Friday, June 27

This morning Doctor Sangamitra came in for the biweekly clinic hours held in the ASHA center. She is a charismatic woman around forty who recently left her job in a large hospital to work in the slums. Patients began arriving at 11am. I helped Sushila, one of the Asha women, to take their blood pressure and weight. The blood pressure was easy to take with the help of an electronic device which produced the reading. We then carefully filled out that information into their health card, which every person has thanks to Asha, and they wait in line for the doctor.
The doctor uses the room which we usually teach in. It has a cot, a desk, a sink, and a table with supplies on it. It is remarkable how efficiently the doctor is able to use the limited space and material. She has a box of single use syringes, a box of plastic gloves, and two small coolers, similar to what you might pack your lunch in, filled with medicines taken from the fridge in the next room. Sushila brings in the filled out cards and stacks them on the desk for the doctor. Each patient comes in one at a time and consults with Dr. Sangamitra.
Almost all of the patients are pregnant women. Each woman entered decked out in a gorgeous sari and in various stages of pregnancy. They ranged in age from about 19 to 35. Some already had 4 children while others were experiencing it for the first time. The doctor informed me of some of the procedures she was doing. She performed an ultrasound and I was able to hear the baby's heart beating! The doctor explained that the heart rate was at 130 instead of 140 because it was hungry since the mother had not eaten breakfast. That was a pretty amazing moment.
One woman came in wearing a full head covering revealing only her eyes. She glanced at me sitting in the corner before lifting it to show her face. She and the doctor exchanged some words, as another woman entered the room. The doctor looked exasperated and raised her voice. She looked from the patient to the woman who had just entered, considerably older and with a sour expression. I subtley asked Anurag what they were discussing and he explained that the patient had been told to go to the hospital after their last visit but hadn't gone. Apparently the womans mother in law hadnt let her go to the hospital. Dr. Mitra explained afterwards that the woman had gone to a "quack" doctor for headache medication. The meds she was put on had caused her baby's heart rate to shoot up to a near fatal level. She was fortunate that the baby was alright now that she stopped taking the medication. Dr. Mitra commented on how frustrating it can be working in these conditions. '
Culture, religion and class constantly come in the way of direct medical treatment. One woman who came in with her baby had wanted to get a histerectomy because she already had five children. However her religion, Islam, did not allow it, so she has now given birth again. I have been interested to see how pain is dealt with in a different class and culture. One woman pulled back her sleeve to reveal a 2 inch burn on her forearm. It was now yellowed with pus and most likely infected. I was amazed that she had even been able to wear clothing over it. She had not dressed it or treated it. I considered Kerrys recent fall. She had a one inch cut and we immediately raced off to the hospital and she saw probably 3 doctors. Here in this slum, this woman patiently waited until Friday when she could see the doctor. I realized how fortunate I am to be able to see a doctor as soon as an accident like that burn from hot oil occurred. It also dawned on me that if I weren't able to, how would I be able to go about my day not having treated a wound like that? This woman must have been incredibly strong physically and mentally to be able to withstand that cut and not having treatment. Thanks to Ashas presence in the slum however, she was given the appropriate medical care she needed, and the doctor admonished her for waiting instead of going to a hospital.
In classes that day I just brought in some cards and taught the older girls how to play Bingo and Go Fish. They had never played either game and it was enjoyable to bond with them on an even plane. We all had fun playing and it was a simple way to connect with them without much language.
That evening we went to a nice Italian dinner in Pria Market. Then Nick, Madeleine and I went to a hookah bar and danced until midnight to caribbean and techno music.

