As usual, I LOVE getting involved in the festivals and celebrations that seem to be a daily thing in Indian life here. One of the latest was Raksha Bandhan, aka Brother/Sister day.
On this day the sisters give their brothers a bracelet made with silk threads, and the brothers pledge to take care of them forever. It's widely celebrated in India and abroad and is a nice fun holiday and reason for families to be together.
Rakhi happened during Action in the Community so we had decided that since there are 8 men on staff here at Sangam we would have the International staff team give the boys bracelets to show the participants what the celebration was all about. We had the boys all line up in the hall on mats with rangoli around them and surprised them by bringing everyone in for the fun.
Each staff member (except me, I played photographer) who was there got a chance to perform puja and aarti to the men and then gave them their bracelets. It was a lot of fun, and we even had Datta our gardener (who is retired, and a typically adorable old Indian man) who we all call Azoba - grandfather participate. It was such fun and a great way to get the boys to spend quality time with us. They're all very shy, and usually its such a struggle!
Then a few days afterwards the staff team headed out to Navlakh Umbre Village about an hour outside of Pune. Its this small village in the middle of this lush intense green hilly area. It's beautiful. We stopped first at the school near the main town. The village had connections to Sangam in the past when we helped them start up a Guiding in the area, but over the years it was lost and now we are trying to build it up again. Because of the location of the village (near a lot of development - many plants openning up nearby, etc) they were chosen by the company UPS as a UPS development village. This means that a year ago they came and restored the schools, built computer labs, etc. and helped develop the resources for the children. They all seemed very proud of the work UPS had done, however like most development projects it came with its own downfalls. UPS had shipped massive containers halfway around the world with every single supply they needed for the projects. I'm talking like paint brushes, paint buckets, wheel barrows, sheeting and wood for the buildings....everything! Some may call that smart planning - I call that a massive error in judgement. For a company that was investing such time in development of an area, they could have spent far less money purchasing the goods locally here in India and helped develop the national economy. To each their own - but it seemed a little ridiculous to me.
Anyway, we then headed into the village and went to the primary school. Here they had tons of kids around and it was fun to spend time with them. We got a chance to see Coco (the national sport) being played by the kids in the yard. Minakshi, our wonderful Community Liason/Admin Assistant came with us and she joined in with the boys while they demonstrated the game to us. It was hilarious to see her running around in the mud in her Guiding uniform!
So much has been happening, and now with Ganpati in full swing I have even more stories to tell but little time to write them down! More to come soon, xo
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Muslim Girls Orphanage
It seems like it's been so long since I've found the time to sit down and get some of this stuff out!
Just went through my camera and realised how much I have missed updating on...
At the end of August we had an event called Action in the Community where we had 50 participants come to do a number of projects for some of our community partners. It was a great event, and it gave me a chance to spend 3 days at one of our partners the Muslim Girls Orphanage.
The organization has a lot of space in the city, not far from Sangam. It has a dorm building that holds 180 girls who live there on site. Here in India (and especially in the Muslim religion), orphan has a different meaning than in Canada. Here you are an "orphan" if you come from a single parent family where the mother is the caretaker, if you come from an at risk family where the parent has a dangerous or unsuitable profession, or if the parent cannot care for the child.
There are a few schools on the grounds including one urdu medium elementary school, one urdu medium high school, and a polytechnique. At the polytechnique they teach the girls trades so that they can work and be contributing members of the family when they are married. They teach tailoring, design, embroidery, a home management class, personal care (massage, threading, hair cutting, etc), computer classes, etc. And the girls also get certification in most of those classes so its a great opportunity for them to learn more and develop themselves.
So as part of our time there we did a brief tour of the facilities and met with the principal of the polytechnique and the head of the site in Pune. And then we moved into the projects which were sorting the stone out of rice, cutting vegetables, and designing, painting and installing 3 paintings in the dorm building to cover up an elevator shaft that was unused (no money to get the elevator).
So we spent time in the mornings playing games with about 50 kids for 2 hours, then the tour, then lunch and project time! In the morning the girls from the Urdu medium schools were around as their classes didn't start until 12 oclock, and in the afternoon we had about 20 girls from the English medium classes come back from school as they attended in the mornings. It was a blast for me to spend the time with the kids there for the 3 days...and it gave me a taste of what volunteers feel when working with kids abroad, it was great.
The best part for me was hanging out in the afternoons with the English medium kids. They helped facilitate conversation between the older kids and staff members at Muslim Girls, and they gave me a chance to find out what their stories were and how things worked there right from the source. It was great to be greeted every morning with "Didi!" shouted from the windows as we came to the dorm.
