So then, my last day in another world and my final post- albeit a bit earlier than I was expecting.
Now last week I told you I had found a way to free up some money and now is the time to tell you how I did that.
As you know I've spent my time here always with an eye open to find ways to help and a few weeks ago I came to the realisation that there were no other ways I could physically help around the Hospice or any more things I could buy for the children or for the Hospice. So after a lot of thought I came to the realisation that the only way left to help was that if I went home in November instead of January- to extend my visa by only one month instead of three. This would mean that I could leave them with a larger lump sum as I would not be spending any of it on my day to day needs.
Now this was a very, very hard choice to make, it was actually quite a painful choice for me to make but it was the most logical one (also it made sense as it will be much easier to find work in November than in January) and after some time I decided that this was the best remaining way to help.
What I wasn't expecting though was that my visa extension would fail and I would be coming home even earlier. This past week has been very hard for me. I really wasn't ready to come home yet & I was desperate to stay with the kids & the friends I've made for one more month (also avoiding the cold back home was an attractive reason to stay here that little bit longer).
Still though when it was confirmed that the visa extension had failed I was sad for a short while but then I had a peace about it. In the end the Hospice will get even more money, and trust me they are quite desperate for it, and due to my previous plan to leave in November & the line of thinking that brought me to that decision it has made it easier to except the way things have turned out. Although I am really not looking forward to experiencing what it's like to go from being acclimatised to 35c to the forecasted snow I have heard is on the way back home.
Anyway enough of my whinging!
This trip to another world has been a fascinating experience and it does actually feel like I've been here 6 months, time seems to slow down out here.
I have seen how people live in these parts of the world before on TV, but to experience it first hand really has given me perspective & understanding & a real appreciation of how much we have back home. Easy access to water, a permanent reliable power supply, comfortable beds to sleep in, no mosquitos constantly trying to eat you alive, a health care system that even the poorest can access, homes that aren't made out of bamboo & dried palm tree leaves, a rubbish collection system to keep our cities clean, care for the elderly, good (mostly) clean public toilets that aren't just holes in the ground & an underground sewage system. Trust me in this heat they could REALLY do with this.
I hope one day the standard of living here will be the same as ours back home but it does feel like I've traveled back in time more than a hundred years and it seems to me it could take that long for this part of the world to catch up. And to be honest with the way things are here & with the ways of the world I wonder if ever at all, but I hope they do.
Now to my children. It's going to be hard to say goodbye to them later today. Unlike leaving my friends & family back home to come here I know I will not be coming back & will likely not see them again. When they all found out I was leaving & that I was upset about it they all came running surrounding me and saying "No feeling Uncle! No feeling!" In other words don't feel bad. They were all clinging on to me and offering me their biscuits (usually they guard these like a dog protecting his dinner hehe) and they all took me to play games & draw pictures for me to make me feel better. Which ironically made me a bit emotional but is a memory of this place that will always stay with me.
My little friend Diana has warmed back up to me again now she knows I will be leaving, not sure what took her so long but as a 35 year old man there is no possible way I could ever understand what is going on in the mind of a 12 year old South Indian girl but I am just glad she is being friendly to me again, if she hadn't that is something that would always have bothered me.
My friends here & myself all want to thank you all who have supported this project through your gifts of money & your prayers. There is a heck of a lot that has been done here that would not have been possible if I had to fund this completely by myself so thank you again for these gifts.
And thanks most of all to God who gave me the honour of choosing me to come out here to do these things & experience all that & I have. Without Him none of this would have been possible & I will always be grateful to Him for this experience & for giving me the honour to be the vessel He chose to do these good works through. Thank you.
So, that's it then. Finale. I look forward to seeing everyone soon it really does feel like I've been gone much longer than I have been.
This is Stuart Wicks, Arulagam Hospice, Bangurapuram, BBC news, signing off.
See you soon :) x x x
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