Kids With Destiny in India

Night of Hope Review

2008-05-09T18:49:00.000-07:00

Written May 3rd, 2008
Walking up to the location, an overwhelming and unique vibe impacted the success of this fundraising event. A comfortable atmosphere was centered around a swimming pool, which became the perfect stage opportunity for multiple musicians to perform. Attention was directed to the stage again as the main speakers began, such as Bonnie Long and Katelyn Gregg, whom spoke on behalf of the Buntain Foundation and Kids With Destiny. After dusk, tiki lanterns, candlelight, and flashes of the movie, Born Into Brothels, the Academy Award-winning documentary, illuminated the background.

Along with the night's warm embrace, the ultimate mood was truly set as three talented musical groups performed their smooth sounds throughout the night.

As people came in, Tiago Costa began with intriguing Brazilian lyrics. Following the main speaker, the acoustic sounds of Ty Warren captivated our guests attention while enjoying chocolate covered strawberries and cheesecake for dessert. Lastly, the smooth stringed duet of Ben Cave the violin and Michael Tavani on on the cello ended the night on a good note.
Specially made chai was distributed in gift cups to guests, as a small token of gratitude for supporting Kids With Destiny. As a result of this event, the future of Kids With Destiny has proved its roots into solid ground. Together with the support of parents, friends, partners, and other donors, we have pure confidence that the lives of children in Kolkata will be changed.

Special thanks goes out to Jon and Cari Beck, whom opened up their backyard for this event. Thank you for welcoming "the kids" and for your incredible hospitality in order to make this event possible. Also, a special thanks to David Ow for helping as our designated sound technician, David Depin for serving as our photographer, and thanks to all our friends who whom donated their talents and time as food servers. Lastly, thank you to Mary Wheatwho made food possible and to all those who should be mentioned, thank you for participating in a unique Night of Hope.

Final Art Auction at The ArtBar (Feb. 16th, 2008)

2008-02-17T10:22:00.000-08:00

The final art action, hosted by the ArtBar in Santa Ana, CA was packed with an overwhelming amount of art, people, food, and entertainment. Nicole, the owner of the ArtBar, told the Kids With Destiny team, “I had never before seen such a wide variety of exquisite art pieces for one of the fundraising events before.” The night began slowly during the first film viewing in the mid afternoon, but things picked up by the time of the live auction. People came into the tight gallery space, getting short glimpses of the artwork in between hustling people who were still entering, but before long, seats were taken. To begin the auction they displayed about twenty-five original pieces and then for the rest of the hanging burlap Nicole lead something she called a “reverse auction” where people who wanted to select their favorite pieces could take them home for a set price above $25. Overall, after expenses were paid, we came out raising about $3,000 from the donated art. We are so appreciative to the many dynamic artists who came in to donate their time and talents. The funds that were raised at this event will go directly into building free health care clinics in a red light district of Calcutta, India. The dream of having children in the Hope House is more possible because of this fundraiser and we cannot be more appreciative to see the efforts of people uniting in the west to help oversees.

Opening Auction at The ArtBar (Feb. 2nd, 2008)

2008-02-17T10:10:00.000-08:00

Captivated by the decorative, hanging burlap, many onlookers stopped into the ArtBar on this particular Saturday night. This Kids With Destiny art fundraiser began at the beginning of the month and will continue through the end of February by using the ArtBar’s back gallery to display donated art. Our team was able to meet many new people, who have never heard about our efforts before this event. It was refreshing for us to talk to others who knew little about Kids With Destiny, and to later, send them out with a growing knowledge of our organization, the issue of sex trafficking, and the sense of empowerment to finish their our burlap art piece before our final auction in short two weeks. Overall the opening auction was a success in reaching our goal to inspire others, rather than, to reap in funds.

Sending another representative...

2007-09-05T09:49:00.001-07:00

INTRODUCING: Erin Law

Erin will be traveling to India on behalf of Kids With Destiny on September 24th!!!

Erin graduated from Vanguard University with a Psychology degree in 2006. Since then, she has been flying back and forth between here and her hometown in Shamong, New Jersey.

Erin is a wonderful blessing on this group: She is a new spark of energy for us busy college girls ☺ We love her commitment to the cause and to the people of India and we know her caring heart will be tied to this effort forever, especially after she invests into friendships made on her trip.

She is a beautiful woman of God, who is devouted to serving those who are bound by the injustices of poverty, abuse, and the submission to false idols. Keep Erin in your thoughts and prayers as she embarks on her first journey to India for the next 3 months!!!

We're Home!!!

2007-06-07T00:59:00.000-07:00

Our tripis over and we got back safely :) We cant wait to share our experiences with everyone in the states, but even though we are back I am still going to try to post some great photos and such. Thanks again for checking this blog!

Peace & Love,

Jenna, Lizzi, and Katelyn

LaSt DaY!

