body with no diabetes and the other action showed the body's process or response when there is little to no insulin aka diabetes. It really drove the message home.