Words from Achille

So far so good I'm glad to report!! Every one's having a great time but still working really hard in the hot and humid weather. The facilities that have been provided are top notch. We have proper showers, western toilets, excellent sleeping quarters and the staff are great!!!

Everyday we have a flock of local fans that watch us work... The circus has truly come to town. They have no grasp of English (except for Hello and Cement) but we're all getting on grand. The main tasks on site are brick transportation, brick laying and cement mixing, all of which are uniquely demanding!!

Water consumption is of the highest importance and everyone carries around a water bottle. Factor 50 sunscreen is also being used due to the baking sun!! So everyone is been taken care of you'll be glad to hear & the food is excellent. We have a wide variety of Indian cuisine...

Hello to everyone back home... I love you all!!!

A note from Rebecca & Ellen

Hey everyone in Ireland!!!

Just an update on what's been happening for the past couple of days on the building site. The weather is really hot and some of us have sunburn!! :( Shane says send shovels!!!

MIxing cement is sooo hard!! our favourite job on site is brick laying. it's really fun talking to the locals, most have no idea what you're saying, so say anything with a smile and they just smile back!!!

Ellen wants to say hi to everyone back home. Rebecca wants to say Happy Birthday to Deco (ha ha you're so old!!) and hey mam, dad, Debbie, Lauren & everyone!!!

A message from Ciaran & Alison

Today wasn’t as bad as yesterday, but it was hotter. The fifty locals that come to watch us build were kept at the gate by a man with a stick, instead of surrounding us on the site yesterday. Everywhere we go people stare at us and take pictures, we are the biggest thing to happen in this town, apparently by the end of the week the other villages will come to watch us too. We weren’t expecting much here but the bamboo huts are huge and are provided with fans, beds and lights. The toilets and showers are nearly better than the ones we got in Calcutta. Threes so many animals on site too, like goats, chickens, dogs, cows. The best thing we’ve seen are the fireflies! Me and Ciaran want to say a hello to our families and Bunty, I’m missing you loads mam lots of love Alison, I miss you bed and beef love Ciaran.

A message from Killian

Hey everybody,

Second day on the building site and feeling grand. We have to mix cement, carry bricks and then lay the bricks for about 7 hours a day. I think that carrying the bricks in the brick line is the most boring thing ever, just standing in a line passing bricks for an hour while you are in the blistering heat. Other than that it is grand, the food here is amazing the snack after work and a cup of coffee is by far the best part of the day.

Hi

Hey everyone,

Just a quick note to say everything is gong well...

Thanks to Linda for posting for us last night... I now have broadband of sorts!!! (cough!!)

The V's are doing a great job with the building and have even started working as teachers today in their spare time!!!

I would like to say a special thanks to Joe Bergins mother that rang me at 3.30 am to say hello!!! I think I need to start bringing leaders parents to the information evenings to let them know only to ring in an emergancy!! :) but Yvonne, if you're reading this, it was great to hear your voice!!!

The V's will post again very soon..

TTYL

Noel

P.S.

Hi to Katie, Francy and Donna May...

A quick update...

Hi all
Well after our first full days working, everything is going really well. Our bamboo accommodation has surpassed all our expectations. The heat is unreal, over 40 degrees at some points!!
Everyone is doing the best they can and the team is working really well together.

Noel

This message came via text message and Noel asked me to post for him on the blog as there is limited net access.

Linda

Off to the Site

Well We're just about to leave for the Site... All packed and ready to go...

The Site is located in a very remote area so mobile coverage may be patchy... and I'm not too sure about the internet access...

The Broadband so far has been slow so we are finding it difficult to add pictures, will try again when I can but you may just habe to wait to see all the magic moments when we get home!!!

Everyone is well and the team is palying a blinder... You should all be very proud of the Venture Scouts.

Talk soon

Noel

From Shannon

Hey everyone,

India has been amazing so far and we're all enjoying it!

