First Impression, October 2009
Mrs. Margrit Nobs


We took off from Zurich on October 7th and after arrival we stayed one night in Delhi before we travelled on to Jodhpur, where Govind picked us up. The welcome in the house by family, teachers and participants and the whole staff was so friendly and moving. Filled with a lot of information the day was through quite fast.

Because there were no other volunteers there at this time we jumped into the cold water the very first day and made the acquaintance of the girls through games and dances.

I had left home with very mixed emotions although it’s already my forth time in Jodhpur. I knew the girls of the old batch, but I was worried if this would all turn out good, because my English skills aren’t good.

Friday was a very important day for Sambhali Trust, a swiss delegation has arrived to get to know the project. We had the opportunity to visit the new sewing center with the delegation, so a lot of new impressions came up to us.

Saturday we spent with the girls dancing and playing games. I’ve got the feeling we have conquered their hearts and will get along well with them.

On Monday I gave the first knitting lesson. Naturally this was a stormy affair, because all of them wanted to learn knitting at the same time, which of course wasn’t that easy. Ruth was a big help for me and it was quite jolly in our round.

The first week was full of new impressions and I was surprised with how less the children are satisfied here, they have accepted us and call us grandmother, in Hindi “Nani”. Im happy that I can work with the girls and contribute something positive to the project and that I can spend a lot of beautiful hours with the family. We were lucky to witness the great Diwali festival with the family and guests.