Day 5 was off to a solid start after getting woken up by the great orchestra at RTU at about 7:15, it was rough getting out of bed but the fatigued boys managed to all show up to brekkie on time. Breakfast consisted of hard-boiled eggs, vegetable curry and some rice.

When we arrived at the worksite we were greeted with smiles and welcoming hellos as we all began to get to know the families who we are building the houses for. Lucas has made a friend who has taken him on as his bricklayer apprentice (according to the others) as we all made amazing progress throughout the day by putting up the exterior walls and learning how to grout the gaps between the bricks with our hands.

Although the work was hard the real challenge was having to witness the awful dancing from some of the other boys on the opposite worksites, not looking at anyone in particular… Jesse. With everyone making solid progress on their houses the work is slowly becoming easier and we’ve moved on from moving boulders to bricks which is a big improvement and much appreciated by our sore bodies.

Getting back, we had the opportunity to go for a walk into town where some of the boys had a shave at the barber’s shop and the more adventurous of the group even opted for a haircut (Kai and Joerie), I’m sure Kai’s mum will be happy with the result. Getting back from the walk we attended a mass in the Br Kimpton memorial hall where two women spoke about how Br Kimpton helped them. One of them had been unable to find a job anywhere else and Br Kimpton gave her an opportunity and a job at RTU. The other explained how she lost her father at a young age and Br Kimpton was like a father figure to her, and she still prays to him every day for an hour.

After dinner all the boys gathered together for their nightly reflection and we shared a few of the highlights from the day. Following the reflection, we had a trivia night where the boys broke off into their worksite groups. However, this raised some questions from the other teams as Mr Wilson’s team won, even though Mr. Wilson wrote the questions… convenient.

We’re all ready for another day of working tomorrow and really looking forward to our weekend away to Thekkady.

Lucas & Pat

 

Editors Note: We are having wifi issues here so can only upload a few photos to each post. If you’d like to see more, download the app PhotoCircle and join our folder using the code 634042. Naṉṟi.

Day 4 was off to a good start with some omelettes, which were soon gone due to how hungry everyone was thinking about the work needing to be done. The manual labour was repetitive and hard but with sheer determination from the boys and Surya (a boy from the family) the work was done. After some dancing from Dad’s (Raff) group we headed back to the bus to wash up.

We then piled into the bus and headed back towards RTU to enjoy a nice lunch which consisted of fried fish and curry along with a much need rest and change from dirty to clean clothes.

After the feed and rest we headed back to the work sites to start a shorter one and a half hour shift as compared to three-hour shift in the morning. All groups have now completed the foundations while one group is ahead as their walls are nearly completed. During the intense work under the humid and sunny conditions which India provides, Dad thought it would a good idea to go on a walk to see other groups progress but it just so happened to be perfect timing for him as one of the groups was receiving a generous snack of fried donuts which Dad managed to snag.

After completing some hard yards for the day, we decided to head into town to go see some local markets. The traffic was chaos, with cars flying everywhere and lots of beeping but it all works somehow. As we came into the market we were in awe of all the food up for grabs, fresh fruit, Indian cuisine and fried snacks. We decided on the samosa and the fried doughnut, again! The town was filled with energy with something happening everywhere you looked, whether it was some man wanting you to buy something or cows walking through the chaotic traffic. All in all, the town was a rewarding experience.

The day ended with some curry and a few laughs from the day, and we can’t forget Matt Blake’s wonderful questions through reflection and finished off with a dancing Santa!

James & Toby

Day 3 started with some delicious French toast topped with the brothers secret Indian coconut topping. Never had we ever seen Kirky (Mr Thomson) run faster when there was only one piece of French toast remaining. When stomachs where full, the boys laced up for our first full day of hard work.

We split in to our three groups and were soon flabbergasted when we saw the abnormally large piles of boulders which we were going to move. Despite this, with teamwork, determination and it being BEN WILSON’S DAY we were able to dig deep, and successfully transport these rocks to create the foundations for the houses. We were stunned by the sheer strength and the ease at which the local men and women were able to move the rocks and cement the foundations. After 3 hours of gruelling and intense work we headed back to RTU for a well-earned lunch.

After lunch we made our way to the streets to see what the local shops had to offer. The group put on a performance for laughing elderly ladies as we ran from the streets dogs with the fear of getting rabies crossing our mind.

We soon headed back to the work site for another hour and a half of moving rocks and finalising the foundations. As the work day concluded we moved the last rocks and headed back to RTU where we freshened up and prepared for the after-school rush of energetic and enthusiastic kids. There was nothing better then seeing the ear to ear smiles of the children as we played football, soccer and chasey.

We moved on to the local high school where we observed the students studying. We then had the opportunity to immerse ourselves amongst them and converse about sports, school and hobbies with a couple of thumb wars and selfies along the way. The group then headed back for dinner.

Was dinner good?? Yeah seriously it was good. After dinner the boys went for our daily reflection session where we discussed why we had volunteered to participate in this outreach program. The night ended with some wise words from Dad (Mr Rafferty) about the digestive system.

Jono, Kai and Marcus

Editors Note: We are having wifi issues here so can only upload a few photos to each post. If you’d like to see more, download the app PhotoCircle and join our folder using the code 634042.

After finally getting a full night’s sleep, we headed across to the RTU school, where we were welcomed by the brothers. We did a tour of the school, seeing the facilities that RTU provide for the children, such as classes, clinics and physiotherapy. During the tour, we were greeted by the kindergarten students who sung for us.

We then travelled to the worksite to see the current state of the homes in the village. Composed of straw and leaves, we demolished one of the thatched huts to make way for the new homes. This demolition job took no more than 20 minutes, demonstrating the delipidated state of the homes.

We then headed back to RTU for lunch, where we commenced our cricket series. After the first innings, Jono’s team went 7/26, with the game ending abruptly after the ball was lost over the fence.

The group then headed back to the worksite, where we split into three teams and begun to dig out the foundation for the houses. Working alongside the families and tradesmen, the ground was dug up to allow for rocks to be placed, stabilising the ground.

After returning home, we headed across the road to play soccer with the local children. With 18 of us and around 100 of them, we were instantly surrounded by smiling faces, leading us off onto the pitch to play games. The confident kids quickly became our best friends, making the departure surrounded by the happy faces a highlight for the day.

To conclude the day, we had a reflection session, followed by a movie night as we watched the new Star Wars series ‘The Mandalorian’.

Jessie & Gus

 

After an exhausting 30 hours of travel from Melbourne to Chennai to Madurai, we finally made it to our new home for the next two weeks, Reaching the Unreached (RTU) in the Theni District, Southern India. The group are exhausted, but excited to be here and are ready to commence our mission projects tomorrow. Tonight, we had mass in the new Br Kimpton memorial hall amongst the local hostel children and guests. Most have headed off for an early night before a huge day tomorrow, so we’ll have a much more in-depth new blog post for you soon!