Yesterday the girls done some shopping and bought some Salwars, the shopping over here is so cheap! then we got down to work and split in to four groups and painted different facilities. The more Buildings we go to the more everyone is starting to realise how lucky we all are at home!

The kids around here have nothing and are so happy! its heart-breaking! They've taught us some new games and songs, There pretty cool :) Today we split in to groups and went to two different orphanages, They both performed shows and sung and danced for us. After we joined in and sang a song for them, definitely needed more prep! The all girls orphanage I was at is definitely best we've seen so far!

So far we haven't came across any 'mad' animals or insects, just the usual RATS! There's some some scary looking cats that are around that aren't doing there job anyway! The lady cat had kittens the other day they are cuteee!

Tomorrow we're off to start building! 6 hours on a bus! I cant think of any where better to catch a few Z's.

Byee,

Shannon x

From Amy

hey everyone :)

its amy .... well its my third day here (could be my forth) and were having a great
time . The weather is seriously hoooot! sweat just rolls off ya but you get use to it.
We visited a number of places during the stay and heard some horrific facts. The
children at the school were staying at are all really nice and cheerful. They have
so much energy they keep you on your feet. Today we visited a rehab place for boys
and a home for boys, it was so much fun they put on a show and then we danced with
them. We were also given 7UP!!!! YUM. Tomorrow were off to the building site for the
next 2 weeks. We went shopping and I got some prezzies for people :) Yesterday we
were painting different buildings and after we got pizza it was tasty. Today Callum
was running an tripped and broke his glasses it was so funny. John Melvin came
running at me with the lens screaming hide it! I couldn't stop laughing. We were
walking through the markets an all the stall people started screaming argggh to get
our attention so everyone I was with including me started screaming arghh in the
streets and everyone was laughing lol. We spent about an hour today looking for an
adidas shop and when we found it we started shouting yayyy and all the people in the
street(vender's) started joining in an clapping a little lol.

Well I best be off now :) going back to the school to see the children.

talk to you all soon, love you mam and dad,

amy xxx

Contact Numbers

Hi,

For emergencies, we can be contacted on the following number...

0091 9007600483

Noel

Thoughts from Sarah..

Hey Everybody!

Well its day 3 in the big Indian house and we're all still alive and well! We've
done a lot of visiting around the Hope Foundation care homes and various facilities
and have heard some shocking stories and facts, but i think all of us would agree
that they do amazing work and the children of India would have a very different life
without them! The girls got a chance to visit a shopping arcade today and we all got
traditional Indian outfits to wear..the trousers are HUGE! We were then split into
groups to go painting! Myself and 5 of the others painted a mother and child home,
which is run by the Hope foundation. There were four rooms to be done and after some
issues with the masking tape everything turned out looking great! We'll be paying a
visit to good aul Mother Theresas house tomorrow.

Right.. I'm off to shower now..and by shower i mean throw a bucket of cold water over
my head..



Sarah

xxx

We're Here

Namaste...

Well... For those following us...

We all arrived safe and sound...

Everyone is in good spirits & all have been getting to know the children in the Loretto School that we are staying in... You would have to be here to see it for yourself to comprehend the magic that is happening...

We visited some of the Hope Projects today & that really hit home hard the true reality...

Tomorrow we have four Hope Centres to paint... It will be a busy day, but we've have enlisted extra volunteer help so we will get it finished...

Thanks for all the good luck messages so far...

Noel

Nearly There

Well all the preperations are complete & we're almost on the way.

We fly out on Wednesday 21st July...

Stay tuned for updates as it happens....

Donation to The Hope Foundation

On Friday 9th July some members of the Operation Hope Team met up with Maureen Forrest, Director of the Hope Foundation and JP O'Sullivan, Projects Manager to present them with a donation of €30000. The money has been raised by the Venture Scouts of Dublinia Scout County that are members of the Operation Hope Team. Although only a fraction of the project was represented at this presentation, the rest of the team will be in Kolkata next week to get to work on the painting project and of course the main project of the School extension and new building. Here the rest of the team will get to see first hand and get involved in the Hope Foundations projects on the ground.