Devins Birthday Dinner

Asha organized the loveliest dinner for Devin's 21 birthday! We went to a members only club in the India Habitat Center. All the staff from Asha was there, the Martins, and the volunteers. Here are some photos of the event! It was a really nice time, good company, delicious food, and a nice feeling of comradery and inclusion in our summer 08 family.

cake
the martins
ross and kerry and dr. martin
everyone
nick, me, madeline, devin

Thurs, June 26, Hottest Day So Far

Thursday was undoubtedly the hottest day yet in my three weeks in India. The sun was grilling us as we did the survey. We started in W85 now, the second slum of Zakhira. As soon as we walked in I noticed that it was much shorter than W85. All the houses were about my height (5'4) and had a pathway of about 4 ft in between them. We entered right off of the street, whereas with W88 there is a 50 foot entryway to reach the slum. Here we stepped around some fruit vendors and we're among the houses. This time unlike at W88, as soon as I walked in, I saw a familiar face. Shajadi, one of my younger students. She greeted me with the usual "namaste didi" and implored me to come to her house. Didi, by the way, is a general term of endearment and respect for women. I explained to her that i had to work on the survey but that I would come by her house soon. Anurag and I were working with the other Asha woman, Sushila, for the first time. She barely speaks any English, and kept referring to Anurag to translate between us. We got through about five surveys quickly because the women were clustered together. We then interviewed Shajadi's mother and father. Meanwhile she came over and put a circle of Mendi in the palm of my hand. I was a bit confused because I'd only seen the Mendi applied in intricate designs, how the girl at Jivah Nagar did it. I didn't want to offend her but, I had to wash it off in order to continue doing the survey. She understood and got me some water and a towel, then proceeded to apply the Mendi circles on her younger brothers hands instead.
We were invited into a woman's house to get us out of the heat. She offered us water but, despite the fact that we were literally dripping sweat onto the floor, we had to decline because we can't drink regular water or we risk getting sick. As we asked her the survey questions an unusual thing happened. She answered yes to coughing, with blood at times, and to having lost weight and appetite. It was a bit of a harrowing experience to be sitting in the home of someone who probably has tuberculosis, a disease which is transferred through close proximity to others. Dr. Martin had explained that it takes extended contact and that doctors don't worry being around a patient for a short amount of time. Still, I was in a bit of a hurry to get out of that house.
We then exited at the street and entered another section of the slum through another entrance from the road. There was a long thin pathway no wider than 2 feet. A tall brick wall was on the right, and several houses built in a row on the left. We had to press ourselves against the wall as residents edged past us going in and out of the slum. A thin lane of garbage ran along the wall as well. As we did a few surveys, the women made sure we stood in the bit of shade available. I saw another of my students, Khushbu, carrying her baby brother to her house. Even though I see these girls everyday, and I go to the slum everyday, it is still a slight shock to see them combined. As kerry, another volunteer teacher said, it is so much easier to see the kids in school and believe that they go home to a nice middle class house with comfortable beds and a green backyard. But they don't.





After work we headed straight to the tailors to pick up our saris. We hurried over excitedly and Anurag went to talk to the workers. After arguing for a few minutes, he turned to us and explained that the saris were not ready. Apparently the head tailor who had taken our measurements wasn't there that day. We still had some time before the dinner so we asked if they could please do them right now if we paid a bit more! Anurag sternly said, no, it wasn't possible. Only the head tailor knew how to cut the cloth, and he hadn't done it so the workers could not sew a shirt. We were really disappointed and annoyed, after last nights detour we figured at least we would have the saris to wear to dinner. Such is India though, doing things in a hurry doesn't really seem to be a priority. We headed back to FabIndia and picked out some nice salwar kamiz to wear instead. We quickly went from slumwear to formalwear, dirty to clean and headed out to Devins Asha birthday dinner.