2007-06-03T22:12:00.001-07:00

Its so sad to wake up and know that today is our last day here. I, personally, feel that I can't go back. There's just no way- it seems impossible to think that we have to leave this place, these people, and it feels like we have to do so much more that there's no way that we could leave right now.

In the last week, we have done so many things for the first time and it saddens me to know that we are unable to return to those places, those kids, or those women and children of whom we have served. I know Kate has said that she also feels torn away, especially because she has rekindled the relationships from her first trip to India two years ago and now she has to leave abruptly. Lizzi loved the Indian children: the ones on the street, at the feeding program, and especially in the pediatrics wing and she is sad to leave all her kids.

We are leaving today and I ran out of time to write. We are running around like crazy finishing up last minute everything and still trying to enjoy every last second here. Good bye India- hopefully I'll write more before we take off but if not- see ya at home!
-Jenna

ps We got Lizzi's photos to upload yay!!! All the photos in this entry are taken by Lizzi :) This last photo was taken right outside of the Hindi "funeral home" but it has thisodd flash of light inthe middle. A flash like that has never happened in any of our pictures before! Really weird.

Day 19: In the Well Ministry

2007-06-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

Today was an exciting day for Kate. We met up with friends from when Kate was here two years ago. She worked closely with their ministry called 'In the Well'. The ministry has developed into a coffee house, a few church services, and other small group things for people in the Kalighat area (don't get confused with the House of Charities location that we served at in the beginning of our trip). Kalighat is an area that serves as a suburb of Kolkata. It is also well known for being one of the smaller red light areas. The people that the In the Well ministry serves are those women and children that have become drawn into this lifestyle. They have provided many opportunities to help get women out of that way of life and they are witnessing to many children.

Kate was able to lead the program with music and a short sermon. They loved it and I did too- that girl is so gifted. Its fun to see Kate up in front for the different services: Chapel devotions at the hospital, in front of large crowds in a huge church, and intimate with kids in a impoverished area.

Also there’s this amazing story that Katelyn shared with Lizzi and I that I wont do justice trying to repeat it on this blog but I’ll try. Kate met a woman who was a prostitute through this ministry 2 years ago when she came before. Over the last two years Kate has been in the states praying for her life to change. Well- she was healthy, out of the brothels, and seeking God. Praise the Lord!

Wow! One last day! Amazing things have happened here, I dont want to leave!

(Day 20: Sunday was out church day. We went to two services: one in the morning and one at night. Kate sang with the girls group of singers and the band for worship and then she had an awesome solo. There was some funny improve when Kate was surprised that all the women included a few choreographed moves into their songs. It was actually hilarious watching her trying to pick it up- her eyes looked so shocked- she managed though. Then the girls and Paul mostly finished painting and I spent time with our dear friend Rebecca at her host family’s house. I ended up spending the night there- it was a rad experience. Rebecca’s hard core to stay with a Bengali family this whole summer! Im proud of her cause I don’t know if I could do it, hehe.)

Day 18: Tour with Amitabh & More

2007-06-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

At the crack of dawn at 6am, we woke to beat the traffic on our exclusive tour through Kolkata with our favorite comedian, Amitabh. He wanted to show us the city, “Though his eyes,” as he had said. We went everywhere!!!

He took us through the parts of town that go unseen- really showing us where the poor live. Its crazy to think that all the people that we have seen on the streets are few in the mass numbers of people, who are moved to the borders of the city lines. The poorest of poor live on top of trash (literally), on muddy river-banks, and crammed into small homes with their entire family (Grandparents, parents, kids, aunts/uncles, cousins, etc).

Sorry guys, I always fail to express on this blog the emotions felt through seeing these things. Really I’ve used the same adjectives over and over like ‘unbelievable’, ‘incredible’, ‘amazing’, ‘astounding’, and really I’m just hoping that you know that through my lack of descriptive words that these things truly are just mind-blowing. It’s hard to even describe in person-let alone on an online journal. So keep that in mind as I continue on with pictures to describe what I cannot…

We went on a boat across the Ganges (an outlet of that river) and really got a great view of the whole city around us. One of the last things we did on the tour was going to a Hindu funeral/burning temple. Bold Amitabh really wanted us to see and understand the Hindu rituals for the dead. So he charged the way, leading us into the actual “funeral procession” where we really got a first hand look ---anyway we really know and understand the importance of how Hindi’s seek salvation. That was crazy.

We returned in the afternoon after over 4 hours of touring. Later, we went to the store to buy toys and coloring things for the kids in the pediatrics wing of the hospital. When we gave all the new toys- not only did all the babies and kids love them but you could see the joy in the families to have something else to entertain their kids for a while. We played in there for a long time and some of us prayed over the kids for their current situations.

Our hospital serves many of the sick in Mother Theresa’s Ministries. There are always sister’s here waiting and praying for the patients. In the pediatrics ward, two of the young boys were from their orphanage and they both were extremely sick. It was heart breaking to see them without a family surrounding them like the other children- it was even more heart wrenching for all of us to leave them. What blew my mind the most is the fact that that has been in the same hospital since we’ve been here! I cant believe that we have not been down there sooner to share time with kids and their families in that special place.

