In India...again!

It's taken me ten days to settle down and gather my thoughts since I arrived in India. A few things have changed in my plans for volunteering. Instead of spending all my time in Pune at Deep Griha, another opportunity arose in Bombay and it's working out to be much more practical for me to stay in Bombay with my family. I had an interview with CCDT (Committed Communities Development Trust - http://www.ccdtrust.org/) and they are really happy to take me on temporarily as part of their team. I will be compiling a best practices document of all of their programmes and spending time in their orphanage for children infected and affected by HIV. The orphanage also has a trauma center for critically ill women infected with HIV and also trains women to be self-sufficient by teaching them various handicrafts which they sell and earn money. I will not be starting my work there until July 28th so in the mean time, I will be visiting with relatives. I am currently in Poona right now as I still wanted to see Deep Griha, the charity I originally was to volunteer for. Janhavi and I went to the opening of their youth center today and it was amazing to see hundreds of children in this new building that will be providing them with computer classes, counselling and many other activities.
CCDT's orphanage is called 'Ashray', which in English means 'shelter'. I visited during lunch time and saw children ranging from age 5 to age 12. After eating their meals they all washed their own dishes and then began a game of cricket outside. They all greeted me with a warm welcome - "Good afternoon Didi" (Didi means sister). There are approximately 50 kids in the shelter and all are well taken care of by being placed in good schools and eventually placed with adopted families or foster homes. If needed, the children are given anti-retroviral therapy and medical attention is always provided. I'm really looking forward to interacting with the kids and learning about the programmes that CCDT offers. The shelter is hidden amongst a busy area in Bombay but it is like a sanctuary in the middle of such chaos.
I will keep everyone updated on all of my happenings in India. Hope all is well back home!