My name is Vinitha. I am studying is second year BA. I am staying in Odanadi.
It is some words that I felt in the cycle Jatha; “Our earth, our people”.
It was good experience with our sisters and brothers. We felt very sad when we were returning back because in 25 days we enjoyed a lot. We built a good relationship and also we came to know about everyone from many other countries. There were sisters and we became friendly to them and we understood each others. Even in villages, the people treated us as their own family. It was good and we came to know about the different places I would never have thought to go in my life.
About the changes the cycle Jatha had on me, I would say mainly the “self confidence”. In the beginning, I was afraid to speak in front of people. But after I came back from the Jatha, I have got the power to speak and also I have come to know that I can do anything in life if I concentrate on one thing.
When we came back, we were very sad. It was a good and great experience.
“Our earth, our people”
We all are equal, we should protect our earth. Then everything will be good and safe

Vinitha

My Cycle Experience

After doing the Cycle Rally with Odanadi, I am happier and have more self-confidence in my life. I saw many different village cultures, religions and other social circumstances because of the rally. I learned a lot from my cycle experiences and I now have more will power and have made relationships with people from the villages.  Wherever we went, we met different people and learned about their behaviors and relationships.  This rally is not a race or a tour, it is an awareness program for many villages in Karnataka.

We brought special messages to people of villages who were mostly poor about how to save and protect the environment. Without a good environment, we cannot live on the Earth, it is impossible. Therefore, we gave this message about our environment, pollution and we also gave information about human trafficking. I felt very happy to participate in this rally and I felt like the people in the villages trusted us.  But in some places, the villagers still practiced caste-ism and it made me feel bad. But I did not care about that and I tried to forget about it after some time. 

On the cycle rally, I was also able to build relationships with the Odanadi volunteers and I learned some new languages. All of the volunteers were so nice and we learned a lot from them. They were not only volunteers or foreigners, but they became our friends. We are all one and we are all living on one Earth. We are breathing the same air, we drink the same water, and we are not separated. This is what I learned from the rally.

Before the cycle rally, I had stage fright to talk with and in front of others. But now the stage fear is long gone. I learned how to speak in public from this rally. Of course, there were incidents in some places that were bad, but other places were very good.  Wherever we went, people looked at us with respect and we were always received in good manner.

I am proud of all our volunteers because this was the first time for most of them to come to India. They had gone to other developing countries as tourists but not as volunteers and they all adjusted very well. I am sad that the rally is finished but my heart is full of happiness because I had this experience.

Thank you!
Your sister,

Janavi