Keeping a Balance: Beggars and Homelessness

No longer quite so sprightly!

I am glad I brought a good, solid walking-stick with me to India. As I move towards my mid-70s, I am aware of a decline in my ability to balance. I first noticed it after my hip replacement. I was lazy, and I never really followed on with the exercise sheets and walking regime as I should have done. Now I pay the price every time I face a staircase, whether I am hauling myself up with the handrail, or trying not to miss my footing on the way down.

Earlier this year, I blamed my new glasses, and there is an element of truth in my belief that the varifocal lenses made me slightly giddy. But I refuse to wear glasses all the time, because I can stroll down the street, or work happily on the computer without them. (If I strain to read the text, I just adjust the view on the screen to 150%.) I can shop in the supermarket, but if I am wearing my varifocals, and I need to read the microscopic print on a label, I have to nod up and down till my eyes align with the right bit of the varifocal lens. So instead, I don’t bother with always wearing glasses, and just stick my reading specs in my breast pocket for when I want to verify a sell-by date. That works fine, unless I forget to take them off again, and walk around town, wondering why everything is a bit fuzzy.

Four legs are better than two

Striding Out

I never really thought about why old people use a walking stick. Now I know. It’s a stabilising third leg. And in Bangalore, it works like crampons and carabiners on a glacier, the former stop you slipping and the latter provide a sense of security. Which is what you need when road repairs mean digging a hole, but not necessarily filling it in completely, and when a kerb at the edge of the pavement is up to 25cm high, (about 10 inches, in old money.)

A splash of local colour

If my taxi is stuck at traffic lights, a sad widow will tap on the window, hoping for a few rupees. 

India's legally recognised third gender

Sometimes a group of hijras will lobby the motorists. Hijras are people born male but who dress as women and identify, under Indian law, as belonging to a third gender. Like London drag queens they are often glamorous, and sashay between the cars at road junctions, scrounging for small change. Like gypsies in Europe, they are considered to have the power to curse those who treat them badly, and hence their begging tends to be very successful.

It's another splash of local colour, and there are other surprising differences between strolling along the pavement in Bangalore, as opposed to Birmingham. 

The biggest shock is very sobering, and makes me reflect in a sobering whatever-happened-to-Blighty sort of way. 

Rough Sleepers

Most British cities have their quota of homeless people sitting on the pavement with their dog for warmth and company, and their paper cup for the occasional donation. 

Homeless in central London

This is not something I see in Bangalore. Although there are well over 1.7million officially homeless in India (2011 census) this represents just 0.15% of the population. By comparison, Shelter estimates that there are currently 600,000 homeless in the UK – a staggering 0.9% of the population. This reveals a proportion of homelessness in Britain which is six times greater than the percentage reported in the last Indian census. It is probably true to assume that there are differences in the definitions of “homelessness” between the two countries, but by any stretch of the imagination and even allowing for creative massaging or distortion of the numbers, this is a frightening statistic.

A bed in a night-shelter

In India, rough sleepers are chased out of doorways and sent on their way, but there are hostels and night shelters that provide some basic hospitality.

The UK statistic haunts me: almost one percent of the population statistically “homeless.” The reality is that the UK's biggest problem is in thinking that homelessness itself is the problem. 

Homelessness is not the problem, it's a symptom of a far greater problem, and it will take much, much more than soup kitchens and night shelters to solve it.

Working towards a better future

One of the greatest attractions of living in India, is to know that there is an underlying optimism throughout Indian society. The most important thing that Building Blocks teaches, right from Day One, is that our students create their own future, and their past need not limit their opportunities.

They have an opportunity that their parents could never dream of

I cannot remember the last time I felt this spirit of positivity in my local environment. It was not much evident in the community when I lived in Lincoln. Prior to that I had lived in Italy for a few years and discovered that Italians loved communities – but only their small, local community: nothing bigger than the village, or a small zoned-off quartiere of their birth-town. 

India has its divisions: its castes and classes, its languages and religions, but there is national pride in being one sixth of the world's population, all under one flag. If only Britain-in-Europe had grasped the opportunity to be a dynamic part of a greater community . . .

But Britain has never shown any passion for being an active part of Europe, and working together to build a better Europe. I sometimes feel that once Britain saw the acronym EEC they decided instantly that they certainly did not want to be a part of anything that called itself a Community. When it morphed into EU, the word Union was just one step too far.

