Father w/ some tribal kids, Darjeeling tea gardens, & the beautiful Himalayas
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Out on the Town
So, my last entry was somewhat of a stream of consciousness - I kind of just went with the mood of the day. I usually would just leave something like that more for my journal but I thought it might be a good addition. So, to lighten the mood a little bit, I'll tell you all about what a fun morning we had! Only four people showed up to Scott's class today (many are still celebrating Puja), so he decided to take them on a field trip! We ended up walking around town and going to the market. It was a great opportunity for them to practice their English in a more practical setting. They are improving a lot in class but for the everyday conversation skills, just hanging out and spending time together is the most beneficial. Many of them get very nervous in class and they're afraid to make a mistake. One-on-one chats are much more relaxed. As we're walking, one of them tells me, "Mame, this is a magnificent moment!" It made me laugh. It was the three of us plus two guys (Manas and Abinas) and two girls (Rena and Jacintha). They had such a great time showing us around the market and trying to teach us how to bargain. I'm terrible at it so we kind of left it up to Scott. He managed to get two kilos of potatoes for only 18 rupees (it's a good deal). The man selling the potatoes was a lot of fun. He could understand us pretty well and got really excited when he saw us taking some pictures. It was quite the sight to see. Before we knew it we had a huge crowd surrounding us and we were all laughing together as Scott kept trying to bargain. It was a good time. :) We also went and got some tea and biscuits. It was great to hear the students speaking more and asking us random questions. They even did a little bit of translating for us! Quite impressive! They wanted to take us to the cinema after but we decided maybe another day might be better.
It's quite interesting to spend time with the students and the other workers here at SWI and then go to the villages. It's almost like two different worlds. The students in the English class have all graduated from high school and are very well educated. Then in the villages, the dropout rate is 84% before college. (Out of 100 children, only 16 reach 12th grade.) Again, quite a disparity. I enjoy the opportunity to interact and spend time with both the English students and the villagers. They both touch my heart in very different ways and each interaction is extremely enriching. With the students I feel like we can really bond and build friendships. A very special someone recently reminded me that an interaction can change two perspectives forever. I like to think about that with everyone I'm meeting and spending time with here (the villagers, the students, the workers). It's good encouragement to stay positive and try to look at every situation on the bright side. :)
Yesterday we did take a little day trip out to see the sight of Mother Teresa's miracle and we got to meet about 140 TB patients. Well, I guess that they weren't all TB patients, others had HIV and other various illnesses. They all welcomed us with so much love. The women all came and individually greeted each of us (with the tribal greeting). They were really excited that we came to visit them. The sisters were just about to distribute medicine to the patients so many of the patients were lined up in the hallway. A few were too weak to get out of bed, but even they were happy to chat with us (through Father's translations of course). One young girl really stood out, she was adorable. She had the biggest and brightest smile! We heard a few of the patients individual stories. The sisters pointed out a few patients who were barely alive when they arrived there and now are doing much better. Basically every family in the villages has one member who has TB. The patients stay at the hospital either until they die or until they get better. Many do get better but the sad thing is the likelihood of relapse. After they come and receive medicines and care at the hospital and get better, they go home back into the villages. The sisters often send them with some rice, dal and biscuits when they go back home, but that can only last so long. Shortly after, they are in the same situation as when they first arrived at the hospital, but often the relapse is much much worse. On the way back Father was explaining to me that most of the deaths are not due to TB and other illnesses, they are technically slow starvation deaths. Many of the illnesses would be curable if they had enough food to eat. But with the rich getting richer, the cost of living is rising drastically and the salaries of the field workers is not, so therefore they get poorer and poorer. It's becoming more and more impossible to have enough rupees to survive even when you work all day every day.
Dang, I'm sorry this ended up to be a heavier entry than I intended. But really, the beautiful thing about these patients was how much love they had to share with us.
