“Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua”
“I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past. This whakataukī or ‘proverb’ speaks to Māori perspectives of time, where the past, the present and the future are viewed as intertwined, and life as a continuous cosmic process.”
The final week is here! The time went so fast, yet so much has happened! Where do we go from here?
This whakatauki relates this week’s experience. So much to look back on and learn from! How could I possibly share all of this with people back home?! Coming to a end of the internship with so much gratitude for getting welcomed into the world of Mumbai, Aastha Parivaar and the lives of people we have met along the way.
Wow! The last week. It honestly flew by. I am trying to cherish every moment and feel so much gratitude for the women I work with and our experiences.
This week’s blog will be mostly pictures of the last moments of week 6’s experiences.
Making the most of catching the train to work (miss this already!). Working hard alongside my colleagues. Hearing them problem-solve together to support the women coming into the unit and their collective laughter throughout the day.
The final days entailed getting any last-minute gifts for people back home in Bandra, dance workout class at a local gym, sunrise at the gateway of India, finishing up work at the internship, starting to pack my very overweight luggage, saying goodbyes to the incredible YWCA staff that have looked after us so well and trying to do last explorations around Mumbai.
It was delightful getting to hang out with the remaining women at Aastha Parivaar. Until I, Reshma, and her son came in before school were the only ones there!
I cannot express how amazing the experience has been interning at Aastha Parivaar. I cannot thank them enough for having me and giving me so much of their time and energy.
Finishing off our week with the end-of-term presentations! I was so fortunate to have 2 members of Aastha Parivaar Unit 2 (Amurta and Sangeeta) come along and watch our presentations. It was a mixture of insight, reflections, laughter and reminiscing moments, hearing about everyone’s trip experience.
