Well, my first week in India has been so incredibly wonderful, and I am thinking that I have made a good decision to come to Orchha and visit with the people I had contacted here prior to leaving England. Everybody has been so hospitable, the hotel I am staying at is absolute luxury and I feel like I am treated as royalty ! I have been non-stop walking and working with my new friends, we are busy running a school for the poor children, also trying to establish a free medical treatment centre and a centre for the destitute who currently sleep outdoors near the Orchha Temple. The children of the school are wonderful, most of them can't attend the government school which only runs in the mornings because they are busy helping their parents work in the fields, so it is fantastic to see them attend our school from 4:30pm 'til sunset Monday through to Saturday each week. After the school finishes each day, we walk up to a hill top to watch the sunset over the wonderful views of Orchha. Walking back down through the village, we always stop at one or two houses where we are invited in for chai (tea), water and often food too. I have many Indian friends that come running to hold my hand and all want me to be their best friend. I cry every night when I write my diary, but it is not because I am sad for the people, rather it is because they are such wonderful people with so very little for themselves but whatever they have will always be offered to me and their visitors before themselves. I have taken photos of the school children, but also some shocking photos of the sick ... a cancer patient, 3 kids with polio, one girl with an infected eye which has dramatically improved over the past 3 days thank goodness, also a baby that has a deep open wound on her backside where you can see right through to the bones. We have been visited by the Hari Krishnas who will help obtain land for a permanent school, as it is currently run outdoors. Today we went to visit with two doctors at the Medical College, getting them to agree to come and provide free treatment to the sick people in the colony in Orchha on a weekly basis, which is so long overdue and I feel can make a massive difference. I am never alone over here, always being escorted back to my hotel every evening by at least two people, and they always carry my backpack & camera around for me during the day too. I am overwhelmed by the generous nature of all these people, and I only wish those who had the money and could make a difference much quicker would help, but I guess that's life the world over ! We are currently working on establishing a Cultural Show also, as a permanent source of income for the villagers, as there is a musical family (as deemed by the Caste system) who have played for me every night I have been here and who I am confident will put on a fantastic show that will become a regular feature for tourists that come to Orchha for the night and are looking for something to do in the early evening. I could keep writing forever about what I have experienced in just 8 days in India so far, but I should go and prepare the photos ready for putting on this website too ! Hope to continue receiving lots of messages from you all in the meantime. Look out for an update from me every Sunday night. Love, Alli.