Wed June 25, W85 and Sari Adventure

The Community Health Volunteer (CHV) is the woman from each slum who has been trained by Asha to teach her neighborhood about healthcare. A plump woman wearing a light purple sari bustled up to us and greeted Sushila. We entered one of the homes where it was much cooler. A woman and her baby had to move for us to sit on the mats, but she refused when we offered her space. The CHV had a visual diagram explaining the symptoms and types of tuberculosis. A group of women and children as well as one man gathered in the single room. She had only gotton through the first few steps when the power failed. The fluorescent bulb went out and the box fan shut off. The people nonchalantly exited the house and continued with their days. I imagine this happens frequently so it must be hard to teach a proper lesson. We proceeded with our survey and within ten minutes were dripping wet. I had borrowed a pair of sunglasses from another volunteer because the paper was so bright to look at it hurt my eyes. Sunglasses also serve a secondary purpose of preventing the flies from getting close to your eyes, which is quite an unpleasant experience. As our sweat dripped onto the surveys, another woman invited us into her home. We removed our shoes and entered the remarkably cool room. A ceiling fan created a breeze and just being out of the sun was a huge relief.






We asked her the usual questions. I'll take some time here to explain what we ask about, since I have them memorized by now. We first ask for the persons name, whoever happens to be home. We have interviewed kids of age 10 and up. We then ask for their husband or fathers name. Only one woman we have interviewed has answered that she is not married, and she was 15. I've met a girl who was 17 and was already married with a baby.Most of the women are around 25 or 30. We then ask for their address, W88 or W85. They are then supposed to tell us their house number. Some enter their homes and return with laminated cards which have important information which Asha has given them. A lot of them do not know the number, and it sounds like some of them make it up. In one row of houses we encountered 16, 4, 367, 45 and so on, so it doesn't seem to be in any particular order. Next we ask them their age, which I discussed before that they are not all sure of or willing to share. Our questions pertain to the persons whole family. First is if they have had fever, particularly in the evenings. Then if they have had a cough for the last 3 weeks. If they say yes then we ask if there is ever any blood when they cough. Next is if they have lost weight, only we phrase it as -have your clothes become loose-. Then ask if they have had decreased appetite. In this season we have to preference it with -not if this has been caused by the heat- because people often lose appetite in the summer. Then we ask if they have any difficulty breathing. Some suffer from -Asstama- (asthma!-took me awhile to figure out that's how they pronounce it). Then we ask if they ever have blood mixed with their urine (in case of TB in the kidneys) or lower back pain (spinal TB). We also ask if they have any round mass on their neck or other places. Then we ask if any of their family members or neighbors have suffered from "a disease". We are never allowed to mention "TB" or "tuberculosis". There is so much stigma surrounding the disease, since it was fatal until recently here, that we just say it is a general health survey. Next we ask if they smoke; cigarettes or a cheaper version known as Bhiri, chew tobacco, or drink. This is always a touchy question because it is a Muslim community. Fairly often the women will explain that their husband or father does one or other, but I've only done one survey where someone has done both. Finally we ask if they have had any other respiratory illnesses.
I would say 70% of the time, the answer is No to all the questions. One of the issues is the honesty behind the answers. One time while we interviewed one woman, I heard a man coughing a lot. When we interviewed him however, he said no to the question about coughing. Sometimes people have round masses, or they show us something on their children, but it could be a lipoma. It is great news that most of the people say no to the majority of the questions. Shiny, our Asha team leader, usually knows who has had TB because they have already been treated. She pointed out one house where the entire family had it, but thanks to Asha, were all cured. Nick and I have been working on learning the Hindi of our questions. An Asha woman or Anurag will translate the English questions into Hindi and we write down the response.
In classes this afternoon, I taught the younger and older girls separately. It made such a huge difference because I was able to teach at a good pace for the students' ability. It was day 5 on question words for the younger set. We went over them in English, made sentences, and went over the hints I had taught them, such as "time" for when and "place" for where. Then I set up columns for matching the Hindi word with its English translation, to make sure they knew what the word means in their own language. Then match the hint, and finally write an example. Anjum, age 9, got the first 3 but then wrote "where do you like?". I was very disappointed because I thought they really understood by now. One part that is confusing is that in Hindi the question words do not go at the beginning. I am determined for these girls to learn question words down cold even if its the only thing they learn!
After this frustration, it was refreshing to meet with the older girls. We quickly reviewed question words, and worked on superlatives. I taught them that for 2 people comparisons you add "er" and bigger Than X. We lined everyone up in height and then age order and had them say "I am taller than so and so". Next we learned "the most" ends with -est-, Priyanka was the tallest and Dimple was the shortest. Finally we read a short version of the Three Little Pigs. In my dictionary there were no translations of "straw, sticks or bricks", not to mention huff and puff or chinney chin chin. I made do drawing pictures and acting it out and the girls learned some vocab and understood the moral of the story; to do your best.



