Last week I watched the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and I thought it was great! Not so much because of the dysfunctional British relationships but because it reminded me of all the things I love about India. I’ve been to India twice, once in 2005 when I first volunteered at the Raffa Home, and again in 2007, when Jon and I returned to travel and revisit the boys that we had come to know and love. They taught us how to make kites, and fly them, how to play cricket, and how to survive in the melting heat and summer showers that fall on Delhi every July-August. They also taught us just how many people you can cram in an auto rickshaw- I think 10 was our record!
So the film took me back to the warmth, the dust, the hecticness, the colours, the smells, the sights and the sounds of India. Maybe one day we’ll go back and experience it all again…
But enough about that. Nearly 5 years on from our trip, some of the boys in the Raffa Home are now 18 years old, and they’re starting to gear up to life in the big noisy world of their capital city. A couple of the boys, Chaman and Gein, have started working, and others are looking for jobs. They are already volunteering at the local church and helping out in the surrounding community. Watch this space for more updates from the boys on how they’re getting on with this new stage of life!