It's quite interesting to spend time with the students and the other workers here at SWI and then go to the villages. It's almost like two different worlds. The students in the English class have all graduated from high school and are very well educated. Then in the villages, the dropout rate is 84% before college. (Out of 100 children, only 16 reach 12th grade.) Again, quite a disparity. I enjoy the opportunity to interact and spend time with both the English students and the villagers. They both touch my heart in very different ways and each interaction is extremely enriching. With the students I feel like we can really bond and build friendships. A very special someone recently reminded me that an interaction can change two perspectives forever. I like to think about that with everyone I'm meeting and spending time with here (the villagers, the students, the workers). It's good encouragement to stay positive and try to look at every situation on the bright side. :)
Yesterday we did take a little day trip out to see the sight of Mother Teresa's miracle and we got to meet about 140 TB patients. Well, I guess that they weren't all TB patients, others had HIV and other various illnesses. They all welcomed us with so much love. The women all came and individually greeted each of us (with the tribal greeting). They were really excited that we came to visit them. The sisters were just about to distribute medicine to the patients so many of the patients were lined up in the hallway. A few were too weak to get out of bed, but even they were happy to chat with us (through Father's translations of course). One young girl really stood out, she was adorable. She had the biggest and brightest smile! We heard a few of the patients individual stories. The sisters pointed out a few patients who were barely alive when they arrived there and now are doing much better. Basically every family in the villages has one member who has TB. The patients stay at the hospital either until they die or until they get better. Many do get better but the sad thing is the likelihood of relapse. After they come and receive medicines and care at the hospital and get better, they go home back into the villages. The sisters often send them with some rice, dal and biscuits when they go back home, but that can only last so long. Shortly after, they are in the same situation as when they first arrived at the hospital, but often the relapse is much much worse. On the way back Father was explaining to me that most of the deaths are not due to TB and other illnesses, they are technically slow starvation deaths. Many of the illnesses would be curable if they had enough food to eat. But with the rich getting richer, the cost of living is rising drastically and the salaries of the field workers is not, so therefore they get poorer and poorer. It's becoming more and more impossible to have enough rupees to survive even when you work all day every day.
Dang, I'm sorry this ended up to be a heavier entry than I intended. But really, the beautiful thing about these patients was how much love they had to share with us.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
To Smile When Your Heart Isn't
Most of the time, when you hold eye contact and keep smiling, the stares of confusion and glares transform into smiles and sometimes giggles. But many times that transformation takes a long time and the discomfort and feelings of rejection remain. Many times it's just a quick passing - not quite long enough to change the stares into smiles and those are hard. The smiles and the many people I've built closer relationships and bonds with have made me feel extremely welcome, accepted and loved. It's very strange to feel such a mix of acceptance and rejection. Although it's hard, it's also very humbling. It's a good reminder of why I came here in the first place. I didn't come here to 'feel good', my initial motivation for coming was to volunteer and to serve. I knew I was going to be quite uncomfortable and I knew it was going to be hard. That's part of the point in coming. How hard and in what ways, I had no clue.
Andrea and I went into the villages with Manasi today to monitor the exam process for finalizing the new staff of the routine immunization program we are implementing. For some reason today going into the villages effected me in a way that they haven't before. I think it might be because last week we were in touristy areas outside the villages.
I'm reading a book right now that I got as a gift before I left. It's about Mother Teresa and the darkness she felt while working with the poorest of the poor in Calcutta. She talked about the struggle to appear joyful on the outside when she was struggling and hurting so much inside - how hard it was to smile when her heart was breaking. I feel as though to a very small extent, I understand.
To smile when you look into the eyes of a child who might not survive the year or even the week. To smile when you see the rib cage of every child you see in the villages. To smile when you realize that one latte from Starbucks is equal to about 4 days of hard work for a rickshaw driver. To smile when you look into the eyes of someone who is very sick and in a lot of pain. To smile when you are holding a 2 month old baby who is having a hard time breathing. To smile when you think of home and all the people you miss and love the most. To smile when you're scared, uncomfortable or sad. To smile when you feel completely helpless. To smile when your heart is breaking. To smile at a child who has no family. To smile in the face of all this...I feel that only with God's grace I can.
Andrea and I went into the villages with Manasi today to monitor the exam process for finalizing the new staff of the routine immunization program we are implementing. For some reason today going into the villages effected me in a way that they haven't before. I think it might be because last week we were in touristy areas outside the villages.
I'm reading a book right now that I got as a gift before I left. It's about Mother Teresa and the darkness she felt while working with the poorest of the poor in Calcutta. She talked about the struggle to appear joyful on the outside when she was struggling and hurting so much inside - how hard it was to smile when her heart was breaking. I feel as though to a very small extent, I understand.
To smile when you look into the eyes of a child who might not survive the year or even the week. To smile when you see the rib cage of every child you see in the villages. To smile when you realize that one latte from Starbucks is equal to about 4 days of hard work for a rickshaw driver. To smile when you look into the eyes of someone who is very sick and in a lot of pain. To smile when you are holding a 2 month old baby who is having a hard time breathing. To smile when you think of home and all the people you miss and love the most. To smile when you're scared, uncomfortable or sad. To smile when you feel completely helpless. To smile when your heart is breaking. To smile at a child who has no family. To smile in the face of all this...I feel that only with God's grace I can.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Journey
We just returned from our vacation to Gorumara, Gangtok and Darjeeling. We had the week off because of the Durga Puja holiday. We had such an amazing time!