Which is why I am here. 

India wants to succeed and I want to help their next generation achieve it with a focus on community: an emphasis on the many not the few ( - a phrase so very relevant in 21st century politics, on both sides of the Channel and both sides of the Atlantic.)

Sadly, I cannot imagine returning to life in England, with its suffocating fog of negativity. For the rest of my span on this Earth, I want to stay as motivated as the 8-year old BB graduate who lives in the squalor of the Bangalore slums, but has set her sights  firmly on becoming a Bank Manager. What a privilege it is to be able to help children like her, - and so many others who proudly flaunt their ambitions!

Little girls, big ambitions.

No matter where you are in the world,you can help our hard-working children achieve their dreams. A few pounds a month funds all kinds of extra-curricular activities; a scholarship through from age 6 to age 16 costs less than £1 per day. 

Debit or credit cards with the VISA or Mastercard logo are gratefully accepted:
  Just CLICK HERE  

Games for Teachers and Training for Parents

Here is the latest newsletter from Head Office of Building Blocks in Bangalore, where the teachers were on the receiving end last week when the children ran special activities for Teachers' Day. 

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Greetings! We would like to dedicate this month's news to appreciating our wonderful teachers who make everything possible by their selfless service for our children. We have also embarked on a new training program for the parents of the children coming to Building Blocks India. Read on to catch up on all the details and pictures of all the excitement and progress for this month. Teachers' Day Celebrations We are not Just teachers. We are the managers of the world's greatest resource: Children The most important person in the lives of the children other than the parents is a teacher. They play a vital role in the making of a person. We in Building Blocks India are blessed to have a lively, dedicated, inspired, patient, sacrificial, loving and caring team of teachers who relentlessly pour into the children each day to mold their little lives. The teachers faithfully follow a curriculum, engage the children in fun activities, play with them,  listen, care and attend to their little cries for the three years that they are with us. Hats off to our teachers who make a lot possible and keep the engine running. It was a special time for all our teachers. They were treated to some fun activities and lots of appreciation from the children for all their hard and sacrificial work. It was indeed a memorable day for them.

Community Project: Training Program As a part of our community services Building Blocks India hosted a unique training program for parents and youth from the slums where our children come from.ANTS Joining hands with Building Blocks India has taken up the cause of training and creating job opportunities for the welfare of the community people which will spread across all our 7 learning centers benefiting the parents of our students. At ANTS they train the youth to meet the challenges that they may face along the journey of life. They have developed a training model that has been adapted with a broad range of teaching techniques. The model is learner-centric, focusing on transfering of skills and ideas to the participants. Since the members of ANTS come from diverse backgrounds they view each individual as an independent individual who brings a unique set of experiences including dreams and fears, aspirations and motivations. They begin by assessing who they are, how they work, what motivates them and where their skills can be best utilised. The goal is to offer them a path full of opportunities to accomplish their dreams. To make skills-training conducive to the participating group, they ensure interactivity, linkages with practical application and encourage curiosity because that helps to keep them engaged. Therefore, the model is based on 30% theory input and 70% application-based learning. Certification On completing the course, each individual receives a certificate of attendance. Placement Placement is the second most important link of any student undergoing skills training. ANTS believes that, it is our sole responsibility to ensure that students trained and certified by us, should be placed by us. While their trainers ensure that training outcome is the best in the industry, the placement team simultaneously works on the placement front. They believe in providing placements in line with the aspirations of the trainee. The central placement team based in Bangalore is responsible for links with pan-India organisations for placements. This is to ensure that students with high aspirations are provided with successful placements. The central team also maintains a real-time database on placement activities across all our centres. Wishing You All A Wonderful Month Ahead! Thank You So Much!

Leaving and Arriving

It's been a month, already...

It’s been 4 weeks since I was in Chester, unpacking, sorting and repacking, and trying to get below the weight limit for my flights on September 4^th/5^th.

There were very few passengers at Manchester

It was a painful exercise, made even more poignant by the fact that I ended up 5kg over the limit when I checked in, and was then obliged to pay a fixed surcharge of US$ 100 (- which would have allowed me an additional 20kg.)

