Volunteering in India
by Marion Motz
Taking my inspiration from my sons, who travelled to distant and exotic destinations during their gap years, I decided to take advantage of several months off from work, due to a change of job, and follow in their footsteps.
So here I am, staying just outside Kanchipuram, in Tamil Nadu, S. India, a city famous for its silk saris, and its many Hindu temples, some of which are over 1000 years old. I'm working with an NGO called RIDE: Rural Industry and Development Education, which hopes to eradicate child labour by the emancipation and empowerment of women through Self Help Groups.
The first step in this process is to rescue the children from bonded labour - until now this was mainly in the silk loom weaving industry, but having been very successful in this area, RIDE is now turning its attention to children who work in the quarries.
Families are approached and persuaded to let their children attend a Bridge School. In return the
women are given the opportunity to attend a Rural Enterprise Development Programme (REDP) and to develop their skills - Vocational Skills Training (VST). All this is free of charge.
Next the women form themselves into Self Help Groups (SHG - 20 per group); they meet on a weekly basis and are facilitated by an Animator (teacher). They follow a Training Programme which covers topics such as Family Planning, Aids awareness and prevention, Hygiene, Gender Issues, etc. By attending the group, the women become more confident, and they are there to give support to each
other. Each woman gives a small amount of money (according to what she can afford), on a regular basis; after about one year the group should have accumulated enough funds to get a bank loan (with the backing of RIDE), at a very reasonable rate of interest. Then a woman can borrow money, from this
fund, so she can set herself up in business and hopefully make a profit. Hitherto, the only means for a woman to get a loan, was to go to a loan shark, and she would then be landed with a loan she would never have the ability to repay - hence the need to bond her child to get some money!
I am living all by myself in a large house just round the corner to that of Jeyaraj, the Director of RIDE, and his wife Britto. It's rather like entering Fort Knox when I want to gain access to my room! There is an enormous padlock and bolt on the outer gate, a large padlock to get into the building, and then a key to get into my room ? the only one on the first floor. Once inside my room I'm safe from insects, as all the windows have wire mesh, unlike my bathroom on the ground floor, which has a permanently open window, so the nasties can fly in quite freely and nasty creepie crawlies can come in under the door!! I have a large balcony, which has been covered in wire netting to keep out the monkeys, that clamber about freely, have a good stare at me on the other side of the partition, and make me feel that it's a reversal of roles and I'm the one in the zoo!
After several weeks here I am becoming totally immersed in Indian culture and the village way of life. I am getting used to the crowded streets, where people walk three or four abreast, often in a never-ending flow. The women are beautifully adorned in their colourful saris, and with their long-plaited,
jet black hair pulled back off their faces, they look so dignified and elegant. A lot of the men walk along, bare-footed and wearing a dhoti (rather like a knee-length skirt), from which protrude painfully thin, bandy legs.
I've become used to the driving here and manic as it is, fortunately we have not encountered any accidents, though occasionally one sees overturned vehicles at the side of the road. It is not necessary to pass a test to drive, which may account for many drivers ignoring the red traffic light or driving on the wrong side of the road. There is a continuous noise, as the drivers sit on their hooters, using them at every available opportunity, and especially when sitting on the tail of the vehicle in front, which they wish to overtake. As soon as the coast is more or less clear, (they ignore oncoming cyclists, motorbikes or auto-rickshaws as they're bigger than them), they will overtake, sometimes at the same time that the lorry they are overtaking is overtaking a bullock cart, or whatever. Animals meander across the road, oblivious to the passing traffic. Bullock carts or cyclists may pull out of side roads, without bothering to make sure the road is clear! We've had a few near misses, but usually I feel quite safe in our sturdy four wheel drive.
I have visited and taught in several of the schools which are run by RIDE. As soon as I appear, the children, aged about three to eight years old, jump to their feet, and raise their hands in a salute as they call out in unison, "Good Morning, Miss". Then they are all very keen to shake my hand. They are learning English, but everything is learnt by rote, and I'm not sure if they understand what they are saying. One group started chanting away to me; I thought they were speaking in Tamil, their language, and it was only when I heard the words "Three Bags Full" that I realised they were actually speaking in English.
I have spent a few days teaching songs to various groups of the little ones, who now know "Heads and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and "Old MacDonald".
I am teaching English to the Co-Ordinators: the women from RIDE who work with the women in the villages, help them to set up Self Help Groups and provide a Training Programme on many important issues such as Hygiene, FamilyPlanning, Aids Awareness, Gender Issues etc. I am also working with the Teachers, whose English, especially their pronunciation, is very poor. They can read the words they are teaching, but do not speak in proper sentences, and often have difficulty in understanding what I am saying, even though I try to use very simple words! However, as with the children, they are very keen
to learn, and really seemed to enjoy doing the Hokey-Cokey! I'm hoping to do a more intensive training with them during their holiday next week. As well as helping them to improve their English, I will give them ideas on how and what to teach.
For two days last week, I took myself off to a Mother Teresa Home, run by nuns for severely disabled and mentally retarded boys; I helped feed the boys, some of whom lie down all day long, and are even fed in this position. I spent quite some time continuously singing songs to two of the boys. One was blind and had withered arms, but he could hear and he smiled and laughed as I sang, and he tried to repeat some of the words. The second boy, aged about six, was deaf and dumb, partly albino, and with very blue staring eyes. His arms were also withered, but he had strong sturdy legs and was very adept at putting a pencil between his toes and making patterns. He also managed to feed himself, using his foot. We looked at a picture book, and he pointed out different pictures to me. It is all so terribly sad, and makes one feel so grateful for having such healthy children.
On Tuesday I am going to Mammalapuram, a town south of here on the coast, which is very famous for its stone carvings. Whilst there I shall visit an orphanage and see about the possibility of working there for a few weeks.
Otherwise, I've been on various visits; probably the most interesting was last Saturday, when we drove for nearly five hours to meet the Director of an NGO who tries to rescue girls and women from prostitution; he also works with transvestites and eunuchs, and people with Aids or who are HIV positive. He took us to a very poor village and introduced us to two Self Help Groups (SHG), one of each sex. The women?s group was quite elderly, and some of them had been prostitutes; they make plates by sewing banana leaves together, and hope to earn some money doing this. I saw a savings book, which showed the woman had managed to save about 55p per month! The Director had given the men's group musical instruments: drums, shaped like tambourines. They have learnt to play as a group, and hope to earn money in this way. They played music for me and it was all very moving.
A few days ago, 'Karthikai' (Diwali), the festival of lights, was celebrated throughout the village. Firstly, the people made kolam designs, (patterns made using flour, rice or chalk) on the ground in front of their houses. Next they did 'puja' (praying to their Hindu gods); then as darkness fell, the doors
were opened wide, and small oil lamps were lit all around the outside of the house. This was to welcome Rama and to ward off bad spirits, though quite a few mosquitoes also took up the invitation! This was repeated for the following two nights, and the streets looked so pretty with all the twinkling lights. It made me think of Chanukah and I felt quite sad to be missing it!
And on that note, I hope you all had a very happy chanucah, and I wish you all a very Happy New Year.
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