Gorumara was the first destination. It is one of the top five national parks in India. We had our own little cottage to stay in. It was quite luxurious. We even had a towel rack in the bathroom and warm water! There we sat at different lookout points while drinking tea and listening to the sounds of the jungle. We saw some elephants, rhino, monkeys, bison, various birds, and tons of peacocks. We also walked to a place there called Samsing where we waded in the stream by the waterfall. It was honestly the clearest water I’ve ever seen.
After Gorumara we went to a place called Gangtok in Sikkim (located near the Chinese border - a place we needed special permits to go to where no other tourists go). It was by far the highlight of the entire week. It was a small town surrounded by the Himalayas. We went to a place called Chungu Lake where we hiked on a mountain at almost 13,000 feet. Once we reached the little hut at the top, we had the most amazing view of the lake down below and the Himalayan mountaintops and hills for as far as we could see. The whole ride up to the mountain was a good time, partly because we had the coolest driver and guide, partly because Bryan Adams, Phil Collins and Michael Jackson were playing on the stereo, and partly because we were wearing long sleeved shirts and finally not drenched in sweat…not to mention the spectacular scenery the entire way up the mountain! Oh yes, and a few more things about Gangtok:
To wrap up our trip, we had just about the best car ride back from Darjeeling to Siliguri. We were in a shared car with five other Indian guys who enjoyed singing Indian classics to us and chatting. One of them was a high school teacher. I was next to him so I was able to chat with him easy. He taught at a private school for about 5 years and now works for a state school. Each class has approximately 80 students and sometimes up to 120. He says ideally it would be 40 but the government tells them they should be able to handle 100. Many of the students get to class over an hour early so that they may have a chance to sit in the front row. Transportation is a tremendous barrier to their education because many students who live in the villages where there is only one road are unable to come to class if there are heavy rains. They would have to truck through many swamps in order to get to school. He said that there is a really high dropout rate among the high school students and they are working very hard to decrease the dropout rate as well as to obtain a 95% education rate in the area. Many children, especially teenagers, drop out of school to work in the fields. Unfortunately many of the families don’t see and understand the concept that more children equals more mouths to feed, but instead more children equals more hands to do the labor and earn the family money. He also talked to us a little about the dual economy and the 'very rich' and the 'very poor'. I enjoyed talking with him and hearing his perspective as a teacher in a state school in India.
Scott made a great list of highlights from last week. So I'm just going to copy and paste a few things that I didn't mention for you:
Gorumara was the first destination. It is one of the top five national parks in India. We had our own little cottage to stay in. It was quite luxurious. We even had a towel rack in the bathroom and warm water! There we sat at different lookout points while drinking tea and listening to the sounds of the jungle. We saw some elephants, rhino, monkeys, bison, various birds, and tons of peacocks. We also walked to a place there called Samsing where we waded in the stream by the waterfall. It was honestly the clearest water I’ve ever seen.
After Gorumara we went to a place called Gangtok in Sikkim (located near the Chinese border - a place we needed special permits to go to where no other tourists go). It was by far the highlight of the entire week. It was a small town surrounded by the Himalayas. We went to a place called Chungu Lake where we hiked on a mountain at almost 13,000 feet. Once we reached the little hut at the top, we had the most amazing view of the lake down below and the Himalayan mountaintops and hills for as far as we could see. The whole ride up to the mountain was a good time, partly because we had the coolest driver and guide, partly because Bryan Adams, Phil Collins and Michael Jackson were playing on the stereo, and partly because we were wearing long sleeved shirts and finally not drenched in sweat…not to mention the spectacular scenery the entire way up the mountain! Oh yes, and a few more things about Gangtok:
- We went to an Indian film and turns out movie previews are showed at intermission and not at the start. During intermission there is a beverage counter where you can buy cups of tea (of course). Oh yeah, and cell phones and talking is allowed during the show…quite a different atmosphere!
- We rode on some yaks by the lake.
- We ate just about the best Chinese food EVER. (It even compares with my favorite restaurant back home – good ‘ol Wah Kue's in Burien where my Grandma and Grandpa have gone for about 50 years.)
