Odisha

Ate breakfast in our hotel ... and drank a decent cup of coffee :). Travelled 2 hours to the district of Bhadrak to visit another D.C. called Tihidi. We were met at the road by the kids and walked on a dirt road through rice fields to the orphanage. The orphanage surrounded a court yard complete with a water well and goats. The kids performed dances for us, the we played games, soccer and did the girls nails. Hugged and laughed tons. The girls bombarded me with their names which I tried to remember ....I managed a few but difficult as they say their first and last name together and I'm never sure where one ends and the next begins. But as usual the children were gracious with me and ..... I met some older girls who are taking nursing at a local college. GNI pays for their education until grad school. All the kids I asked had dreams for their futures- IT, military, teacher,comp engineering... dreams that most Indian kids living in poverty wouldn't dare to dream. Our guide Rama who is now the assistant director of GNI grew up in one of the orphanages after his mothers death and fathers subsequent incarceration. He now has an MSW and told me the kids in his village drop out of school early to work. He is now studying law:)
We left late afternoon and took the back way on foot and needed to walk through a few village yards and they graciously let us pass.
The ride home was long through the rain but we finally managed to arrive at GNI headquarters... and crashed. Looking forward to the INDIAN MARKET tomorrow!!!Read more