Day 29 - June 23 - The Farewell

Today was a day of goodbyes, which makes this a really hard post to write.

The day began with a good deal of shopping, as led by Anna. Two computers, a motem, a desk, chains and locks were purchased so the community can have access to Internet and computer resources. In the afternoon, CASA reps working across south India arrived and gave us a small farewell at the CASA center. One of these people was Karuna, the CASA contact for last year's project. Karuna is a man with a firm handshake, a hearty laugh, and a huge smile. He reported that last year's project--the Anganwadi center in Andra Pradesh--has experienced no damages and is completely booked for use each day from 8 AM to 10 PM. The community greatly appreciates the building and it has instilled a sense of pride in the village, which is great for us to hear. We hope our center will have a similar impact for Packianathapuram. Later in the day, we prepared for the community's farewell. A few of the community women offered to help Nina, Anna, and Caroline tie their saris, which was extremely nice of them (it took about an hour and a half total). With the help of a few village elders, Danish, Arvind, and Harsha donned their dhotis as well. The ceremony began at nightfall, and many familiar faces attended. Mr. Albert and Ms. Daisy, two village leaders, thanked us for our hard work and kindness, complimented our eagerness to learn and share their and our culture, and expressed how grateful they were to have this center. They presented us with gifts of ornamental beads and plaques to show this appreciation. Nina and I then shared our speech, translated into Tamil by Sowmya: Dear friends,

We thank you wholeheartedly for the opportunity to be here for the past four weeks. Without you, we would not have had this chance, or even known each other.

The eight of us met for the first time in August. We didn’t know each other before, but we became close friends over the last nine months because of our desire to make this happen for you.

The idea for this project began when CASA visited your community last summer. After listening to the needs of your community, CASA brought the project idea to us and we excitedly got to work. For nine months we communicated with CASA to learn about your community, we drafted engineering plans, and we raised the funds to make this project happen. Every rupee raised was donated by friends, family, and groups that wanted to support the creation of this building. We all hope this center will bring you unity, knowledge, and the resources to have a better livelihood and quality of life.

In return, we thank you for the many kindnesses you have shown us. Thank you for inviting us in, feeding us, having us at church, playing games with us, and talking to us despite konjum Tamil, konjum English. Thank you for all these things and more. This experience has changed our lives for the better and we will never forget the kindness and love this community possesses.

Nandri, PUC, University of Texas We also presented our gifts for the community: a globe (with a line drawn from Austin to Packianathapuram), an English-Tamil dictionary and flashcards, general knowledge books, and a scrapbook with pictures of us and the community members which were taken throughout the trip. The kids loved this gift and immediately nabbed the book after the ceremony to pick out their faces. After we spoke, we had a surprise: Jebestine, one of the older boys in the community, got up to speak. In English, he thanked us on behalf of the community for everything: for our hard work constructing the building despite the heat, for playing games with the kids, for traveling so far to meet them, for learning and speaking Tamil with them, and for becoming their friends. He promised that they would put the center to good use and that they would always remember us and the friendship we shared. It was extremely touching to hear this and to know that the building is something they will use and cherish. For myself, I will cherish the memories made on this project for the rest of my life. I was struck by how deeply compassionate, kind, and welcoming the people of Packianathapuram are. We were complete strangers to them, but they welcomed us into their homes and lives, embraced us despite our broken Tamil, and in the end, wished us safe travels as good friends--even as family. I've never had to say goodbye to someone living on the other side of the world before. I didn't want to go, and it hurt to know how long it would be before I'd able to see them again. The team very much hopes to return one day, and I will do everything in my power to make it back to this community. Until then, we have a few mailing addresses, a few phone numbers, and happy memories to make the distance seem a bit shorter. As a PM, I could not have asked for a better team for this project. Each and every person on this team gave this project their everything, both before and during implementation. None of us were social workers, but we were able to connect with this community in a deep and meaningful way. Why? We didn't settle for surface value. Speaking through a language barrier is difficult. Meeting and befriending (and remembering the names of) dozens of new people requires dedication. Extending a hand when you are uncertain of your own abilities requires bravery. But each team member did that, soaring beyond our own and others' expectations of us. The result? We were able to grow with others from a very different walk of life, learning much more about ourselves and the world around us in the process. I can only express gratitude and appreciation for this experience. I wish everyone safe travels as the team parts ways. For everyone back at home, know that we are sad to go but eager to share stories of one fantastic and fast-paced month. Much love, Kiera