I'm Back! (Like, a week ago)
India was absolutely amazing. Maybe it's cos the reports left me quite anxious about what I would see. Maybe it's cos this is the first of MY PROJECT's that i've visited (the rest have sort of been carrying on stuff that's started before I joined, but this one I saw from the proposal stage so it's like my baby!) Anyway, i didn't get to fulfil my imaginings of bright spice pyramids and temples and elephants and old palaces but I'm not disappointed because Karaikal is nothing like the Mumbais and Delhis in my head. It was a lot like Aceh and Jogja in that there were small, poorer communities and they were tsunami-hit, so very much a work trip. So, India for tourism will definitely be on the cards in future.
Anyway, this was a great project to have seen. I didn't have much time to be a tourist but it was rewarding enough to keep me satisfied.
A brief summary: The project is run by a locally-based organisation that has been involved in this sort of work for 25 years. They set up child activity centres that offer supplementary education (think tuition class) for children from coastal area villages (the ones that were hit hardest by the tsunami) and also serves as a playing space and a place for them to learn about rights and for peer support.
It's amazing that in that simple building, where there is like one desk and 4 chairs (the children sit on the floor), there are these active, inquisitive, enthusiastic minds. They were asking questions, and really vocal, and just so hopeful about everything. I was really touched by some of the stories i heard. They face issues that we never had to deal with. Some kids pull out of school because they are going to get married, or they have to help their parents work, or they just feel demotivated because they were orphaned by the tsunami and don't have enough support.
The children really believed that education was important and they are all part of this children's club which is set up in the activity centre. So, when their friends cannot come to school (maybe they are made to join the work force or to get married) , they group together to approach the child's parents and tell them that their child is better off staying in school. They even collect money amongst themselves to buy school bags for those who can't afford them.
In one of the activity centres, the power kept cutting off so the children collect 2 rupees each a month to pay an electrician to make sure that the power supply stayed on.
I was just astounded to learn how progressive India is. And we like to think that we are developed and have it all figured out.
The Karaikal area was really badly hit by the tsunami five years ago as fishing villages lie all along the coastal area. Whole villages were demolished and we heard that there was one where only one concrete building remained of the 100s of houses in the village.
All the children we spoke to in the school had been hanging on for dear life or had scrambled up to higher ground.
The project also covers disaster preparedness training for 3 schools where the kids are taught basic first aid and what to do in case of disaster. Haha.. I MIGHT have learned that before in scouts, but those kids definitely would stand a better chance than i would of surviving a flood or an earthquake.
The third part of the project is a microcredit component where women are trained in alternate livelihoods and also how to manage their businesses. So, women who previously had no means of earning an income now can start their businesses on loans of 4,000 rupees (that's just under RM 300!) giving them an improved income of at least 500 Rupees. The women are taught accounting skills and cost/benefit analysis, etc... and are organised into little collectives for support and in the hopes of forming co-ops in future that are capable of taking loans from banks. From my limited experience, i really believe that microcredit is one of the best ways to get people out of poverty. In particular, microcredit targeting women.
Briefly, my other observations of India:
- food is good and cheap! I didn't get roadside stuff because Delhi belly is too notorious, but no tummy problems and lots of tasty food ala mamak.
- the driving is insane. Seriously. The car horn is a suggestion to get out of the way... But they really have a whole other type of instinct for traffic avoidance. Couldn't drive there, i think. And the honking goes on well into the night.
- Goats and cows are everywhere on the road.
- There's lots of temples everywhere too. Or maybe cos the area i was visiting is a pretty famous pilgrimage site for Christians and Hindus.
- All the ladies wear saris! They could be sitting in the dirt or straddled on motorbikes but they are wearing the most beautifully bright saris! *sigh* colourful after my own heart...
It was really a project-filled trip and no time for leisure so I am just so pumped with enthusiasm for this project.
So much so that i have a ton of reports to write up. *groan* This is the worst part of the trip. Catching up on work.
Will put up photos if and when i get to it, otherwise... they be here on my Facebook album.
Peruse and enjoy!
