The countdown until I begin my travels has reached the 24 hour mark.
Packing my bags for this 15-week adventure has proved more difficult than I expected. While my usual travels involve week-long stays to comfortable and familiar places, or the bi-annual relocation from home to dorm, the necessities for this particular trip are less cut and dry.
In addition to the usual items (clothes, toiletries, chargers), I've filled my suitcases with some less conventional essentials:
- Six rolls of toilet paper: something that I take for granted at home and is considered excessive in India, but I'm not prepared to give up this particular luxury
- Four cans of heavy duty bug spray: the nurse at the travel clinic successfully scared me with the prospect of contracting Dengue fever, Chikungunya virus, and malaria
- Plenty of Luna bars: I've been warned not to eat out, in order to avoid the feared traveller's diarrhea, so these may be necessary to supplement my diet
And to allay my anxieties of having too much free time on my hands, I've packed half a dozen books to keep me occupied. The works of David Sedaris, Paul Farmer and T.C. Boyle will be keeping me company during my 20+ hours of flight time and the uncertain months ahead of me.
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"Manav Sadhna is engaged in constructive humanitarian projects that cut across barriers of class and religion while addressing issues faced by socio-economically neglected segments of society".
Based on the Gandhian values of non-violence and compassion, Manav Sadhna (manav meaning individual, and sadhna meaning worship), was originally founded in 1990 by a group of volunteers who met each week to play with street children and share with them the basics of nutrition and hygeine.
Today, Manav Sadhna serves thousands of women and children in Ahmedabad through a spectrum of projects, which are created based on the needs and participation of the community.
Find out more here.
