Sleep did not come easy to me last night, and i was due at the main office at 7:30am- which means I wake up at 5:30am to Shower (which the bloody water was COLD this morning), to go to the Golden Temple (which is a 6 min walk from my hotel) and then i take a Rikshaw to my Main office- from there I took a bus to the Manawal Location (Manawal Location is on the outskirts of Amritsar- about a 20-30 min bus ride from Amritsar). Any ways I meet interesting people- like today I sat next to a Science Teacher from the Manawal Pingalwara School- he was talking to me, and we had an interesting coversation on OBAMA! People out here find it soooooo crazy that America has elected a Black President- but Im all Joy!! :)
So I got to Manawal around 8:30am- meeting up with my Senior- Gulshan Ji- who is a MSW- he basically runs all the sites and is the single Social Worker for Pingalwara! I am learning new techniques from Gulshan Ji, and different ways to interact with patients. This experience is def. worth it!!! I couldn't have asked for more adventure and experience!
so Today i sat in the Male Ward counseling all the patients- some were lower functioning; but most were very comprensive- I met with Raj Sharma today- a Patient who is not mentally ill, infact He is 26 years old, and was working for an electric company 3 1/2 years ago- he fell from a pole, and lost all feeling in his lower body- leaving him paralyzed. His parents didn't want anything to do with him, and dumped him in Pingalwara- the most encouraging part of his whole experince is that he doesn't blame anyone- yes he is depressed, and has some suicidal thoughts- but still he is not angry at his family or friends. He passes his time in the male ward with many mentally challenged patients- and paints. I couldn't beleive the in depth work he has put into his paintings. Raj has promised to make me a painting- oh I forgot to mention that Raj only paints different forms of religious beings. He strongly believes in his hindu god, Shiv ji; and mostly paints Shiv Ji, also Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Jesus, etc..
I also took a child who is Mentally Retarded to the Sensory Room- we played with the different lights and forms of music- to see what type of brain stimiulation he gets- then we went into the sensory play room which contains differnt toys of touch, feel, smell etc.. We really had a great time throwing things at each other- I took some videos- and will surely post them soon!
okay- so its getting late- and I have to walk back to my Hotel now- so See Ya All later!!
I Promise to post some pictures REALLY SOON!!!
Okay a Mouse just ran up the wall infront of my Computer- therefore i am signing out- cuz im a deathly afraid of it...
Yikes!
1 comment:
he still loves his family and doesnt blame anyone, cause he is an Indian :) i am sure u will see more of this. its interesting to see how you meet so many people with different stories. looking fwd to the story about conjoined twins and the mute girl you talked about. you are definitely having some fun with these people and also making their day a little happier. God bless u !
about the mouse.. you have had some worse experiences hahaha...
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