Vrindavan

Vrindavan

Our first couple of weeks at Maitri has been incredible and very interesting. The culture here is very friendly, warm, and welcoming. The second weekend of being in India we had the opportunity to go with Mr. Jolly, one of Maitri’s advisors, to the project for the widows, Project Jeevan. The drive alone down to Vrindavan was a really fun road trip with the others in the car. After stopping for breakfast, we made it to the ashram through many back ways covered with monkeys and cows everywhere. When we got to the ashram we just in time to help feed these widows their mid-day meal. This was quite an experience for both Scott and I. The amount of food that there is and seeing the widows all lined up was kind of a hard sight to see. We were handed the rice in bowls and told to go down the lines piling as much as the widows wanted on their plates. We seemed to have a little trouble in moving through the aisles at first, as the regular helpers swiftly waded through them piling the food on the widows’ plates. After letting the widows eat the meal, we then were able to deliver the sweets to them. This experience, although incredibly hard to see, was very eye opening and rewarding for me. It was great to actually be a part of the groundwork that is going on through Maitri, and I really enjoyed seeing how everything happens with the widows.