Man the day was hard on all of us- not only because of the lack of sleep building up, but also we encountered some heavy stuff throughout the day. And its still not over…

The girls all went to a shopping center in a wealthy district to intentionally buy things from the Sanlaap store to support that organization. The idea behind the stores in this shopping center is to sell merchandise created by the poor and sell it to the wealthy. There is great support for this by merchants and buyers in this area and we were happy to see the infrastructure being built up within the Indian economy. We were happy to shop and happy to support :)

After that Rebecca and I went to youth group at the church and then we all met up with Paul later that night to paint. A long day with powerful and moving things to do and see- be praying for all of us on our last days here. Each day seems to past faster than ever and tearing us away from India will not be an easy thing to do at this point.

Peace
-Jenna

Side note: Thanks to Katelyn we have some really awsome photos!!!

More on India...Photos, photos, PhOtOs!!!

2007-06-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

Bathing in yucky water holes and the filthy river is commonin the outskirts of Kolkata. On trips to see different sites around the city we have seen the most disgusting waters- the water here is used for everything!!! Its unreal.

These are the keys used in India :)

Umbrellas are everywhere, not to escape from the rain but the heat!

People here carry ridiculously heavy loads on their heads! Ouch

There is a ridiculous number of cows in India because in the Hindi faith- the cow is thought to be a god. Watch out on the roads because the last thing you want to do is hit a cow (Katelyn knows first hand the importance of stopping at all costs, hehe).

Other fun adventures...

2007-05-31T21:49:00.001-07:00

Katelyn singing at the morning devotions

Shopping with friends (Lizzie, Paul, Bjoy and Jenna in photo)

Day 12-15: Working with Sanlaap (Tues-Thurs)

2007-05-31T02:42:00.000-07:00

* I have a ton of photos to update but I have just had no time to upload them- you'll see them- I promise :)

We traveled ahead of the feeding truck as it stopped about 6 times along a country road. The feeding line is only for women and children. These remarkable people walk for miles from their little villages, deep in the brush, to the main road where the food is distributed each day (except for Sundays). Its unbelievable how they get there: sometimes the children come on their own or with their siblings to represent their families. These children are mostly all under the age of 12.

Over the last few days we have been going and going. At 5am we’ve gotten up two mornings to drive to the outskirts of Kolkata to see children and women at the feeding lines, another ministry branch off the hospital. To our surprise, the most timid and sweet group of children were waiting at one of the feeding lines. We returned a second morning prepared to entertain with special magic tricks we bought, as well as, a frisbee! Those kids were so cute, we had a ton of fun!!!

Meeting and seeing the inner workings of Sanlaap, an amazing organization that helps combat human and sex trafficking, has been the most exciting thing that we’ve been up to lately. Thanks to Ambitab, we met Indrani Sinha, the top CEO woman, of this incredible company. Yesterday we were able to be guests at a fully functioning home for rescued sex trafficking victims. The day was indescribable, we were overwhelmed with seeing our passions and dreams for our future home, called the HOPE house, come alive in the young girls that came to this place after being rescued from their past situations. We met counselors, house moms, administration staff, people involved with the raids themselves, as well as, 120 smiley girls that that home serves.

Tonight we went to work in their Drop-In Center, near one of the red light districts. This was AMAZING!!! Rather than before, at the last house for trafficking victims, we hung out with a small group of students that were the children of prostitutes. There were about 10 young girls between 12 and 17 and just a handful of about 5-6 boys that seemed older (more like volunteers). The girls taught us how to dance the traditional East Indian dance (really we were just watching them- and just goofing off) and then we shared some good times in song and games.

Its amazing to see the differences in the needs of the two different lives of children: the life of a victim and the promise for a better future compared to the life of a child born into an inevitable fate of prostitution with no hope for their dreams to be fulfilled.
(Unfortunately, though we were not allowed to take photo’s at the Sunlaap home.)

Painting is a job that pays on average about a dollar a day! It is very uncommon in this culture to see Americans, or even women, painting! We were constantly being watched by the guards and extra hired help from the hospital; I guess we stirred up a bit of confusion for our East Indian friends:)

We’ve been up late nights, painting in the Diagnostic Center of the Hospital. All three of us led by Paul, our good friend and grandson of the hospital’s founders, have been laying the primer and two top coats of paint to the entire lobby area each night till like 11ish! I think this is about a five night process to complete the project. It’s really all just so exciting to serve in any way we can while we are here.

I really wanted to go into more details with describing these things but I have barely found enough time to write this blurb so maybe these pictures could show our encounters better :)

UPDATE!

2007-05-29T04:45:00.000-07:00

**Mother Theresa's updates are done on blog days 6-7. Journal entries from each of us!

Day 9-12: Weekend Overview (Fri-Mon)

2007-05-29T04:44:00.000-07:00

Well, after a little blogger sabbatical we are ready for an update!

