Our last week at Hebron

Keen to share in the Hebron experience, Guy's mum and dad, Mark and Suzie, came over to join us for the final week. They demonstrated remarkable powers of stamina and endurance from their very first day! As soon as they arrived - after 20 hours of travelling and no sleep - they were given the full on Hebron welcome with garlands and cheers and were then whisked off to be very special guests of honour at the senior students leaving party thrown by the juniors before their final exams. After enjoying the songs and speeches they were then whisked back to the Home and asked to help serve dinner to 365 kids! I don't think their feet quite touched the ground until they finally made it into bed!

During that final week, so much was happening at Hebron. Preparations were being made for Sagar's trip over to London to meet with the ALMT, including the finishing touches being made to the 70-page business presentation that Guy had written for Sagar. And as the students were nearing the end of term, the week was crammed full of concerts, shows and events. The very next morning after Mark and Suzie's arrival, we headed off with the soon-to-be-qualified student nurses from the Primary Health Care course to visit a remote village and administer care to sick villagers, as well as watch them teach the kids about hygiene and healthy eating. These girls would have been without a profession but, thanks to the ALMT, at the end of their exams they will each return to their villages to act as an important link to local doctors. They will use their new skills to identify and treat illness before it gets too serious and refer those in particular need to the local hospitals. It was so rewarding to see them at work and the tangible results of the ALMT's support over the last 2 years. We were all then taken on a tour around the village and attend a church service with the local community - as well as being fed 3 coconut juices each, risking another coconut overdose a la Cambodia!

The following day, on the Sunday, final preparations were underway for the evening's 2nd Annual Day at Corbett School. The playing field was overrun with chairs, a giant platform was being constructed and the students were busy rehearsing dance routines or skits. Suneeta kindly dressed Suzie, Marinda and I in her special saris for the evening and Guy even styled his long hair so he looked just like a Bollywood actor! Once again we were very special guests of honour and our names were on the programme. For the night, we were asked to sit on a special dias in front of 2,000 parents, many of whom hadn't seen Western faces before. The kids were so excited and kept coming up to talk to us, despite being shooed away by the adults and told to sit back down! As the garlands were handed out, the show began. We noted that there were over 60 performances throughout the evening, and as the show had already started 2 hours late, Suzie joked that we would be here until midnight. It was actually half passed midnight when we finally stepped off the dias after 6 hours of acts, skits and dances - as well as speeches and prize givings. The programme may have been long, but you couldn't fault the enthusiasm with which is was delivered! The highlight of the night was The Drunken King dance routine bby the boys of Class 2 Section C a.k.a Guy's cricket team! They literally stole the show and people were rushing to the front and climbing on chairs to get a better look! They were beaming from ear to ear when they came off the stage and were hailed as the dance heroes the next day! Other highlights included the full version of Shakespeare's As You Like It set to an Indian backdrop but with French 'Allo 'Allo music and the powerpoint presentation of a new school software system that seemed to lose the crowd a little! The Pattison clan didn't get off lightly either. All 4 of us and Marinda were asked to come on stage 3 times to help hand out sports prizes and give a special address, which we left in the capabale - and now experienced - hands of Guy! He took the opportunity to stress the importance of the integration between children, community and caste that could be seen at Corbett, with orphaned Hebron kids now learning alongside the more wealthy kids from the local town. The night may have been long but it was a hugely important profile builder for Sagar to attract new pupils to the school, plus the next day the 'very special guests from London' got to see their name in the local paper!

The events didn't stop there. On Thursday we had Hebron's Second Angus Day! The day kicked off with a sports day for the Hebron kids who each marched out on to the school field under team banners called: Angus Lawson team, Nick Lawson team, Mark Pattison team, Suzie Pattison team, Guy Pattison team, Helen Pattison team and Marinda de Villiers team! Suzie and Guy then hoisted the flags while it fell to Mark to officially open the day and recieve the team salutes! The racing was nice and competitive and it was clear to see some of the strong Hebron sports stars. After the track and field Mark and Suzie settled down to watch the team kabaddi and cricket matches, ending with Hebron Superstars vs. Angus Lawson Vocational College senior teams. It was hotly contested with HS winning the kabaddi and ALVC winning the cricket. While this was going on, Guy and I were desperately trying to gather photos of every Hebron child as we had decided to leave them all with a printed out picture of themselves and their friends as a souvenir. The logistics were impossible, especially as we didn't have a complete list of children's names! But we got there in the end!

That evening was the grand finale - the Angus Day concert. A new dias had been constructed and all the children were gathered to watch the show. By this point the kids might have been weary of performing but there was no sign of that. Instead they sang and danced with even more gusto! The routines were a bit more modern than Corbett Annual Day and there was some excellent Bollywood dances. Some of the students had the makings of excellent dancers. The Pattisons once again dominated the stage, with each of us being asked to say something and then presented awards from that day's sports events. Guy has obviously inherited his public speaking skills from Suzie who was great with the mike - a real natural! The highlight for us though was Sagar's decision to ask Guy and I to officially open the Angus Lawson Vocational College. The significance of the gesture was huge and I found it very moving to be stood where Nick had stood 2 years earlier to lay the college's foundation stone. After a short break to feed the kids with special chicken biriyani, we return to see the senior girls perform a traditional dance that they had been practicising all week. A few of the kids were starting to realise that it was our last night and their tears made us feel sad that our month a Hebron had come to an end.

The next mornng it was time to go. We got up early to give each kid their photo and then got ready with Sagar to catch our flight. As we left, the kids had lined the path to the car to say goodbye and burst into a spontaneous 'London's Burning' which caught Guy and I unawares and brought lumps to our throat. We desperately tried to say a proper goodbye to all the faces and personalities that we had grown to love over the 4 weeks but there were so many! As we retraced our route along the canal to leave Palakol, we looked back and the children were still lining the path singing 'London's Burning' across the water.

With a final big wave, we drove on to Rajahmundry with plans to head north and begin our quest to trace Suzie's family history.