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Bruce is returning for a second trip in December 2007.
To give you an idea of what the trip will be like, here's the
photos and story from the 2002 camp. Also, check the India Prayer Story link at the bottom of the page for how God answers prayers!
Fencing Camp in Calcutta, India
for Underprivileged Youth...
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NEW Trip December 2007!!!
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Here's some quick facts about India and Kolkata (Calcutta)...
-India's population is at more than 1 billion people. It's the world's second most populated country, after China.
-Although India is a growing economic power..., forty 40% percent of the entire world's poor still live in India. Eighty 80% percent of Indians live on less than $2 a day.
-Kolkata is one of the poorest and largest cities in the world with a population of 14,521,000.
-By religion, Indians are 81.3 percent Hindu, 12 percent Muslim, 4.4 percent are Sikh, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and 2.3 percent Christian.
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The 2002 India Fencing Camp for under-privileged Youth was a great success! The week long camp was held at Circular Road Baptist Church in Calcutta (which is about 100 yards from Mother Theresa's). The camp was open to all youth in the community. We had 30 students which included a group of young men from a drug rehab program. The Youth were able to enjoy something they would have otherwise been unable to experience and helped provide them with a greater feeling of self-worth and confidence. I also had an opportunity to share some much needed and well received words of encouragement with them.
After the camp, I had the privilege of speaking at the church founded by William Carey the great 18th-19th century missionary to India. I also fenced and did a mini-coaching clinic with the Bengal Fencing Association. They are some hard working fencers operating on a shoe-string budget. They meet in a huge old olympic sized in-door stadium. I donated all of my fencing equipment to them after the camp was completed. They were overjoyed to receive it! Absolute Fencing Gear and various individual fencers generously provided numerous sets of equipment for the camp.
As far as the city itself, Kolkata has tremendous poverty...especially to Western eyes. There are millions of people literally living in the street, cooking, sleeping, bathing, along side various dogs, goats, cows right in the middle of a major city. The traffic and smog are unbelievable!
However, Kolkata is also a city of contrasts... Beauty and poverty exist side by side. The city has some great Victorian architecture rivaling London's. There are many fine stores, restaurants and hotels, such as the Taj Bengal Hotel, where I had the privilege of staying and my delicate western constitution was well cared for!
Getting to India can be a challange with the paperwork, extra luggage (equipment), and 28 to sometimes 40 hour flights. Even so, it's all worth it to see how our little acts of kindness can mean so much to people who have so little. I have made some good and lifelong friends in Kolkata. I look forward to returning.
Enjoy the pictures and pray for the good people of India.
Bruce
Click here to contact BruceSikes@aol.com
Click here to read the INDIA PRAYER STORY
Picture Captions:
1). Regional Map of India
2). Bruce & little friends
3). Street scene in Kolkata
4). Hoogly River
5). Para-Military Police
6). Mother Theresa's
7). Rickshaw
8). StreetCar
9). Bengal Fencing Club
10-14). Youth Camp
15). Circular Road Baptist Church
16). Kolkata Bus
17). Bathing
18). Street Scene Kolkata
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