Friday: We all split up in the morning, Jenna at Kaligot, Lizzi spending some down time and me in a meeting with Hospital administration and Buntain Foundation leadership to discuss Kids with Destiny. In the afternoon we went out to a blind school outside the city. WOW! Most of the kids were gone for break, but we got to meet a few students, hang out with the chickens they are raising (real cute!) and sit with the founder – he told us so many amazing stories of caring for 8 kids in his home and now running a boarding school of 120 kids that would otherwise spend their lives without help – humbling!

Saturday: Day of Rest! We were all pretty beat! We enjoyed going to lunch with some young ladies who worked in the Hospital. They were all recently married and we got an education on how an Indian Hindu gets married – quite the affair! It was nice to spend time together in our room and rest up and be girls!

Sunday: Church – we have all fallen in love with the church here! After church we enjoyed a three hour lunch/conversation with the founder of the mission Dr. Huldah Buntain. She told us her stories of coming to India, the trials she and her husband Mark went through, her close personal friendship with Mother Teresa and her dreams for the future… at 80+ years old, this woman has unbelievable passion for India! We felt really honored to have that time! That night, after another service, we went to the Pastor’s home and enjoyed talking and eating KFC with his family☺ Later we went on the roof with some of our Indian friends our age and enjoyed an evening ‘under the stars’ (In India you have to pretend they really are there even though you can never really see them!)

Monday: In the morning we went with Amitabh (One of the Hospital CEO’s and close link with Kids with Destiny) to see the KWD property for the HOPE HOUSE!!!! We were pretty excited!!! It is outside the city, lots of space and trees, quiet homes around… we climbed up a neighbor’s house to get a better view – I’ve gotta say it, I was amped!!
That afternoon we went shopping for cleaning supplies and paint for our ‘midnight raids’ on the hallways of the hospital that need some love….call us the merry maids! Our friend Paul Long is heading up that project and the next several nights will be spent painting.

-Katelyn

Day 8: Photos by Lizzie

2007-05-24T13:05:00.001-07:00

-Coming Soon!-
Actually...we are having some technical difficulties with getting the photos from Lizzie's memory card onto my mac, hopefully we'll be able to figure it out because her pics are awesome! Be ready for the update :)

Lizzie, Kate, and I just wanted to thank all of you who have been checking this blog, especially those who have been consistent. Your comments of support are encouraging while we are here! I know it can become addicting to check blog updates and we are really trying to stay consistent with our posts but I just wanted to let ya’ll know that we will post one long blog after the weekend is over, probably on the 11th day. So enjoy your weekend and thanks for hanging in there, and moreover, for being so supportive!
-Jenna

Day 8: Photos by Jenna

2007-05-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

-Needs no words

Photography by Jenna

Day 8: More Photos in the Mix

2007-05-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry there's no subtitles to these photos but it goes along with what Kate said in the entry below. We basically spent the day with the staff from the Buntain Foundation, checking out a new hospital property, and then we went sight seeing around the city! The day ended with young friends that we met through this organization at a movie:)

There were just so many things to see. Here are more photos mixed in by all of us...

Day 8: Insight from Kate

2007-05-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

Today was a different day…. It started with hospital Chapel where I brought in the ole’ guitar and played and sang for the hospital staff. When we woke up our door was absolutely wet from the humidity and so were our bodies all day today! Note to self: Do not tune a guitar in the humidity and then play in an air conditioned chapel – bad sound!
The three of us girls joined an entire entourage of hospital administration and staff members in a caravan to a new project outside the city. The drive took over an hour and it was intense for sure…. The horn is the number one priority to staying alive on trips like these. We were told that we were going to a rural hospital clinic that would be a new project for the Buntain Foundation, I pictured a dirt hut, but it turned out to be a beautiful clinic in the middle of the ‘tropical India’ that you see in pictures. We all got really excited about the possibilities for this place in the future! It is really exciting to see the Buntain Foundation grow in front of our eyes with all these new projects!
We got back, took a half hour to dry off and then headed out again for some ‘site seeing’ with one of the hospital staff named Carissa. It was really neat to see the city and we enjoyed the freedom to take as many pictures as we wanted. Back again for a quick rest and then we enjoyed the evening with our friend Paul and new friend Raul. Paying only a dollar we partook in the Movie “Spidar Man III” although I think we were more entertained by the random cat wandering through the theater, the intermission (Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” as background music) and the way that we seemed to be more of a source of entertainment then the movie. It was a full day but also kind of a breather from our last few days.

-Photos & Post by Katelyn

** Reflections from our Experiences from Sister’s of Charity are in Progress**

Day 6-7: Joining Sisters of Charity

2007-05-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

Mother Theresa's Tomb

Day 6-7: Reflections on Mother Theresa’s House of Charities

By Jenna:
On Monday we went to Mother Theresa’s house to register to volunteer with her ministries called the House of Charities. Being in this city alone has made me understand the importance of this woman’s love. She has transformed the country’s knowledge of what it is to serve by faith. To Mother, any person was capable to give and receive love regardless of caste, religion, or their place in society.

