Back in Mumbai

Apologies for the delay of this post but I have been experiencing internet difficulties. Hopefuuly all sorted now.
I have return to Mumbai after my week in Goa. I landed at 8.00am on Monday morning and was met at the airport by Rajesh. After a brief visit to the office, I travelled to Mahim where I noticed that a lot of children were not at school. I found out that nearly all the schools in Mumbai have been closed because of 'Swine Flu' and that children have got the whole week off. A bit drastic but then that's Indian people for you! Whilst I had been in Goa, most of the children and some of the adults had been calling me 'Uncle Andy'. This is a mark of respect towards an adult man and nothing to do with your mum or dad's brother. Now I am back in Mumbai, I have to get used to being called 'Andy, Sir!' again. In the afternoon, on Monday, I did a teacher training session and in the evening Biju invited me to join him and his children for a Chinese meal cooked by some friends. Unfortunately, Secu (who is expecting a baby!) was not feeling up to going out so I took her place. Biju's friends are from England and have been out in Mumbai for 2 years. Before Mumbai, they were working in the slums in China. They have devoted their lives to helping the poor. They have two Chinese men staying with them who cooked the meal and it was fantastic! Probably the best Chinese I have tasted, especially the sweet and sour chicken! We also had a lesson in how to use chop sticks correctly and our names were translated into Cantonese. It was a great evening. Tuesday morning started well as all the street children from Mahim have returned! It was good to see them again especially Ramesh, Vikram and Monor who always make me laugh. They were desperate to get back into the football so on Wednesday morning the football started. Unfortunately, the ball only lasted one game so I will now be going shopping for some Mitre footballs. At least they will stay in one piece. The street children all seemed to have come back with cuts and injuries so I decided to have a small first aid session where I cleaned and dressed some wounds. One boy I came across, had a bleeding leg. I noticed that his leg was slightly deformed. When asked if he had had an injury, he said that about three years ago he fell very awkwardly down a hole in the road. The injury has now healed but there is obviously leg tissue missing and I suspect he broke a bone as his foot is oddly shaped. I'm guessing that the injury was just left to heal by itself. Unfortunately, the parents don't always care for their children in the right way. If he had seen a doctor when it happened then his leg would have healed properly. Whilst treating some of the injuries, I decided that the first aid kits were out of date and very low on stock, so Jose and I went to the chemist that evening to buy some more first aid supplies. First aid kits in India are still way behind those in England and many of the common items like plasters, anti-septic wipes and plaster tape we had to buy separately. Tomorrow, I will spend some time sorting out the first aid kits so each bus has sufficient supplies. On Saturday, we are running a drawing competition for the children which will be great as there are some budding artists among the children. No daoubt you will be seeing some of the designs on merchandise in the near future. Tomorrow is Biju's birthday so I will be heading to the office first thing for an Indian rendition of 'Happy Birthday' and some bithday cake!