It was such a great experience for me, but I had a really hard time on the last day saying goodbye. I had talked to my favourite few girls all afternoon and they were telling me about their families and how they can visit every Sunday for one hour. So mostly their mothers come, but if they are sick their brothers will come visit them. These girls were from families with 2 or 3 brothers who lived with their mother, but they had to live here away from them all. And when I asked if they ever go home, they said with such joy that they go home in December. They said they get to "move out", and pack up all their things...so I assumed it was for a long, long time and then they told me it was only 2 weeks. It just sort of broke my heart thinking that these girls manage so well in their situation without worrying of what they have lost. Most of the girls will live in the orphanage until they are 18, at which point the organization finds a husband for them and arranges (and helps pay for) the marriage.
It just put things into perspective and has continually made me keep myself in check when I start to get sad about missing friends and family...I really need to go back there soon and check in with those girls.
Just went through my camera and realised how much I have missed updating on...
At the end of August we had an event called Action in the Community where we had 50 participants come to do a number of projects for some of our community partners. It was a great event, and it gave me a chance to spend 3 days at one of our partners the Muslim Girls Orphanage.
The organization has a lot of space in the city, not far from Sangam. It has a dorm building that holds 180 girls who live there on site. Here in India (and especially in the Muslim religion), orphan has a different meaning than in Canada. Here you are an "orphan" if you come from a single parent family where the mother is the caretaker, if you come from an at risk family where the parent has a dangerous or unsuitable profession, or if the parent cannot care for the child.
There are a few schools on the grounds including one urdu medium elementary school, one urdu medium high school, and a polytechnique. At the polytechnique they teach the girls trades so that they can work and be contributing members of the family when they are married. They teach tailoring, design, embroidery, a home management class, personal care (massage, threading, hair cutting, etc), computer classes, etc. And the girls also get certification in most of those classes so its a great opportunity for them to learn more and develop themselves.
So as part of our time there we did a brief tour of the facilities and met with the principal of the polytechnique and the head of the site in Pune. And then we moved into the projects which were sorting the stone out of rice, cutting vegetables, and designing, painting and installing 3 paintings in the dorm building to cover up an elevator shaft that was unused (no money to get the elevator).
So we spent time in the mornings playing games with about 50 kids for 2 hours, then the tour, then lunch and project time! In the morning the girls from the Urdu medium schools were around as their classes didn't start until 12 oclock, and in the afternoon we had about 20 girls from the English medium classes come back from school as they attended in the mornings. It was a blast for me to spend the time with the kids there for the 3 days...and it gave me a taste of what volunteers feel when working with kids abroad, it was great.
The best part for me was hanging out in the afternoons with the English medium kids. They helped facilitate conversation between the older kids and staff members at Muslim Girls, and they gave me a chance to find out what their stories were and how things worked there right from the source. It was great to be greeted every morning with "Didi!" shouted from the windows as we came to the dorm.
It was such a great experience for me, but I had a really hard time on the last day saying goodbye. I had talked to my favourite few girls all afternoon and they were telling me about their families and how they can visit every Sunday for one hour. So mostly their mothers come, but if they are sick their brothers will come visit them. These girls were from families with 2 or 3 brothers who lived with their mother, but they had to live here away from them all. And when I asked if they ever go home, they said with such joy that they go home in December. They said they get to "move out", and pack up all their things...so I assumed it was for a long, long time and then they told me it was only 2 weeks. It just sort of broke my heart thinking that these girls manage so well in their situation without worrying of what they have lost. Most of the girls will live in the orphanage until they are 18, at which point the organization finds a husband for them and arranges (and helps pay for) the marriage.
It just put things into perspective and has continually made me keep myself in check when I start to get sad about missing friends and family...I really need to go back there soon and check in with those girls.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Festivals - Haji Dandi
Last night at midnight was the birth of Lord Krishna, an important day here in India so late last night there were religious celebrations at temples. Today was Haji Dandi. For this celebration all over town in different neighbourhoods there is a pot breaking festival.
Krishna was known for being devious and loving dairy and in India this is kept in the home in pots and he would convince his friends to hoist him up and eat all the kurd (yogurt), so that’s why they have this celebration. It involves a lot of dancing in the streets, and then for the pot breaking they hang a pot above the street at least a few stories high (many stories high in the larger areas), and they make human pyramids to get the pot. The prize for winning the pot breaking competition is a sum of rupees! In each neighbourhood the surrounding businessmen, etc. each donate some money so in the smaller areas the amount would be less, and in the big areas of the city the pots would be worth thousands and thousands and thousands of rupees! (I wanted to join in just for the money)
The festival is mainly for men, although there are some very good all women pyramid teams. But since men are the only ones allowed to publicly dance there are mainly men out for this celebration. So you can imagine the number of stares we got as a group of 8 women (some Indian), for being out. For the most part it seemed like a big rave party and I couldn’t help but imagine Josh or Brad dancing around in the middle of the crowd. It made me miss the boys from home a lot. And you can imagine how sad I was I couldn’t get in the crowd and dance around too! Not only would it be completely against custom it wouldn’t have been safe at all, so I stayed away.