We’ve seen some crazy things- beginning with our first day at Mother’s House when we walked in on the novice nuns praying at Mother’s tomb (Just a week before they will take their vows, in which they will be committing the rest of their lives to an oath of poverty and continuing Mother’s ministries).

Also I went to Kalighat to serve the women who have been in a state of extreme need due to their old age, mental loss, or health. It was intense. The oldest women were at the entryway, swimming in their simple clothes to cover their little bodies. The sisters suggested that we bring lotion so that we can give the women massages. The smallest women were pretty much just bones; it was unbelievable.

I spent most of my free time (time not working in the kitchen, on dishes, or on laundry) singing to this one woman at bed number 51. “She has no name and no story,” the sisters told me, “Just found on the street and brought here to pretty much live the rest of her days”. I call her ‘my favorite grandma’ because she was so into hearing my attempts to sing in tune. It was so cute, she would hold one of my hands in hers and then lightly clap to the “off” beat with her other hand. Aww… good memories. I have just so much love for those strong women, who have just lived such hard lives. Though despite the pain and heartbreak filled in that place, I’m not entirely sad to see them at Kalighat, it is a much better place for these women, rather than the streets.

I’m done. I can’t wrap this entry up with a sentence or two- I just need to stop. Just know that there are so many more visuals that haunted me into a long hours of sleepless nights from my experiences. Faith, service, care, compassion, death, trauma, gosh, despair, hope …God.

By Katelyn:

Sometimes I struggle to sum up days like the ones spent with Missionaries of Charity… there is nothing like it. I spent time in two houses, Daya Dan and Kaligot. Daya Dan is a home for physically and mentally handicapped boys, abandoned to the care of the Priest and the sisters. I had never worked with kids like these before…. I think if I knew the details before we went I would have been way more hesitant, but in the midst of it there was a lot of joy and laughter. We brushed teeth, helped with the bathroom (I will spare the comical details), washed and dressed, restrained, played, fed, sang and lifted… I think I definitely have more muscles after moving some of those guys around. They are the face of Christ. We said this prayer before we went and even while we were there that reminded us that the privilege was ours to serve. I left drenched in sweat, small clumps of hair missing (one little sucker really liked it!), covered in various liquids, but truly from the deepest part of me feeling privileged to have been with these kids!
My afternoons were spent at Kaligot, I had served there before on an earlier trip to India, so I felt more prepared with these women. Giving hand rubs with lotion, cleaning dirty beds, massaging sore joints and feeding. Although I was more prepared for what I would see there, I was not prepared to see one of the ladies we were caring for pass away in front of us. I watched her struggle in her last moments of life, her body beyond repair from her years abused by poverty. When the sheet was pulled over her head I felt tears rolling down by face. I sat on a nearby ledge and took in the rows of beds with dying women, the same thought in my mind from that morning – it is my privilege to mourn this women’s passing, if not my tears then whose?
I have been learning more about following Christ by having my heart wrecked by the things that God sees when he looks at the mess of humanity. It makes joy more rich to taste sorrow, it makes blessing more profound in the presence of poverty, and love? Love first for Christ who teaches us to love and then love for those our lives touch (our neighbors), that is what it comes down to. Someone asked last week what was my one desire, not sure I can narrow it to only one, but to live a life marked by love has been my increased heartbeat here in Calcutta.

By Lizzi:

I had the privilege to serve at two of Mother Teresa’s homes; Daya Dan, a home for mentally and physically handicapped boys with ages ranging from 4-13 and Kalighat, a home for the destitute and dying. Upon arival, both homes had extremely minimal instruction given to new comers as to the daily tasks of a volunteer. At times I felt in the way of people that had devoted a month to even a year or more at serving in the homes on a regular basis.

Daya Dan has a tight schedule it follows each day in order to keep a busy routine for the boys. My favorite part of the day was sitting on the floor in a circle to sing songs and dance. Some of these boys cannot even walk on their own but they love nothing more than for you to pick them up so they can dance. One boy in particular had the biggest grin on his face that will forever be imprinted in my mind.

Kalighat has a much slower paced day. Most of the woman are too weak to even leave their beds. One of my afternoons at Kalighat was spend with a lady I didn’t even know the name of. As I gave her wrinkled and frail hands a massage and sang her a little song, her tired body collapsed into my arms. There she lay for the next hour. I could feel her soft heart beat as I rubbed her bony back. I work her up for dinner and then it was time to go. Volunteer hours were over; that was probably the last time I was ever going to see that woman hear on this earth. Because of the language barrier, I can only hope that someone else had the chance to share the good news of Christ to her. Hopefully I will see her again someday in Heaven so we can chat.
“How do we love God whom we do not see, if we do not love our neighbors whom we do see, whom we touch, and with whom we live?”
–Mother Teresa

Street Children…

2007-05-23T06:04:00.000-07:00

A foreigners greatest commodity coming away from India is the chance to take an amazing photograph depicting the culture of the people without offending those around them. It is easy to look like a tourist: just take your camera out. Though in India, you can’t just start snapping photos everywhere- and you are going to want to with the great and many things to see. You have to be very cautionary to when and where you take your photos. Usually my photographs have been taken in a bus, a car, or from afar (no rhyme intended, hehe).

