Left Part of My Heart in India

I pulled out these scarves from the drawer today. I bought them from India 4 year ago when I went on a blog ambassador trip with World Vision to tell stories of the work there. I looked at the colours for a moment, and remembered the vibrance of India. Then I gleefully arranged the scarves on the back patio as an I-N-D-I-A symbol. Bloggers do weird things like that.

My son looked over my shoulder and said my D looked like an O. I laughed, and improved it. Then my girls came outside and gasped, “That is so cool Mum!” Then they joked about going around India while circling the letters on their skateboards as if their mother spelling words in scarves was one of the most normal things in the world. 

I’ve been longing to go back to India for some time now. I feel a need to tell more stores from there. Interestingly, as part of my studies this year, I did an assignment on NGOs and it gave me a fresh appreciation for the  challenges faced by aid organisations like World Vision who strive to make a difference in very complex circumstances. I’ve seen the beautiful work World Vision does with my own eyes and the communities they are involved in absolutely adore the staff. It’s hard to describe the respect and kindness that extends to the field. The staff don’t just work, they serve. Serve is a good word for it. Serving, partnering, assisting; empowerment is what it’s all about. Each project is carefully planned with a combination of carefully listening to the resident’s needs, understanding of the culture, decades of experience and an undercurrent of care. It takes a deep understanding of respective cultures in different areas for sustainable change to occur, especially in complex countries like India. It’s just so beautiful to witness and be part of the out-workings of such empowerment in people! My hunger to go back and tell more stories for World Vision has only increased the more I work with them, and gain a deeper understanding of the industry.

Last month, a call came out for World Vision bloggers to head to India again. My heart leaped! I put my hand up so high it hurt. So here I am, pulling out a rainbow of scarves to take with me next week as I head to Chennai in India. The children don’t really like it when I go away (which is not often, but regardless). I was discussing some of what I had organised for them while I was away and I mentioned to them, “You know, by supporting me as I do this, you are also doing your part to help others. Do you realise that? Some of us go. Some of us stay. Everyone can be part of affecting change in one way or another. That’s the exciting thing.”

Packed ready to go.

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Follow me over on Instagram @beafunmum for more on the trip next week, or follow along here on the blog when I have the time to write. I’ll also be travelling with Deb from Learn With Play at Home and Alison from Talking Frankly.

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Stories from India