To wrap up our trip, we had just about the best car ride back from Darjeeling to Siliguri. We were in a shared car with five other Indian guys who enjoyed singing Indian classics to us and chatting. One of them was a high school teacher. I was next to him so I was able to chat with him easy. He taught at a private school for about 5 years and now works for a state school. Each class has approximately 80 students and sometimes up to 120. He says ideally it would be 40 but the government tells them they should be able to handle 100. Many of the students get to class over an hour early so that they may have a chance to sit in the front row. Transportation is a tremendous barrier to their education because many students who live in the villages where there is only one road are unable to come to class if there are heavy rains. They would have to truck through many swamps in order to get to school. He said that there is a really high dropout rate among the high school students and they are working very hard to decrease the dropout rate as well as to obtain a 95% education rate in the area. Many children, especially teenagers, drop out of school to work in the fields. Unfortunately many of the families don’t see and understand the concept that more children equals more mouths to feed, but instead more children equals more hands to do the labor and earn the family money. He also talked to us a little about the dual economy and the 'very rich' and the 'very poor'. I enjoyed talking with him and hearing his perspective as a teacher in a state school in India.
Scott made a great list of highlights from last week. So I'm just going to copy and paste a few things that I didn't mention for you:
- Watching people carry giant bags of tea from a backpack that you strap to your head...a head pack
- Hiking to the top of a Mt. at 13000ft in the Himalayas and seeing gorgeous views of Lake Chungu and the mountains, while wondering why all the other tourists are just sitting by the lake
- Having countless "photo shoots" with Indian tourists, while feeling like some sort of celebrity
- Drinking tea from a lookout tower overlooking the jungle at our hotel
- Getting a private serenade from the people sharing our jeep
- Dressing up like traditional Nepali's
- Seeing amazing statues of Hindu deities
- Watching countless Indian music videos
- Watching the sunrise in the Himalayas
- Seeing animals like the snow leopard, rhino, elephant, red panda and most importantly Peacocks!!
- Watching an Indian water light show
- Almost getting stuck in Gangtok
- Eating amazing pot stickers, chowmein and Samosas (no not smores) from a small hotel that didn't expect any tourists
- Fresh Darjeeling tea in a tea field
- Frolicking in a stream with our driver Matthias
- Baby elephants at Rhino point
- Visiting the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and seeing really neat artifacts from the original Everest summit
- Tibetan Butter Tea is nothing like I imagined Butter Beer in Harry Potter, it is mainly just butter with water
- Watching a cultural program in the shrubbery
- Learning that when the hotel offers you tea, even though they are making you late because they were not ready when they said they would be, it still means that they will charge you room service price for the tea
- Visiting the first ever Tibetan Refugee Camp
- Getting our picture taken with Indian Military and having them tell us we look "Superfantastic" while holding up the OK sign
Sunday, October 14, 2007
New Links
As you will see, I posted links to the right of the page for both Andrea and Father Puthumai's blogs so that if you want, you can hear a few more stories and details that I haven't mentioned. Andrea has some creative titles for her entries, you should really check them out. :)
Saturday, October 13, 2007
A Month Already Past!!!
This morning we went back to the MC Sisters and played with the kids again. I think that I’m falling in love with about 20 children...uh oh. They got really excited when they saw us coming this time and started smiling and jumping up and down. They brought a book over to me that was in English. It was a book that had pictures of different objects with the correct word in English. I said each word and they repeated it after me. I was quite impressed. They had lots of the words down pretty well, and others they tried really hard to pronounce. Imagine a bunch of little children trying to sound out hippopotamus when they barely know the alphabet...Yeah, pretty cute. Then as soon as I finished the book, one little boy said, “hokey poky” and stuck out his arm at me. So I got the idea and we did all the songs like last time except this time we taught them more words like “put your finger in, put your finger out"...and shoulder and toes and ear and so on... Father also gave us some little bouncy balls to take to them. That entertained them for quite awhile.
A couple of days ago, we went to a stone quarry. It is a very serious health concern for the workers as well as the nearby village communities. The dust is so terrible. After about 10 years of working in the dusty environment, many workers’ lungs get filled with so much dust; it contributes to their likelihood of contracting tuberculosis. Only a few of the workers have a rag or handkerchief over the nose and mouth to protect them. Andrea and I both had our scarves over our faces the whole time so that we didn’t breathe the heavy dust in. Father really wants to get some masks distributed to the workers and nearby children and he’s hoping to do a research study on pregnant women living near the quarry to see how the environment is affecting newborns.