In specific cases like street children, offending a parent or onlooker is an easy mistake if you take the photo openly. These pictures of street children were all captured as discreetly as possible (meaning you get the camera ready, turn the flash off, and pray you get the shot you want as you walk by with the camera barely out of your purse). Though, oddly enough, because of time and circumstance, the last photo (my personal fav) was a picture I was able to get because the mother let me (she was selling fruit to my right and smiling as I photographed her adorable baby).

-Jenna

See India for yourself...

2007-05-23T04:25:00.000-07:00

Bathing in the street is a common thing to see most especially in the early morning and at night. The water here is used for everything (cleaning, cooking, bathing, etc) and in the streets there are sewage outlets that people can obtain from the “fire hydrant” of sorts. Though we can get really sick, this is what these people have grown up with their whole lives and their immune systems can take it. We drink from water bottles, they drink from sewage. Seems hardly fair, right?!

My friend and I were talking about why she, as a very pale skinned girl, was starred at so intently here. Not only is the difference between a foreigner and an Indian noticeable due to the skin tone (blond hair and/or blue eyes), but also, because all women dress in sari’s or to a modest Indian standard. Men are dressed very westernized but they expect women to not expose any shoulders or knees (Midriff can show under sari’s if the woman is married or old). We don’t dress outside of Indian custom but our version of modesty is a tee shirt and a long skirt or loose pants. Therefore, our style is still very unique depending on the designs we select to wear, which are still a commodity amongst the poor :(

The Mosque blares through the streets five times a day over megaphones that are connected at the top of the nearest Mosque in the city. They begin with their first prayer time at around 3:30-4 am (I’m not too sure)! The Muslims are required to stop and pray facing toward Mecca (west) and get on their knees and bow their heads toward the ground. It’s a gnarly lifestyle I guess.

Construction is done by intricately securing large bamboo-looking wood poles together. The basically tie a rope onto the person and secure it like a rock climbing belay, but without any expensive equiptment- so really its hardly safe at all.

-Jenna

See India for yourself...

2007-05-23T02:49:00.000-07:00

India obtains 40 percent of the world’s poor, and 80 percent of that live on less than 2 dollars a day (Calcutta, www.kidswithdestiny.org).

The British colonized India and later were pushed out by a nonviolent movement led by Ghandi in the 30's and early 40's. If you visit today, you can clearly see how the British left their mark within Indian society in many ways. Notice the cars. Also you drive and walk on the left side. Weird. The more traditional ways of transportation are to use those two-wheel handcarts that carry people or things. Though the Indian people have changed with the more modern times, you can still see that they have kept some low-cost ways of doing things.

The languages spoken here are English (British influence), Hindi (national language), and Bengali (we are in the state of West Bengal). To be well educated you would learn Bengali and then English as secondary languages in school. Pretty much everything is written in English and the educated can speak fluently- there is hardly a language barrier until you get to the poorer parts:(

Americans have also influenced Indian society too in many ways through their media. Ads fill the streets about films, clothes, and other commodities that are modernized as cool in the American standpoint.
-Jenna

Day 5: Taking care of more KWD Business and Getting Anxious to Serve

2007-05-22T09:32:00.001-07:00

Sorry ya’ll, I never posted this yesterday because in the afternoon we began a three-day commitment to serve at the House of Charities (Which is Mother Theresa’s Ministry that she started with the sisters). We will be working with the House of the Dying and the Destitute, called Kalighat, and the other house we will be working with is Daya Dan, which is for disabled children. There is just so much to say…from all of us… so we are going to take some reflection time and we will share our experiences again with you later this week (probably on the 8th day). Anyway, here is the blog entry that I began writing on the 5th day…enjoy the break :)
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Over the next three days we will be doing various things so I’m not too sure how it will look but this morning Amitabh took Lizzie and I on a tour of the hospital, nursing school, and he showed us other projects that the Buntain Foundation has provided.