We were in the city centre for the celebration but some of the participants here from the Phillipines were uncomfortable in the crowds so we came back to Sangam before the action started. But it was okay because we caught the pot breaking in Indira Nagar – the neighbourhood next door to Sangam. It was really cool to watch, and for people who know me you know that I love anything with dancing, fireworks and a big celebration, so it was fun!
I also had a great rickshaw driver on the way to Laxmi Road for the celebration who was telling us all about the festivals coming up – since Ganapati is in the next few weeks. And he told us about his family, and asked about us, and in the end he sung me my song! There was this Hindi movie from the 80s or 90s called Julie and the song basically means “Julie, I love you” and something about how the guy is crazy with love! So that was fun! Aruna sings it to me all the time and its SO cute when she does it. Anyway he restored my faith in rickshaw drivers because last week I got in a big fight with one.
The story was that we were out with participants heading to MG Road – a major spot in town for a quick tour. So the boys had rickshaws brought into Sangam, I hopped in one with a couple from New Zealand and headed off. Like 10 minutes from Sangam one of the other rickshaws we were with broke down, but our rickshaw was fine. The driver decided to stop us at the side of the road for no reason to wait for the other one to get fixed…and he refused to turn off the metre. So it’s tickin away, I’m getting angry and trying to convince him to continue on – it’s not like he needed to follow the other guy to find the place or anything. He kept refusing so I jumped outta the rickshaw and made a big scene yelling at him in the middle of the street. In less than 30 seconds I had 3 guys coming up to me to find out what the problem was. That’s the great thing in India, if you have trouble with a rickshaw driver you just jump out and cause a scene and guys will come help you out wherever you are. Its great! So I had them help sort it out, and suddenly we were on our way. It was very exciting and I figure if you’re confident enough to start a fight with a rickshaw driver you’re practically a local…or at least one step closer! I just have to learn Hindi/Marathi and soon I’ll be set.
So ya, tonight was great – festival fun, and great rickshaw drivers…I think I will be able to manage this for another 7 months!
Krishna was known for being devious and loving dairy and in India this is kept in the home in pots and he would convince his friends to hoist him up and eat all the kurd (yogurt), so that’s why they have this celebration. It involves a lot of dancing in the streets, and then for the pot breaking they hang a pot above the street at least a few stories high (many stories high in the larger areas), and they make human pyramids to get the pot. The prize for winning the pot breaking competition is a sum of rupees! In each neighbourhood the surrounding businessmen, etc. each donate some money so in the smaller areas the amount would be less, and in the big areas of the city the pots would be worth thousands and thousands and thousands of rupees! (I wanted to join in just for the money)
The festival is mainly for men, although there are some very good all women pyramid teams. But since men are the only ones allowed to publicly dance there are mainly men out for this celebration. So you can imagine the number of stares we got as a group of 8 women (some Indian), for being out. For the most part it seemed like a big rave party and I couldn’t help but imagine Josh or Brad dancing around in the middle of the crowd. It made me miss the boys from home a lot. And you can imagine how sad I was I couldn’t get in the crowd and dance around too! Not only would it be completely against custom it wouldn’t have been safe at all, so I stayed away.
We were in the city centre for the celebration but some of the participants here from the Phillipines were uncomfortable in the crowds so we came back to Sangam before the action started. But it was okay because we caught the pot breaking in Indira Nagar – the neighbourhood next door to Sangam. It was really cool to watch, and for people who know me you know that I love anything with dancing, fireworks and a big celebration, so it was fun!
I also had a great rickshaw driver on the way to Laxmi Road for the celebration who was telling us all about the festivals coming up – since Ganapati is in the next few weeks. And he told us about his family, and asked about us, and in the end he sung me my song! There was this Hindi movie from the 80s or 90s called Julie and the song basically means “Julie, I love you” and something about how the guy is crazy with love! So that was fun! Aruna sings it to me all the time and its SO cute when she does it. Anyway he restored my faith in rickshaw drivers because last week I got in a big fight with one.