Wednesday evening we went to Fab India so Devin and Nick could purchase some Kurtas, traditional indian dress for men. We asked where we could get our sari blouses made and were directed to a store nearby. We managed to all fit in the small corner store and asked how much it would be to have our shirts made for the next day, so that we could wear them to Devins birthday dinner. The plump middle aged woman nonchalantly told us 350 rupees per blouse and double that to have them the next day.Now, we had only paid 150 for the whole thing, so spending 700 rupees, almost 20 dollars, didn't sound like a very good deal. We debated for awhile, comparing what we would pay for clothes in the US made us lean towards doing it, but then considering how much we had paid for this fabric made it seem like a rip off. Devin had a brilliant idea and called his friends girlfriend who told us for her graduation sari of 8,000 rupees she only paid 200 for tailoring. We realized after calling a couple Asha workers that this woman was scamming us. We left and called Anurag for another tailor. He told us to hop a rickshaw at 20 rupees a person to "central market". We agreed to pay the slightly elevated price of 100 rupees for the four of us in the interest of having time to get our measurements taken. We squished into the rickshaw and told the driver to hurry. After 15 minutes Anurag called and asked where we were, not wanting to worry him we assured him we would be there soon. He called another 10 minutes later asking to speak to the driver, he did and we figured now we would get there soon. After ten more minutes he called and talked to the driver again. The driver pulled over and started yelling at us in Hindi. We didnt understand and Anurag explained that we were going to the wrong central market. Sweaty and annoyed we arrived back at our original place after sitting in traffic for another half an hour. The driver then demanded an extra 100 rupees, but why should we pay when we didn't even go anywhere? We handed him what we had agreed to pay and walked away. As we headed toward Anurags car where he was waiting to pick us up we realized the driver was following us! We picked up our pace getting quite nervous and feeling glad we were in a large group. We jumped in the car and Anurag swerved around the driver who had stepped in front of the car. We arrived at central market, Vasant Kunj, within 10 minutes. We hurried out to a small tailor where Anurags mother is a regular. The tailor took our measurements and assured us we'd have the saris ready for 200 rupees at 6pm the next day. Satisfied that our mission had finally been accomplished, but frustrated at our out of the way rickshaw ride, we agreed to go out for dinner. We had some south indian food, dosas (sort of like a crepe but filled with food and dipped into three sauces) and headed home to sleep.

