Day 9

Good evening everyone from TGI Fridays take two! Today was another amazing day spent at Tigri, although it was an emotional one.

The morning got off to a quiet start, with many of the children at school, which gave us valuable time to touch up the wall murals. They came along really well, with most of the outlining being completed by the whole team - even the ones who considered themselves less artistically gifted (everyone except Emma and Lucy!). However this didn't hinder our motivation due to the sound of the uplifting music blaring round the centre. 

The ladies in the centre asked us to include the 10 values ASHA stands for in both English and Hindi. You can see our efforts below.

We also had lots of fun hand printing the tree which involved painting more body parts than just  our hands! It was lovely to be able to mix our own hand prints with those of the children we have come to know so well - symbolising the growing links between Ballymena Academy and our friends in Tigri. 

Johnny's teaching lesson on geographical landscapes proved to be very interesting for the kids, especially learning about the tallest mountain in the world, mount Everest. He even brought in a vinegar and baking soda 'experiment' to show the children how a volcano erupts.

Meanwhile, across the hall, Sasha, Lyndsey and Molly assisting the children decorating their photo frames with our team picture. This was by far their favourite craft, as it was something they could cherish forever and remember us by. We felt like celebrities when we had crowds surrounding us and wanting to sign the back of the frames.

The final lane visit of the trip took place, with Johnny, Julie, Catherine, Lucy and Rebecca setting off on their adventure round the slums. They were invited into Guddi's house (one of the resource centre workers) which was 4 floors tall -  would you believe! Despite the average structure of the houses, she managed to have a beautiful garden at the top which she was very proud of.

One of the Asha workers, Anurag, who is a team coordinator spoke to some of the team about our experiences, challenges and feedback on how to improve future trips for others. It was very beneficial to reflect on the whole week.

The day at Tigri finished off with the usual dances, except this time everyone knew the moves to Waka Waka which gave us some well needed practice for our East Meets West Extravaganza! The enthusiasm was flowing out of us, along with our sweat!

Although it's been hard leaving Tigri every day, today was even more challenging than normal as we had to face the harsh reality that we will never see some of those kids again, as they're unable to make it tomorrow because they have an exam. A lot of tears were shed but on a whole we wouldn't change it for the world because we're so happy to have met these incredible people and we can look back on the memories and photos with happy tears which will stay with us forever.

Due to the tears, a few make-up touches were needed. As a sign of how close we have become as a team, it was encouraging, if slightly scary, when the boys offered their expertise!

Right better go, food's here!

Tori, Sasha, Lyndsey and Rebecca xx