Partner Updates: ASSEFA & CRUSADE
Dear Friends and Supporters,
This third newsletter of my visit is all about Tamil Nadu, where I arrived on 21st April.
Tamil Nadu is not only the place where my first interaction with India started, but it is also where Action Village India finds its roots; as it all started with Chris Wilde who lived and worked with ASSEFA in Tamil Nadu.
It is a very different area than the north; we exchange the dry lands for lush green fields of paddy and coconut trees, and exchange naans and dahl for dosas, idlis and coconut chutney.
My journey in Tamil Nadu started with a warm welcome from Dr Rani at Chennai, and after a night at the ASSEFA office in Chennai, we travelled to Marakannam, where Dr Rani started working just after the Tsunami. Here we visited the health workers from the maternal health project and also their ASSEFA school.
The following day we travelled together inland towards Gingee, where we met with teachers and students from another ASSEFA school, and where Dr Rani is running adolescent health classes. It was great to meet with all the children and hear all the good stories about what they learned from the adolescent health classes; but also sad to hear about their Covid experiences. Schools being closed for two years had a big impact on them.
Esther