Tuesday, Zakhira and Sarogene Market

Tuesday brought another day working in the slums. Now that Anurag has returned we can split into two groups and complete double the number of surveys. The part of the slum we were in today was clearly dirtier and poorer than other areas. I found out that a lot of people rent their one room homes, paying other slum dwellers who own them.
In the afternoon we taught the boys some action words that they did not know and they responded well to being put into teams to explain the definitions. The girls were not split up as we had requested so we made lists of who we wanted in each section. I spent another day on Question words because they still are having trouble using which, when and why. Even with the help of Anurag it is difficult for them to understand. I noticed some of the more skilled girls getting frustrated when we took time out to work with one girl, so i think as of tomorrow having them come in two batches will be much easier.
Tuesday evening Devin, Madeline and I visited Sarogene Market in search of basic supplies such as hangars, adapters, and a cooking pan. We took a rickshaw and sat in traffic for 40 minutes, sweating already after a shower, right through our clean clothes. On the way to the market some more street kids came out trying to sell us goods. They were older than usual like 14, and were trying to sell us beads and marbles. One of the volunteers is white and that just represents money to them. We tried to ignore them but they kept reaching into the open rickshaw shoving their goods into our face. Then the kid next to me actually started touching me on the shoulder and the hip I guess to get my attention but even when I turned all the way away from him he would not leave me alone, although Devin was shouting at them and so was the driver. So that was very uncomfortable and they wouldn't stop until the light changed and we drove away. Then later in Pria market I saw a disturbing site. There are lots of kids who beg there as well, and I have noticed two women with babies who also beg and appear mentally disturbed. One kid who was following us kept pointing to his leg where he had a huge cut on his shin. If it becomes infected it could cause serious disease. I think I'll mention it to someone in ASHA because he needs a doctor not just a few rupees.
At Sarogene, we were dropped off in a swarm of people, bustling around several streets of commercial places. There were phone stores, fabric stores, lots of street food, tons of vendors, begging children, shouting salesman, and more. We were rather overwhelmed and began our search for household items. I also had heard from a coworker that this was a good place to find Saris. Madeline and I each picked out a gorgeous color silk sari and decided to treat ourselves. When we asked the price however, our jaws dropped. $150 ruppees. That's less than $5 dollars! I had to stop myself from buying one in every color. There is a myriad of choices among fabrics and colors and sequins and embroidery. We gladly purchased our selected one, solid color pink and blue with golden edges. We were instructed to bring them to a tailor to have the blouse and petticoat which go underneath the sari, made to fit us. We managed to put minutes on our phones, purchase some hangars and adapters, even a set of tupperware!
We then had a delicious dinner at a Middle Eastern place. I enjoyed some falafal and the ambiance of the place. We came outside and found it was raining so jumped into the nearest rickshaw and headed home.

Life in a slum

Zakhira is one of the poorest slums in which Asha works. Many of the residents lack a basic item required for standard living. There is a high rate of malnutrition among the children here. A lot of them also suffer from slightly cross-eyes, due to zinc deficiency. I have met one man, and one woman aged 60. People here get grey hair and have weathered skin in their late 30s. Life here is a day to day battle. People make some money by collecting ten screws and sealing them with flame into a small plastic bag. Not all of the residents even own the one room houses in which they live with their whole families. Yesterday some older women were complaining to the ASHA worker that the woman we were interviewing had not paid her rent. But she had nowhere to go. The lanes are strewn with animal droppings and piles of garbage. There are flies which constantly land on everyone's faces, hands and legs. Young children wander around naked, scooping out handfuls of yellow mush their mothers hand them in small bowls. Six year olds carry around their baby brothers and sisters, perched on one hip. Babies have their eyes ringed in dark black and white powder to absorb sweat smothered on their heads and necks. The women are dressed in beautifully colored sari's and salway kamiz. They keep their homes in pristine shape. They sweep out all the dirt with short foot long straw brooms. They do laundry with buckets and harsh soap outside their doors. The clotheslines wrap around the village, in another class they would be decorated with festive lights, in this world they are adorned with fading, stretched out shorts and shirts that surely have been passed through five children over the years. It is amazing how carefully the women care for the possesions they have. One woman invited us into her home and spread out plastic like blankets on the floor. The women are often serious but they are proud. They accept the world they are living in, and now with the help of Asha they have learned independence and confidence. The children are stony faced at first but often burst into laughter and games of chase. In some ways I am envious of these young children surrounded by playmates and women who all look out for them like their mothers. I feel that the sense of community is strong and serves to fill in the material gaps of their needs which most Americans try to fill with possessions instead of human bonds. They work diligently and efficiently. It is truly a different world where ones priorities are tipped upside down and rearranged. It is a lifestyle filled with the juxtapositions between old and new, rural and urban, rich and poor. They judge in relation to what they are familiar with. Just as their world is foriegn to many Americans, so too is the first worlds lifestyle so distant from Zakhira, that it is not as sorely missed. I now have set foot in both worlds however, and am faced with the monumental differences between the two worlds. When one of the women passes me her baby and we all coo at her until she smiles, our barriers dissolve in our common humanity of having an innocent and living being who we all want the best for. Suddenly we exchange smiles which surpass the language differences, and we share a moment eye to eye, taking in the other as completely human and somehow unarguably identical to ourselves.

