On Monday I went to the new Chingari Trust building. They moved into this so much bigger space over the weekend. As you know I did visit the old site when I first arrived and met all the staff and children. I was taken by the lovely and calm atmosphere of the place, and despite the disabilities the children were coping with they were all smiley and communicative and so affectionate. In fact they were giving.
I was asked to do a design for the new garden and so I did visit the site in that first week when no-one was there. It seemed dusty and noisy and lacking in atmosphere. What a change when I visited on Monday – they had settled into the new site, despite the fact that no work had been done on it, and somehow a little miracle had transferred it into a warm and happy place – the children and staff were there. Mr Thomas and Champa seemed to be so happy to have made this move. The children were also reacting positively to their move, and were so curious; some wanted to wander around and explore. The mothers of the children had more space (see photo) and were happy sitting in a circle chatting to each other.
The design for the new Chingari garden is finished and they have a copy. I will post a copy to you too. The garden plan is divided into five areas, each with a purpose:
1. A dining/picnic area with two surfaces: soft and hard.
2. Different textures – sand, soil, gravel; this will also have climbing frames, a slide and swings.
3. A lawn with low furniture for the children for relaxing and gentle physio.
4. A planted area with a variety of textures, colours, sound and smells.
5. Small strips of divided beds so that they can experiment and grow their own seeds. Hopefully some of the exterior walls can be painted with murals.
Anyway when I send on the plans you can see all the ideas I have put forward. Obviously I understand they might not be able to use the design exactly but maybe they will be inspired by it and adapt it to what is best for them.
This just received from Annette now that she is back in London. The broadband at Sambhavna has a mind of its own and we didn’t receive this here in the BMA office first time round!
