This week has go one by so fast with a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts going threw my head. The home we have been at this week is truly like no other. There are 76 girls, 1boy and amazing staff. The home radiates love and joy. The ages start at about three and continue upward. The expressions on the faces are almost always happy. You know when you walk in this is truly a home not just a place that they live. The children talk, smile and play all the time.

When we arrive the girls run to the car to meet us. They are yelling "auntie,auntie" their smiles are so big they consume their faces.

 It's been a full week since I've been back in India and it's been a whirlwind of emotions and memories. I've seen familiar faces that I've missed dearly and it feels good to be back in the company of such amazing people. On my first day back at the jewelry program the girls threw me a surprise welcome back party with balloons, confetti, streamers and candy! I was also treated to several performances of dance and song and was eventually pulled into the fun and danced along with them. It was one of the best days of my entire life and one I will remember and think about often for as long as I live. It made me realize how much of an impact someone can have on another persons life, even in a small amount of time. They have become a second family for me and it's a relationship I will cherish forever. 

 We have been here in India for three full days.  I have heard, learned and seen things that have broke my heart and that have inspired me. We have met children and women that have overcome things that would likely destroy others. The strength in these women and children is like no other. They are truly survivors.

Yesterday we went to Destiny, a program where the women are working and are at a level of independance that is amazing. The women were so proud to show us the items that they have made and designed. We were just as proud to buy them. Buying these items gives these young women a sense of accomplishment that their work has value. It also allows the girls to continue to work and earn a fair wage so they can support themselves and contribute to their family and community.

After waiting a bit at one shelter for a driver (who we never saw due to traffick), witnessing a women get hit by a car (she walked away, no worries), and downing half my water in the over 100 degree heat (gotta love humidity), we got some directions and headed out to Nijoloy, the other shelter that we are volunteering at. Looking out at the passing city I felt as though Kolkata is a city in transformation and probably has been and will be for years. We past numerous unfunished buildings, some were be lived in or worked in.

Its different to see dogs and cows walking the streets like they are humans going about their daily business. No one bats an eye, so neither do I. Riding in a car here is like being on a roller coaster, "please keep arms and hands in the car at all time until we come to a complete stop". But after playing chicken with numerous cars, again...you got to go with it, embrace the experience and hold on!

It's 5am as I write this blog, sitting in Smarita's living room. The crows are already starting their morning rounds and the sun is shining through the windows. Any other day I'd actually enjoy this moment. But I'm leaving in an hour, and don't have the emotional strength to appreciate the natural beauty.

 After a laptop crash, repair and ultimately a replacement, I'm back in action as a regular blogger for TEN. Please forgive my absence. And know for certain that the “India girls” (as my children call them), the cause, the inspiration were always on my mind, even when I couldn't get the words to you. It's good to be back.

Dianna Badalament, our International Jewelry Program Director, is being featured in two jewelry trade publications this summer, highlighting her recent training trip to our new metalsmithing program in Calcutta.  In addition to her work for Made By Survivors/TEN, Dianna creates and sells exquisite jewelry through her own website, DiannaBDesigns.com.  Dianna's time in Calcutta was extremely productive and essential to the progress of the program - it was also a challenging time because she went in the hot season and worked many days in 110 degree heat, or hotter!   She also had to get creative because we were still in the process of acquiring some of the necessary tools of the trade for the studio.  It was challenging to find everything we needed in country.  We were expecting to start with 10 trainees, and instead 20 girls signed up, so Dianna and Paul had to split the trainees into two teams, and Dianna created curriculum each day for the two groups, while also training Paul and the other staff to oversee.

I am continually amazed by our survivors ability to design and create incredibly stylish, cute, sassy, beautiful, and meaningful jewlery. Two professional jewelers have been helping us with both training and desings. You can read posts by each of these amazing women on this site. They have come up with some amazing peices. But, they have years of practice. What inspires me is how our surviors, who are all fairly new to jewlery making, can come up with designs that often rival those of trained professionals.

The start of the Made By Survivors jewelry program at the Women’s Interlink Foundation’s Child Care Home (CCH), brought a small degree of anxiety for me with regards to teaching. I was a little concerned about the fragility of the slavery survivors and if they would like learning to metalsmith. After a week of being with the average 17 year old (there were a smattering of ages from 15 to 24 years old and all the girls ages are just a guess), I was very pleased with their interest, kindness and vibrancy.