Lodi Gardens

On Sunday a few of our new arrivals were quite exhausted as they fought the battle against jet lag. We decided to get out and see the city so that they wouldn't just fall back asleep and ruin their schedule. Devin cooked us a delightful meal of pancakes and eggs, despite the fact that he didn't have a spatula or a suitable pan.
We checked out the maps and decided upon Lodi Gardens. We smushed four people into a rickshaw and headed out. When we came to a light the usual compilation of street people came out to solicit us. Seeing an overly packed crew of foriegners they decided they had found a jackpot. They surrounded the vehicle and offered us beads, marigolds and roses. These children almost always approach cars stopped in traffic trying to sell their items or just begging for money. Having heard stories about the kids spending the money on illegal substances, I have taken to bringing some extra food to present them with. This way I know they have something to eat which they desperately need. I have rarely seen these children with parents. One day during the monsoon I saw street kids trying to sell their goods while shivering in the pouring rain. It dawned on me then that one would only stay out in such conditions if their sustenance was entirely dependent on what they earned each day. It is a difficult thought to deconstruct that the slum people live in better conditions than the street people. Right before we moved on from the light I saw one street girl go up to a truck which was transporting water. She deftly unscrewed a nozzle on the back releasing a stream of pure water. She took a drink and then sprinkled some drops onto her bunch of roses. I was a bit assuaged to see that they clearly were adapted to some form of survival on the streets.
We continued our journey in the crowded rickshaw, dripping off our sunblock, until we reached a beautiful green oasis in the city. We entered the park free of charge and were awestruck by these massive temples. Devin translated the Hindi and Urdu scripts for us which described the buildings. Lodi Gardens on a Sunday seem to be a haven for families and couples. Children ran around the temples as if they were a playground while their parents chatted on the grass. The temples were covered in graffiti of Maninder loves Pooja and lots of "I love you"s. As we strolled farther into the park we seemed to be constantly interrupting couples quietly lounging beneath trees or on benches. In a city where male female interaction is usually so formal and distant, it was sort of nice to see some affection. The gardens were very peaceful and well kept.





On Monday all the volunteers gathered for a meeting with the ASHA administration. After some introductions Dr. Martin interviewed us on what we would be interested in doing. We came up with a lot of ideas such as Health Education where our interests and experiences overlapped with the needs of the residents. We chatted around with the ASHA staff and enjoyed some Dominoes Pizza. Unfortunately our afternoon plans were canceled due to the passing of the husband of one of Ashas senior employees. He had been sick for two years and now it was time for Asha to show their support for one of their family members. The volunteers came home and napped, abandoning all plans for shopping due to jet lag and general exhaustion.

PHOTO SITE

http://flickr.com/photos/27673239@N04/?saved=1

check out my album of photos :)

Second Week in India

____________





I would first like to say thank you for everyone taking the time to read my blog. I have just set up a site, http://www.justgiving.com/AshaIndia
where you can make donations to this organization. Please take time to explore their website and see all the amazing work they are doing. What we consider to be very little money in the US, goes a long way here. As you look at my photos, please try to realize the common humanity among us all. I am halfway across the world but I am working in this environment in the slums everyday. I see how hard it is to live in these conditions and I am so grateful to Dr. Kiran Martin and Asha for making such a huge and visible difference for all of these people. Anything you can give will really go so far.
Thank you,
from everyone pictured here.

