India - 2010/2011

She was one of many who ran to the wall often to revisit their print.

Staff show us that even adults can have lots of fun with balloons.

A cow parked in a motorbikes only zone, Koraput.

In this village, a diesel motor and a lot of man-power is being used to drill for water. This village has no fresh water, and the ladies have to walk 10-20 minutes to collect water whenever they need it, carrying 10 litre pots on their heads.

In one of the villages where Jacob's Well Foundation have sunk a water bore.

We visited a couple of villages where Jacob's Well Foundation have previously sunk water bores. The reception given to us showed that a great relationship had been established between the tribal villagers and the providing organisation.

Jo needs to learn this. She could then free her hands while carrying things around. Imagine how handy that could be at Richmond Coles.

The Rejoice kids all received new outfits, including earwarmers (yes, it can get quite cold here, especially at night). Joan, who started the Jacob's Well Foundation and projects, and known to the staff and kids as Mum, spent many hours sorting through the delivery of poorly labelled shirts, trousers, and dresses. In the end, everyone was accounted for. They dressed in some of the new finery for the Christmas day church service in nearby Mastiput.

We made a bag for all the Rejoice children. Each bag contained a clippy koala, or a kangaroo keyring, or an Australian pen. They also contained a couple of sweets, a balloon, and a number of stickers. Five minutes later, sticker covered children were chasing deflating balloons around the hall.

One of the youngest children at Rejoice. She was always on hand to brighten our day.

He makes it look easy, but it really is a lot harder than it looks!

In front of the Rejoice Christmas tree.

One intact balloon left here.

While not always necessary, as Rejoice has a good water supply, the kids love coming to the river to bathe and do their washing. At the river, bathing is a lot more fun.

While swimming, the kids create fish traps with tree foliage. This is not because they need the fish, but because kids being kids, they just love doing it.