Hayley In India

  Hayley works for Barclays bank and in September 2005 she went to Mumbai to train other people new skills. Even though there are rich areas of Mumbai one of the things that Hayley found very hard to cope with was the poverty. Hayley stayed in a luxurious hotel but a twenty minute drive away it was a completely different story. Lots of poor people living in tents and begging as she passed by in the car. This would happen every day and during Hayley's two month stay she would phone me regularly very upset. Hayley was given to much food to eat in the hotel and she would save fruit etc. and give it to the people on her way to work. It was a very exciting but also emotional time for her especially when the little children's eyes lit up when you gave them something as simple as a colouring book and crayons. It was very humbling!

  Hayley was very fond of Swarmi who drove her back and forth to work and worked a very long day for very little money. Swarmi was always smiling and played Kylie's greatest hits for her in the car even though he didn't understand a word of it(poor man) Tragically there was a flood where Swarmi lived and alot of his family's belongings were washed away. One of the highlights for Hayley was Radna the elephant. Hayley would feed Radna as often as she could and one of Radna's favourites were bananas. Hayley also loved to browse at the many shoe stalls and brought several pairs back with her as gifts. During her stay Hayley took a trip to Goa and also Agra to see the Taj Mahal and on her way back she stopped off in Dubai for a couple of days. Hayley said "it was an experience of a lifetime, full of mixed emotions and one she certainly won't forget"