Sui Ning and Anna McCourt, St Bride’s Monifieth
Sui Ning reports, “One thing that really stood out to me was how welcoming India was. Even families and children who had next to nothing would still offer us everything they had. When visiting the primary schools, the children would dress up for us and put on performances with dancing, singing and acting. The enthusiasm in which they had for life was truly inspiring as it opened my eyes to realise that happiness is found even when there is so little to be offered. The children would then take us around the school and show us their classrooms which were very basic with benches and a blackboard at the front. However this did not slow down their learning as they proved to be very hardworking.”
“When they showed us their work it was similar to what I was doing in school and they were at least 3 years younger than me! During our time, we helped plant fruit trees for the schools in order for them sell and make money to provide for their family. One woman we visited lived by herself with four children in a tiny hut made of mud and straw. Her husband had ran away and left her to feed and look after the children alone. It was heart breaking, especially when witnessing poverty like I have never seen before. The only way in which the woman’s children got food was by going to school and having one meal per day. This in turn made them very weak and malnourished which hinders their learning.”
“This type of life is found throughout India and the least we could do to help was provide support and assistance. Every night I pray for these families all around India, in the hope that they can feel God’s presence every day.”