http://www.justgiving.com/AshaIndia

I have been busy now that other volunteers have arrived from the US.
Nick is from Miami, and will be teaching with me in Zakhira. It is so much easier to have a co-teacher. We frequently have to brainstorm for new ideas. In the classroom, it is difficult to gage the level of understanding until about halfway through the lesson. I worked on sentence order on Tuesday; Person/Action/Object. For the girls this took the whole lesson, while for the boys we moved on to using the gerund and adverbs. An extremely frustrating discovery we made was that our temporary translator, the computer teacher, Panjung, would only show up for the boys class. We thought maybe he was busy during the girls class but we asked him to come for them the next day and he agreed. However, the next day as soon as the girls class started, he sat down to eat his lunch. Nick asked him to please come help with the girls and after taking his time he came and asked -oh do you need help? The girls are so much farther behind the boys that I would basically guess the boys were two grades in school ahead. Also if at the ASHA center this is the attitude towards girls learning, then what message are the girls getting about their education from their families? It is now my goal to not only work on teaching them english but also to try to improve their confidence and charisma. We worked on question words for two days. When, Which and Why were particularly difficult to explain to them. We are thinking of asking to please split up the girls into two classes because their group is bigger and they need more time and a better teacher to student ratio. The boys respond really well to having a guy teacher so Nick has taken the lead for them. One nice thing is the boys have no qualms liking the color pink or flowers or butterflies, it is refreshing to not have kids jeering at each other for those things. The boys are also clearly friends out of class, while the girls did not all know each others names. We also need to find a dictionary that translates hindi transliterally since we can't read the script.
Meanwhile in the slums, our work doing the tuberculosis survey has continued in the morning. Pinky, our Asha help, and a very sweet girl, trudges out there with us and asks the questions in Hindi. Nick and I take turns writing their responses down. One thing Nick pointed out, is that all the women pause after they are asked for their age. Also miraculously they all are a round number, because they always say, 25/30/35/40/45, so basically we are figuring that in fact, they do not know their exact birthdays.




Having Nick present in the slum also creates a change. He is very tall and looks foriegn. Many of the women cover their heads or even faces with their saris or even stay inside and speak only to the woman from Asha. He also becomes a celebrity because when we arrive we soon attract a following of children and adult observers. It still stuns me how generous and warm so many people in the slum are. When we approach a door, the women usher us into the shade so that we are not hot. We went into one womans home and she offered us food but we have been recommended not to eat it in case we get sick from it. Many of the women are willing to have their picture taken. They enjoy seeing pictures of their children and babies as well. I plan to make an album for them to have in the Asha center.
It is remarkable how different each part of the slum feels. Each area that we do a day has a different group of people and a different feel to their community. Whenever I'm off duty, I get into my photographer role. Some people are very receptive to it, and sometimes the kids get very enthusiastic. They all want their own picture taken. It makes candid photography very difficult, because as soon as I pointed at something, 5 kids would jump in front vying for some space. Enjoying that they were not being shy I usually obliged them. After awhile however, there was such a large following of jumping children that I had to put my camera away. Some of them were grabbing at the case wanting their photo taken. Suddenly a woman starts lunging at the kids trying to slap them in order to shoo them away. The kids scattered instantly and quickly, only a few creeping back out of her reach to see what I was taking pictures of.





