Bubble wrap

Every few days I am reminded just how hard life in India is for so many people. Today was one of those days. This morning, I took some biscuits (crackers) with me to Gavin’s school to give to the day laborer’s children, as I try to do every few days. Normally, I step up to the gate, one of them sees me and comes running to grab the bread, biscuits, or whatever else I came bearing. Today as I peaked around the gate, no one saw me. So, I waded through the mud and puddles up to the uncompleted building that the children sit under to stay out of the rain. There were 2 very small girls, maybe 2 or 3 years old, just sitting on a pile of plastic. They looked up at me and I saw how dirty their sweet little faces were. One of them had at least 8 flies eating something off of her shirt and several more buzzing around her face. I gave them the biscuits and walked away, wishing that there was something more I could do. Then, later today I unwrapped the bookshelf that just arrived from Jodhpur. We had purchased several items there and were thrilled that they came in this week. (Unfortunately, the book shelf was so big it wouldn’t fit in the elevator. So, we had to pay some guys to haul it up the 19 flights of stairs to our apartment. I think it got pretty banged up from its trip to Mumbai and then up the stairs. Luckily, it is supposed to look old so a few more dings didn’t hurt its appearance!) Our bookshelf was wrapped in loads and loads of bubble wrap. I was just going to toss it out, but thought I would ask my nannies/maid if they wanted it. They did, so I stuck it in a room for them. When Lilly saw how big of pieces of bubble wrap it was, she thought of a better use for it then just keeping it to wrap some of her dishes. One of her neighbors is a widow. Her daughter, son-in-law, and several young grandchildren all live with her. She had just told Lilly that they are not getting any sleep at night now that the rains have started. Normally, families buy huge plastic tarps which they put on their roofs to keep the water from leaking in. (They hold the tarps down with big rocks). Her son-in-law doesn’t have a good job so they are very poor and couldn’t afford to buy a tarp (which I hear is about 75 cents per meter). So, they are getting dripped on all night long. When Lilly saw the big bubble wrap pieces she got very excited that they were big enough to put on the roof of this family’s house. On Sunday, when the trains are empty, she is taking it home to give to this family so that they can start sleeping well again. I told her that was such a good, creative idea and so nice that she was thinking of others. I really appreciate that about Lilly. She has a hard life too, yet she is always giving part of her salary to the poor or widows or giving clothes and other things away. My sister-in-law sent some clothes back to me (through Joel after his US trip) which she didn’t need after cleaning out her closet. I kept a few and then offered the rest to Lilly, Sophia, and Veronica. They each kept 1-2 and then the rest were going to some little girls that my nannies know, neighbors and nieces. That is one thing I really appreciate about India…nothing goes to waste. All your leftover food is given to those in need and if it is too bad for them it is fed to the street dogs. Clothes can always find a new home. Even my plastic bubble wrap found a good use!