19 Nov.

Carol, Vasanth, McGraths and Cunninghams? – morning walk in the village outside the GRT Temple Bay beach resort – bullocks, flower and fruit stalls, community water pump.

Depart for Pondicherry
Lunch with PDG Nagaraj

Projects:
Hospital and Night Shelter

Sidewalk lined with hundreds and hundreds of family members outside the 800-bed hospital that provides free services to the impoverished. Rotary donated a mammography machine – they see 68 cases/day – all referrals because of problems.  Many of the women are uneducated and from rural areas. This clinic is seeing younger and younger women with breast cancer, but they don’t yet have any theories as to cause.  The hospital doesn’t have a biopsy system.  Hospital is also a teaching facility.

Local Rotarians built a night shelter to provide a place for sleeping, bathing and eating for families of hospital patients.  Otherwise, the families would be sleeping in the streets. It costs 2 Rupees/day and houses 700 families each night.

Nirvana School

Founded and operated by an India woman from the U.K. (name??). School is for 300 students ages 3-8 from impoverished and fishermen’s families in the Kottakoppam village. It is well furnished, including computers and library books donated by Rotary.

General note – according to the professor, Tamil Nadu has a literacy rate of about 75%.

Quick walk in the heart of Pondicherry – French settled

Aurobindo Ashram

Blessing by the elephant in front of the temple

Dinner with 8 Rotary clubs of Pondicherry