Other than that, a lot of today has basically been dedicated to a project for the business side of Kids With Destiny: Katelyn has been staying up for hours to meet with the board and take many tours, and all three of us have been working on coming up with a storyboard for our video that we will need to shoot while we are here. We are scheduled for a meeting tonight at 10pm with Amitabh to pitch our idea and to discuss the needs we have for filming. Kate, Lizzie and I worked on the idea for a while today and although I shouldn’t say much, I can say that it is going to be SWEET and I can’t wait to start

Day 4: Taking Care of KWD Business

2007-05-20T16:09:00.000-07:00

Today is the 20th of May and it is a beautiful Sunday morning. We slept for about 14 hours yesterday (Talk about jet lag!). Though, waking up is never very difficult for us early risers. The time difference is about a 12 ½ hour difference so when it is time to wake up at 7am here it is about 6:30 or dinner time in California. It has been an interesting adjustment but we are managing. Today will be spent first at the Assemblies of God church all morning and then we are meeting up with many of the head people from the Buntain Foundation.

This afternoon we had our first meeting with Omnitab, who is the director of the Mercy Mission Hospital and our personal connection man to the Buntain Foundation in India. Later tonight we will meet with him again to finish discussions about the life of Kids With Destiny.

We also hung out in our room with Bonnie Long, who is the daughter of the founders of the Buntain Foundation. Katelyn and Bonnie are long-time family friends but Bonnie is also a very influential person to our organization, her input is very important to the direction of this non-profit. The cool thing about meeting with Bonnie was that it was casual and unplanned. She wondered into our room after hearing Kate, Lizzie and I just goofing around while singing “Lean On Me”; I guess our singing was blazing through the hall of the entire 6th floor! Eventually, conversation turned into talking about the progress of Kids With Destiny. Bonnie became enthralled by some of our media when we showed her the website www.kidswithdestiny.blogspot.com, this blog, and a dvd promotional video for KWD (copies of the DVD are available upon request by email to kidswithdestiny@gmail.com. She loved them all and gave us her blessings, support, and has become our new hero in many ways by the end of our conversation. We cant wait to spend the rest of the week with her!

-Jenna

Day 3: What an AMAZING Culture!

2007-05-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

We showed two little neighbor girls how to catch a frisbee on the first morning. Thanks to Mel's genius idea to bring balloons, we were also able to give them some balloons to keep. Isn't she darling?!

The baby in the photo below (last post) has black paint under his eyes because it is customary for a baby to have a black placed on them so that someone may not cast a nazar, or "evil eye" on them. The black is so that people will notice this, rather than the beauty of the child.

This is our view from our window at the hospital!

Day 3: What an AMAZING Culture!

2007-05-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

After a total of 38 hours of travel we finally arrived in Calcutta at about 10:45pm on the 18th of May. We were picked up by a man that works for the Buntain’s, Origit. We stayed one night at The Baptist Missionary House, a house that is run like a bed and breakfast for missionaries. We met some awesome people from Denver and Canada that are doing some incredible works! We only stayed there for one night because we were to stay the rest of the time at the Mercy Hospital under the watch of the Buntain Foundation.

It is too dangerous to go out alone for our first few days, so we have had to wait until friends from the Buntain Foundation could guide us. Philip, a pastor that works here at the hospital is pretty much responsible for our safe keeping. He is an old friend of Katelyn’s from the first time she came to India. He escorted us to a local restaurant called One Step Up. We ate a very authentic Indian meal of Tandori Chicken, Chicken Marsala, Lentils, and Nan. I never knew that you eat with your meals with your bare hands and not with utensils! Also, it is very impolite to eat with your left hand because it is thought of as unclean. It was so fun and very different to eat a meal according to Indian customs!

-Jenna

Day 1-2: Time Lapse in Singapore

2007-05-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

More photos from Singapore...

Day 1-2: Time Lapse in Singapore

2007-05-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

Photos from our 9 hours walking around and exploring the beauty of Singapore, Indonesia on our way to India.

Meet the Team: Lizzie, Katelyn, and Jenna

2007-05-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

Here we are, just three girls going to India :)

We are only three, out about six others, who are deeply invested into the non profit, Kids With Destiny. Lizzie, Kate, and I have been able to represent KWD in India to members of the Buntain Foundation, which is our "mothership" organization that funds our campaign and encourages our vision. We are here mostly to represent KWD, establish the logistics of this non prof, and to meet those in which we will be serving.

Katelyn will tell more about what we are doing in a bit...

Thanks for reading this blog! Feel free to email us or visit our other sites :)

Meet the Team: Jenna

2007-05-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

Jenna

- Where were you born? Washington

- What is your major at Vanguard University? Communications emphasis in Intercultural Studies and a minor in Religion

- Fav. Quote: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” –Ghandi

- Currently Reading: Travel books geared towards this trip, for example, info books on India, Indian culture, Ghandi, and Mother Theresa.

- Fav. Drink: Hot Tea- straight up/no sweeteners

- How did you become involved with Kids With Destiny? I first became aware of the human trafficking industry through a weekend seminar at VU in March 2007. A good friend, Katelyn, and I started up conversation about helping out with KWD. By April, I was attending meetings and I was thrown into the passion my first week with the work for the very first KWD event, a movie viewing of Born Into Brothels at VU. I was completely compelled for the work that Kids With Destiny had begun and I was drawn in by the passion of nine other young women that love the Lord, work hard, and sacrifice their own time all for a great cause. When I joined I did not think that KWD would be a top priority in my life because I first plugged in simply to help by offering my talents of design to the group, though now, God has provided a way for me to be here in India and I am so excited for this chance to represent the rest of Kids With Destiny, here in Calcutta.