The story was that we were out with participants heading to MG Road – a major spot in town for a quick tour. So the boys had rickshaws brought into Sangam, I hopped in one with a couple from New Zealand and headed off. Like 10 minutes from Sangam one of the other rickshaws we were with broke down, but our rickshaw was fine. The driver decided to stop us at the side of the road for no reason to wait for the other one to get fixed…and he refused to turn off the metre. So it’s tickin away, I’m getting angry and trying to convince him to continue on – it’s not like he needed to follow the other guy to find the place or anything. He kept refusing so I jumped outta the rickshaw and made a big scene yelling at him in the middle of the street. In less than 30 seconds I had 3 guys coming up to me to find out what the problem was. That’s the great thing in India, if you have trouble with a rickshaw driver you just jump out and cause a scene and guys will come help you out wherever you are. Its great! So I had them help sort it out, and suddenly we were on our way. It was very exciting and I figure if you’re confident enough to start a fight with a rickshaw driver you’re practically a local…or at least one step closer! I just have to learn Hindi/Marathi and soon I’ll be set.
So ya, tonight was great – festival fun, and great rickshaw drivers…I think I will be able to manage this for another 7 months!
PACKAGE!!
Okay - so first things first...i LOVE the ppl at Res Life! And as I am currently missing out on all the Welcome Week fun I am super sad I cant be back at Mac to at least fake being a student for one last PJ parade! haha
So I really am starting to believe in fate, or the spirit of india because the last two times I've been in need of a little piece of home my friends and family have totally come through :)
This last week was really hard deciding whether or not to stay in India until April and the day after I decided to go for it and take the job I got a huge, wonderful package from my friends in RLS!
All the goodies have been enjoyed thoroughly, and i'm saving the KD for a day when i'm in serious need of a pick me up. But all the rest of the stuff was awesome and it was really nice to get something from back home.
I'm taking it as a good sign, and good karma - so I think I will be able to stick it out through the next 4 months until my break to come see people in December.
I promise I will pay back all my Res Life buddies with stories over drinks in the winter :)
thanks again...it made my week! xoxo
So I really am starting to believe in fate, or the spirit of india because the last two times I've been in need of a little piece of home my friends and family have totally come through :)
This last week was really hard deciding whether or not to stay in India until April and the day after I decided to go for it and take the job I got a huge, wonderful package from my friends in RLS!
All the goodies have been enjoyed thoroughly, and i'm saving the KD for a day when i'm in serious need of a pick me up. But all the rest of the stuff was awesome and it was really nice to get something from back home.
I'm taking it as a good sign, and good karma - so I think I will be able to stick it out through the next 4 months until my break to come see people in December.
I promise I will pay back all my Res Life buddies with stories over drinks in the winter :)
thanks again...it made my week! xoxo
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Staying on in India!
For those of you who havent heard yet...I have decided to stay on in India until April!!
There was an open position for the Assistant Programme Manager and the staff team asked me if I would be interested in filling it. So after two very emotional days of deliberation I decided I would be crazy to say no!
So this basically means that I will have a bigger hand in the planning and implementation of the events we run, and I'll get to have a lot more responsibility with some events as CL (my manager) will be in London for meetings so I will be the head program person around...eek! haha.
It means I get to be around for a LOT of very exciting stuff too. We have a leadership seminar and an HIV/AIDS seminar in the next few months, and a research trip to Goa in December, as well as a paid trip to Goa again in March for an event! Plus in October sometime I get to go to Sri Lanka for a few days to get a new visa so I can stay another 6 months :)
Ugh, it's all very exciting! Plus alllll the festivals, I get to be here for Ganapati, Diwali, Holi, and a bunch more I dont even know about yet.
So it looks like I'll have a chunk of time in December to go home and see you all, yay! I made sure I had a break to head home in there somewhere because I knew I wouldn't last another 7 months without it.
If any of you are thinking about travelling or needing a vacation - think India! I would love the company, and I know you guys would love it here...
xoxo
There was an open position for the Assistant Programme Manager and the staff team asked me if I would be interested in filling it. So after two very emotional days of deliberation I decided I would be crazy to say no!
So this basically means that I will have a bigger hand in the planning and implementation of the events we run, and I'll get to have a lot more responsibility with some events as CL (my manager) will be in London for meetings so I will be the head program person around...eek! haha.
It means I get to be around for a LOT of very exciting stuff too. We have a leadership seminar and an HIV/AIDS seminar in the next few months, and a research trip to Goa in December, as well as a paid trip to Goa again in March for an event! Plus in October sometime I get to go to Sri Lanka for a few days to get a new visa so I can stay another 6 months :)
Ugh, it's all very exciting! Plus alllll the festivals, I get to be here for Ganapati, Diwali, Holi, and a bunch more I dont even know about yet.
So it looks like I'll have a chunk of time in December to go home and see you all, yay! I made sure I had a break to head home in there somewhere because I knew I wouldn't last another 7 months without it.
If any of you are thinking about travelling or needing a vacation - think India! I would love the company, and I know you guys would love it here...
xoxo
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