I wept inwardly as I thought of all the things I could have brought in the extra suitcase for which I was now being charged. I could have held on to all the things that I had now left behind, packed in a banana box in Tina’s attic in Chester. It was a very sobering experience, but I was learning to accept the finality of my decision. 
I was realising that this time it was pointless to make mental notes about doing things differently on my return flight, or planning what things I should bring when I came back to India on my next visit, because this was to be the last journey for quite a while. There was no Lincoln address for friends to keep an eye on, and no thermostat to set for frost control. There was nothing lurking, forgotten in the back of a cupboard: Old Mother Hubbard would find that the cupboard was bare.

In Lincoln, my apartment was spacious and I used every inch of it. Here in Bangalore, the apartment is almost too big, and it is taking me time to plan where to hang paintings (the frames had gone to charity shops in Lincoln,) and arrange photographs to humanise the blank walls.

Those of you know me will appreciate that the kitchen has to be a priority, and I now have shelves and smart containers for foodstuffs,  rails with hooks for utensils and the essential magnetic knife rack for my chef’s knives.

I have an almost-new fridge-freezer and a nifty little convection oven / grill / rotisserie that is now conveniently wall-mounted. 
Tomorrow I shall bake bread.

I have a delightful study, situated at the back of the property creating a personal space that is virtually silent, and I have put white nets on the windows, softening the view out onto a vacant lot. The room is the perfect size for a snug study, and well fitted out with shelves and cupboards. I found a sturdy second-hand metal-framed desk online, and it’s the ideal size, without allowing me any space for clutter.

Maybe I can now calm down, because I have behaved like a madman for the past month, working frenetically, as if I had just been promoted to a new post, and had a desperate need to prove to the boss – and to myself - that I was up to the job. Which is, of course, a ridiculous way to approach this opportunity. I am an unpaid volunteer. I paid all my costs to leave Lincoln, obtain my expensive long-term visa and move to Bangalore. I pay all my rent, utilities and living expenses, and I manage on my (rather modest) pension. 
Why on Earth am I behaving as if I were living in the corporate world and concerned about my Performance Review?     
I suppose it’s because it’s been 40 years since I was part of a corporate structure, back when I was International Sales Director for SodaStream. Ever since then, I have lived on my wits, and had to ensure there was always enough money around to put a roof over our heads and food on the table, ( - the latter being not so difficult when I was running a restaurant!)         

Me with members of a Project Plus Ten After-School-Club
for kids who have moved on from Building Blocks

Right now, I need to tell myself that I no longer need to worry. Moving to India has meant moving to an environment where I have chosen to adopt a different way of life, and be perfectly happy to be the only white guy on the street – or in the whole suburb for that matter. That’s not a new experience for me. Back in 1963, Roger, Mark, Keith and I were the only white faces in a crowd of thousands celebrating Madaraka Day (internal independence) on the streets of Nairobi. That’s how you make the memories. I would not create the sort of memories I want if I were to spend my evenings propping up the bar of the Hilton or the InterContinental here in Bangalore, along with the expat crowd who populate the technology parks in this, India’s Silicone City.

With Chaitra and her mother

It’s roughly two and a half years since I decided to be the first donor to my own charity, Escape from Poverty, and sponsor Chaitra’s education. 
This weekend she had her 9^th birthday and I went to her After-School-Club to sing her "Happy Birthday" and have a photo taken with the rest of the gang.

Funding her education – for less than £1 per day - was one of the most rewarding things I’ve done. I get her school reports twice a year; she sends me a birthday card and a New Year card and I usually also meet her mother when I meet Chaitra. 
I know that my modest donation will empower Chaitra to break out of the poverty trap that has always imprisoned families like hers.

If you want to get the full flavour of what I’m involved in, take a week off and come to Bangalore for a few days in November, and join in the Building Blocks Celebration of Children’s Day on Saturday, November 10^th. The kids will put on a great show, and over lunch you can meet sponsors from all over the world. 
Come a day or two early, and see the schools in action: see the size of the problem and judge for yourself what we are achieving. 

Kids with Ambitions

Talk to the kids and discover the size of their ambitions. Join in and be part of making the change. After all the past months of Brexit wrangling, come and breathe in the positivist attitudes of kids who are determined that they won’t look back.

…and I’d love a jar of Marmite if you can fit one in your suitcase.