Report of 12 Dec 2015
Good evening!
The Bay of Bengal is blue and beautiful. The church down the road is broadcasting its evening music to all: reminds me of the churches in Kenya on Sunday mornings, when people would be dressed to the gills and would flock to churches that would broadcast beautiful choral music on loudspeakers. The whole atmosphere was one of piety and happiness. I was in walking clothes - sneakers and jeans - and stepped into one of the churches well before services started just to see what it was like, and several members of the congregations glared disapprovingly at my outfit. :)
The flood has ended, we hope. The city is rebounding nicely, thanks in large part to private efforts. Social networks were used to wild advantage in getting aid to the needy and in continually connecting those in need with those supplying relief. Unregulated building and very bad roads are to blame for this flood; I doubt very much that the Government will learn. One of our favorite places, a school for the blind which has tailored a few of my clothes (a sighted person cuts the material, a blind person sews), has spoken of how much damage they have incurred. I hope they will rebound quickly: they truly are fine folks.
I got to Kovalam on Monday and saw lots of patients. We normally have a cut-off time and I punted it; we ploughed on and on. Our cooking area has been damaged and we have given money to the village chief to cook for the whole village; vegetable biryani came for lunch and Scott and I have promptly got sick from eating it. I have urged white rice, dhal and veges for subsequent menus; though the temptation is to send something festive, it is not a good idea now to eat it.
Scott came with me, both to Kovalam and to Adaikalam later in the week. The roads were mostly navigable. After seeing the patients in Adaikalam, one of the nurses, the senior health care worker and I did physical exams on all the staff. Many of them had had flooded houses, had waded in questionable water either to reach residences or work, some had upset stomachs, and all were seen. It was the least I could do for a populace that had held the fort when their colleagues could not get to work, and who executed many, many additional responsibilities without complaining.
We have been home yesterday and today, Scott working from home as usual and I keeping up with emails and other responsibilities. We Skyped with both boys and that was nice.
We have plenty of occasion to be grateful for our good fortune. We hope you have your own fair share of blessings.
Unw -
R
The Bay of Bengal is blue and beautiful. The church down the road is broadcasting its evening music to all: reminds me of the churches in Kenya on Sunday mornings, when people would be dressed to the gills and would flock to churches that would broadcast beautiful choral music on loudspeakers. The whole atmosphere was one of piety and happiness. I was in walking clothes - sneakers and jeans - and stepped into one of the churches well before services started just to see what it was like, and several members of the congregations glared disapprovingly at my outfit. :)
The flood has ended, we hope. The city is rebounding nicely, thanks in large part to private efforts. Social networks were used to wild advantage in getting aid to the needy and in continually connecting those in need with those supplying relief. Unregulated building and very bad roads are to blame for this flood; I doubt very much that the Government will learn. One of our favorite places, a school for the blind which has tailored a few of my clothes (a sighted person cuts the material, a blind person sews), has spoken of how much damage they have incurred. I hope they will rebound quickly: they truly are fine folks.
I got to Kovalam on Monday and saw lots of patients. We normally have a cut-off time and I punted it; we ploughed on and on. Our cooking area has been damaged and we have given money to the village chief to cook for the whole village; vegetable biryani came for lunch and Scott and I have promptly got sick from eating it. I have urged white rice, dhal and veges for subsequent menus; though the temptation is to send something festive, it is not a good idea now to eat it.
Scott came with me, both to Kovalam and to Adaikalam later in the week. The roads were mostly navigable. After seeing the patients in Adaikalam, one of the nurses, the senior health care worker and I did physical exams on all the staff. Many of them had had flooded houses, had waded in questionable water either to reach residences or work, some had upset stomachs, and all were seen. It was the least I could do for a populace that had held the fort when their colleagues could not get to work, and who executed many, many additional responsibilities without complaining.
We have been home yesterday and today, Scott working from home as usual and I keeping up with emails and other responsibilities. We Skyped with both boys and that was nice.
We have plenty of occasion to be grateful for our good fortune. We hope you have your own fair share of blessings.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
3:53 AM
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