There are so many babies in the slum. I found out why they put the dark eyeliner under the babies' eyes. Basically anyone that is very cute may create envy in others. If someone is so envied, something bad could happen to them since others are all so jealous of how cute they are. Putting the black lines under their eyes is meant to make them less cute and consequently keep them safe from anyone that might wish bad upon them. Personally I think it makes them look cuter.
We have been wondering why some kids that we meet in the slum, around twelve years old, do not come to our classes. We met a few that are a part of the Bal Mandals, the group of children trained in assessing the health and needs of a specific lane in the slums. Even though there is no school right now because it is summer, the kids seem to remain in their house in the slum all day. It is interesting that a lot of kids ages 8-12ish, seem to take a lot of responsiblity for managing the household. Kids do the cooking and carry around their baby brothers and sisters.
On a more personal note, I have had some India experiences outside of the slum. First of all I discovered the secret of putting powder on your face. The stores all sell talcum powder in bottles designed for guys or girls. When you rub powder into your face, it stops the incessant sweat rolling down! That's why I sit there at Asha with a rag in my hand, while the women look as composed and calm as ever, despite the heat. This week was extremely hot, the rain mostly passed and the sun began to shine strongly. I have a tan on my feet from my shoes that I wear in the slum. I saw blue sky for the first time on Friday, usually it is so cloudy.
One day when we hopped in the car to return home after a day at work, there was a man catching a ride with us. He was older, and had his hair colored by the usual henna, which turns gray hair an orangey hue. We found out he is a preacher, working in the name of Jesus at local slums. He has worked for Asha for ten years, helping the spiritual part of their mission. He explained that he used to work for the church and go around preaching, but he was not practicing what he preached. He felt that he was a good man because of this connection to the church. However, fourteen years ago he had a vision, and was called by God to work for the people. He prays with the sick and heels them. There was another man in the car who shared his story of conversion; his wife and son were very sick and no doctor could cure them. After praying with this man, they were healed. The preacher does not work, he told us about his family and what they all do. He is fortunate to be supported by them. We took a video of him explaining how great the work of ASHA is. He described the way people used to live in the slums as like animals, they were not conscious they were not aware. After a lot of hard work and persistence, Asha was able to help the residents listen and learn to work for their own betterment. The next day he called saying to please not include anything he said that might be negative about slum dwellers.
On Thursday was a big convention for an exciting cause. The finance minister of India organized local banks to agree to offer financial services to residents of the slum Ekta Vihar. This was the pilot slum of the Asha program. The minister explained that these people, even the poorest in society, deserve financial services as much as health services. In this program, residents are allowed to open a bank account even with a zero dollar balance. They can then take out a loan for whatever they need. He explained that everyone, even slum dwellers, deserve to have a tv, a scooter, a mobile telephone, and other amenities. People from all of the slums attended the conference, wearing their best saris; sequins, sparkles and brilliant colors swirled about the room.
The loans may also be used for educational purposes. After high school, all students must be trained in this particular course in order to move on. It is sort of like training for the SATs; only families that can afford it can allow their children to have practice and training. With these loans, all the children in the slum can take this course. At the ceremony, several students were presented with scholarships to attend post secondary education. The air hostess academy is a particularly popular path. It is a short course, allowing students to make money sooner rather than later. This position also allows young people to travel and see the world. A couple students planned to study at the fashion institute, and others were enrolling in Delhi University. It was very touching and exciting to see these young people who grew up in such destitute conditions, able to really tangibly move up in society and do well for their family.
Socially things have been improving for me personally with the arrival of new volunteers. Today (saturday) we went and explored Connaught Place, sort of the downtown/central area of Delhi. We found a market underground to buy pirated dvds and cheap brand name perfumes. We had some indian food, a dosa, and wandered around looking for a mobile phone store. Afterwards we went by Pria market, the local hang out and shopping complex. We went there last night for drinks and some food. The first dish I chose was unbelievably spicy, it felt like my mouth was on fire. After eating we wandered around the market and I made friends with some street dogs. Dogs here are almost all stray and surviving on their own, besides some particularly posh imported breeds. It is very hard sometimes for me to see the dogs, skinny and dirty, panting as they scrounge for food. They have remarkably street smarts however, and know to look both ways before crossing the street. Id worked hard to resist the urge of trying to play with them, until I found a roughly 7 month old puppy at Pria. She was very sweet and I pet her for awhile. I was about to take her home when another dog came around and they clearly were found of each other. We watched them play wrestle for awhile and then I saw that the street kids who beg in Pria take care of those dogs.
My roomate has gotton her staples/stiches out now but still is told not to work for the next week. She must start physical therapy and must not be out and about unless necessary. She is going crazy sitting in her chair in the apartment all day. Ross and i wandered off to the local market to an indian clothing store. it is quite upper class and fairly touristy. While waiting in line to exchange some of my enormous pants for a traditional dupatta-like a scarf-I observed some indian women come in, walk right to the counter, ignoring the line of 3 tourists, and pay for their items. The tourists were a bit bewildered and didnt say anything but I too was taken aback.
That's all for now!