- What is something you look forward to while in Calcutta? I am most looking forward to seeing the H.O.P.E. House. There is a construction plan on the way to build a home for up to 50 young girls who have the will to leave the Red Light and escape their likely fate of becoming prostitutes. There are few opportunities for girls to escape this occupation due to the lack of resources that they, as women in the lower class society, will fail to gain. The H.O.P.E. house provides an outlet for these young girls. It is one our main focus for Kids With Destiny and it will be an exciting thing to see the red lights, the H.O.P.E. house and meet in person young women who will have the opportunity to live in this home.

- Random thoughts from Jenna:
I LOVE to rough it and I HATE the nature to be materialistic. For example, my bag of clothes weighed 5.3 lbs when we left LAX for this trip! Its not something that a lot of people know about me but I guess my “Washington girl” side comes out in times like these :)

Meet the Team: Katelyn

2007-05-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

Katelyn

- Hometown: Kalispell, Montana

- What is your major at Vanguard University? Religion (Music/Business – minors)

- What is your most embarrassing traveling experience? Hard to choose just one… Toss up between setting off the fire alarm while going to the bathroom on a train in Italy and most recent, going to the wrong airport (LAX instead of John Wayne) to catch a connecting flight to the Middle East!

- What is something you look forward to while in Calcutta? The People! Kids with Destiny projects, the food and the heat!

- Mantra: Live the Life out of the Day

- Favorite Food: Mom’s Enchiladas/Dad’s Banana Milkshakes!

- Currently Reading: Memoirs of a Geisha (finishing it is more like it, started at Christmas)

- New Artist: Brooke Fraser

- Favorite Drink: Chi!!

- How did you get involved with Kids with Destiny? After spending a summer in Kolkata in 05’ I wanted to continue working with the women and children from the red light districts. This past winter I had the opportunity to help lead a new project in Kolkata called Kids with Destiny. I work with nine other girls as we try to build two free health care clinics in the red light, and also a H.O.P.E. house for children from the red light– I am amped to be a part of this project!!

Meet the Team: Lizzie

2007-05-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

Lizzie

- Where are you born? The Dalles, Oregon

- What is your major at Vanguard University? Business Administration

- What is your most embarrassing traveling experience?
My most embarrassing travel experience is very fresh in memory. It is almost too embarrassing and recent to even be laughing about yet; it only happened a few hours ago. While on our way to LAX, two and a half hours before our departure to India I realized that I had left my plane ticket at home. I franticly (and when I say frantically I mean FRANTICALLY) called my brother who was at home and explained to him that he must leave the house immediately in order for him to bring me my ticket in time to catch my plane. Thankfully I have a great brother that rushed to help me in my time of need and pure stupidity. Thanks again Joe.

- How did you become involved with Kids With Destiny?
I caught onto the vision of Kids with Destiny when I was in Europe on VESPA. Katelyn was telling me all about her trip to India the year before and I was instantly attracted to her passion. I have always had the dream of working with children across the globe. Kids with Destiny has given me this chance.

- What is something you look forward to while in Calcutta?
I am most excited about playing with the children. There is something about little innocent eyes looking up at me that just melts my heart.

- Favorite food: My childhood favorite is my mom’s chicken broccolie caserol but I am currently infatuated with chips and guacamole

- Currently Reading: “A Chance to Die” A life and legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot

- New Artist: Regina Spectra

- Fav Drink: Soy Latte

- Lake or Ocean: Lake

Days 1 The Journey Across the World

2007-05-20T02:47:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family! Katelyn, Lizzie and I are finally in India after 28 hours of flying!

We left Orange County Wednesday Night at 10pm, only to run into our first traveling obstacle a half hour later: We realized that Lizzie’s plane ticket was still waiting in a sealed envelope on her desk at home! Ahh, right?! There were a couple other scares along the way to the LA airport but we eventually made it through our first 19 hours of flying and ended up with 9 hours to kill in the city of Singapore, Indonesia. This city was very pristine, they even had laws against chewing gum in fear that people would spit it out on the streets (God-Forbid!). We walked all day on these clean streets to see china town and other amazing bits of the city. One thing to look forward to if you ever travel to Singapore: the tallest ferris wheel in the world is being built and it will be open by next valentines day ‘08 <3

India Trip May 17th- June 5th

2007-05-11T17:38:00.000-07:00

This blog is dedicated to the daily whereabouts of Katelyn, Lizzie, and blog author, Jenna, who will be traveling to Calcutta, India on behalf of the non-profit, Kids With Destiny.

Thank you for checking this blog and thank you for all your support!