India! Here’s why I came here.

26.11.2014 TRAVEL India
INDIAINDIA

It’s happening, I’m in India! And no, I didn’t come here for a holiday. I’m here to pursue my blog and travel projects and to visit Indian and African social activists. Unbelievable? I don’t believe it’s happening either.

Mumbai and Travel around the blogs

I’m spending the first week of my trip in Mumbai. I’m going to try to meet some bloggers (I am planning on food and fashion people). I have made contact with the largest blogger organizations in India.

Keep your fingers crossed. I hope that the meeting will come to reality. because I’ve been talking with them for more than a month.

At the kanthari Institute

The mere thought of this gives me goosebumps. I’m going to spend two weeks in a wonderful location in the south of India – at the kanthari Institute, where, for seven months, predominantly African and Indian visionaries and social activists learn to carry out their social projects.

After 7 months, they return to their communities and implement them. They are mostly people from disadvantaged environments and/or with disabilities, who have the fire in the belly and passion for helping others. They build ecological villages, orphanages and homes for the children of prisoners and prostitutes, and Monicah from Africa has even come up with an alternative circumcision ritual, which she has persuaded her tribe to use instead of the usual one.

These people are like small kantahri peppers – inconspicuous, but with immense impact. It is incredible to think that in a few days I will meet them all.

How I got there

I wrote about kanthari in my July post, “The extraordinary man and the chillis.” I encourage you to read it if you haven’t already. I mentioned Tom there – the only kanthari graduate from Poland.

We met in July and right at our first meeting we decided that we should go to India together. This would allow us to combine my travels and meetings with inspiring people as well as my social media experience with his support for the projects of Indian and African kanthari activists.

Still, I didn’t think it was going to happen so quickly. Tom talked to the founders of the institute, I filled out the application form, I held a couple of skype conversations and here I am.

kanthari from the inside

I will be accommodated at the eco-friendly campus of the kanthari Institute, where I’m going to learn about the teaching methods used there, the stories of extraordinary social visionaries from India and Africa, to participate in daily life at the institute and to get to know about unique projects.

I want to describe it all to you on my blogs. I’m a little stressed out going there, but at the same time I am very happy. It’s an exciting feeling.

Blogowigilia and India

Now you finally know why I already begun taking vigorous action regarding Blogowigilia (the largest festive meeting of digital influencers in Poland) as early as in August. I had to make sure that most of the stuff would already be arranged at the time of my departure.

I’ll be back just before Blogowigilia, but I am working and answering messages via email and skype every day. Back in Warsaw I have the support of Ania and Ewa and lost of other people, to whom I am incredibly grateful for their kind words and offers of help. Some bloggers have helped me prepare materials for the kanthari participants which is awesome. Thank you. I will write more about it soon.

I keep pinching myself to believe it’s all real.

So keep following my blog entries and don’t forget to pop in at my Instagram every once in a while.

I’m so glad now that one day I said to myself: “Hey girl, instead of planning new dreams all the time, start making them happen.” And so I did.

Ten post jest dostępny w języku: Polski

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