Leh the land of the moon!

Hello everyone :)

This is the most amazing place, lovely calm people, breathtaking views and gorgeous children with happy smiling faces.

We arrived in Leh safely and immediately noticed the the thin air and were gasping for breath as we came off the plane!the flight up to Leh took just under the hour and the flight path took us over the snow covered Himalayan range.The air strip was in the valley between the mountains, looked like the wings of the plane would hit the mountains!!

We were met by Dawa our in country agent, it was burning hot outside. Once we'd cleared customs (incidentally one of the rucksacks belonging to the Durham student didn't turn up!)we were taken to Dawa's guest house which was nestled in the mountains just 10 mins away. We were greeted warmly and given silk scarves to welcome us to Leh.The Guest house was for one night only so we made the most of the showers!! Our first day here was mostly relaxing as each time we moved we were out of breath and dizzy with the altitude- a really wierd feeling! But one we are getting used to and adapting to our new surroundings.

The remainder of this day involved appointing a new leader, planning our transport for after the expedition, places to visit in the R & R phase, and accommodation. Some of us also went to visit the Rewa project and meet up with the Director Mr David and his assistant Dalkar while the rest of the group explored the local market in Leh. The Rewa project is a very happy place with a lot of good work going on.

We discussed what we would be doing: Half the group improving the grounds and brightening it up & interacting with the children, whilst the other half took on improving the hygene and living conditions for a 77 yr old lady. Everyone was really looking forward to this phase.

It is now Tuesday and we have achieved so much. We are now camping in the groungs of REWA and it is very basic- drop toilets and no running water! We have to carry water from the mountain stream running close by to get washed. It is so very hot and very dusty and sandy, we are constantly drinking to keep hydrated.

In the last two days the group are divided to focus on their mini projects. Yesterday (A holiday)was planning the wall design for the outside wall, listing the materials needed while the rest visited the 77yr old lady to look at what needed doing. I dont think anything could have prepared us for what we saw. She was living 25kms from Leh out in the country, unable to walk only crawl using her hands and side. her dwelling place wasa single room, no sanitation,where she slept, cooked and lived. It was so dirty we couldnt quite comprehend how anyone could exist in these conditions. it was heart breaking to put it mildly and sobering.
We came away totally shocked realising we had a massive jo on our hands, but also with hope in our hearts we could make a difference to someone's life.

I'll move on it sounds depressing but we are far from depressed honestly!
Today we have worked hard on the projets but also with the handicapped children,listening and learnigng all about them and joining in their activities. This is very rewarding.

Everything we took out with us was so well received and they are extremely grateful.

Thank you eveyone for your messages, lovely to hear from you.Please keep them coming. I t's sometimes hard to believe we are in India