Namaste friends or Namaskaram here in Malayalam!

It has been a whirlwind romance for our volunteers in Kerala! The group has basked in the beauty and glory of the culture, climate, children and cuisine! Each of us have been amazed by the dramatic variances between the northern and southern regions of this complex country! India is a never ending story of vast diversity and change. Our volunteers have traveled from the chilly rainy days of Jaipur to the warm beach weather of Kochi within just a short three and a half hour flight. 

We have been working our early morning hours with the children and nuns at the Cottolengo Disabled Children's School. The school resides in Kochi as a special sunlit oasis touched by the Arabian Sea. The order of nuns at the Cottolengo School have been caring for the students for over 20 years. The school is comprised of a rainbow of attendees from orphans, to part time live-ins and day students; but all continue to live with some form of disability with ages ranging from two to sixty two years of age. It is amazing to witness the love and dedication between the caregivers and students!

Our volunteer group has been building an edible garden and painting the surrounding walls to form a children's art project. The edible garden will aid in serving their lunch program (currently there is an allocation of 5 rupees per child for daily meals roughly equates to .08 cents). After beating the daily heat in the garden, the students will participate in handprinting the garden art wall and finishing with their personal signatures! We are in the process of creating a bounty of healthful eating with fruit trees and lots of veggies. We will make sure to post lots of pictures!

Of course it has not been all work as we have been exploring the beaches, visiting historical monuments and spending time sampling the delicious local cuisine! 

As we delve into our new surroundings and spend an immense amount of time together, we have enjoyed growing and strengthening our new friendships! We have shared many experiences, from hotels and train rides to yoga and service projects; but through it all we are stronger, wiser and have relished the supported of our communities here and at home. It will be difficult and heart aching to bid farewell within a week's time after we have embarked on our final excursion to Munar in the mountains of Kerala. We are so grateful for this new family and all the inspiration they've given the Yogamour projects. Our volunteers have presented new perspectives and have blossomed as valuable participants on these projects. The Yogamour tribe traveling through the north and south of India have weathered together everything from sickness and health, the flavor of spice and sweet, and an array of climatic variances. We have supported and amazed each other with positivity and dedication.

Many thanks to those who continue providing unyielding support! Yogamour looks forward to seeing you at one of our springs Bazaars' or perhaps as an active participant with one of our projects!

Lead with your heart,

Beccah