We are getting much closer to the other workers here at SWI especially Manasi (my ‘boss’ and friend). I just learned more about her life and upbringing. She is an extremely exceptional person who has fought the system to become as successful as she has. She grew up in a small village - almost a half hour drive to school. (Only one bus ran per hour and usually dropped her off half way and she had to walk the rest of the way.) Manasi was able to go to college and now has her master’s degree in social work. Her father works for a local pharmacy and also works a second job to ensure that his children get an education. Manasi has 2 younger sisters and she is contributing a good chunk of her paycheck as health coordinator to pay for her youngest sister’s education and tutor. (Many of the teachers make it so that the students have to hire private tutors in order to pass the class, which makes it pretty much impossible to get an education without a private tutor. The teachers are the ones who are also hired as tutors...understand?) Most likely she won’t be able to marry because she has no brothers and the responsibility of the family falls on her because she is the oldest. Right now her little cousin lives with her parents, her aunt lives there and also her grandmother. She is a very determined, hard-working and dedicated worker and student. Her story and her life have been very inspiring to each of us.
Next week we are traveling to Darjeeling because we have the week off for Durga Puja. This is the biggest festival of West Bengal. It started a few days ago and lasts for about 10 days. It’s somewhat similar to the Christmas season back in the states (students go home on break to be with their families, new outfits are given as gifts, and there are lots of lights and special traditions). There is also what is called Kali Puja, which happens in November. Scott tried to have his students explain the different celebrations to us in English class as an activity but we still have some questions. Main point is it’s a huge celebration.
I realized that I have written a fair amount about my experience but not too much about the smaller things. Things like the food...we eat a ton of rice, chicken, curry, dhal, mutton, vegetables, fruit, eggs, fish and different kinds of flat bread. Indians don’t snack like Americans do, although they take way more coffee breaks…and I love it!!! :) The coffee is instant coffee; we are still trying to learn the right mixes of coffee, milk powder and sugar. Scott has it down pretty well. The food is tasty, although many times quite spicy. They sneak in chilies to all kinds of things. We also occasionally have hard-boiled eggs in curry sauce. There is a great variety of fruits…papayas, pomegranates, guavas, bananas, apples, pineapples, grapefruits, mangoes…they always serve the fruit at the end of the meal kind of as dessert (with all 3 meals).
I have seen some incredibly beautiful sunrises and sunsets. This morning on our way to Mass the sun was like a bright red ball of fire in the sky. The sun rises at about 5:30 and it is dark by about six. When we leave SWI around 7:30 it always feels so much later than it is. We usually are in bed around 9:00.
Oh yeah and here’s a story for you…I woke up the other day with a bad rash on my right arm. I knew it wasn’t heat rash because I’ve had heat rash off and on the past month and this was much different. So when I woke up yesterday it looked much worse and began to itch a whole lot more; Father got concerned and wanted to take me to the doctor to check it out. Turns out…ready for this…there are hundreds and hundreds of mosquito bites on my one right arm!!!!! I’ve been getting random mosquito bites here and there but nothing like this. It turns out what had happened was that when we stayed in a hotel we didn’t bring the little plug in oil to kill the insects and I must have had my arm against the mosquito net while I was sleeping and the bugs just went to town without me knowing it! Lesson learned…don’t go ANYWHERE without the bug oil killer!!! Seriously, in about the size of a dime, I have about 10 bites no joke, especially on my knuckles. Kind of gross but thank goodness it's only mosquito bites! Oh yeah and the best part is, we didn't even have to pay for the doctor visit! Man, Father has connections all over the place!!! :)
A couple of days ago, we went to a stone quarry. It is a very serious health concern for the workers as well as the nearby village communities. The dust is so terrible. After about 10 years of working in the dusty environment, many workers’ lungs get filled with so much dust; it contributes to their likelihood of contracting tuberculosis. Only a few of the workers have a rag or handkerchief over the nose and mouth to protect them. Andrea and I both had our scarves over our faces the whole time so that we didn’t breathe the heavy dust in. Father really wants to get some masks distributed to the workers and nearby children and he’s hoping to do a research study on pregnant women living near the quarry to see how the environment is affecting newborns.
We are getting much closer to the other workers here at SWI especially Manasi (my ‘boss’ and friend). I just learned more about her life and upbringing. She is an extremely exceptional person who has fought the system to become as successful as she has. She grew up in a small village - almost a half hour drive to school. (Only one bus ran per hour and usually dropped her off half way and she had to walk the rest of the way.) Manasi was able to go to college and now has her master’s degree in social work. Her father works for a local pharmacy and also works a second job to ensure that his children get an education. Manasi has 2 younger sisters and she is contributing a good chunk of her paycheck as health coordinator to pay for her youngest sister’s education and tutor. (Many of the teachers make it so that the students have to hire private tutors in order to pass the class, which makes it pretty much impossible to get an education without a private tutor. The teachers are the ones who are also hired as tutors...understand?) Most likely she won’t be able to marry because she has no brothers and the responsibility of the family falls on her because she is the oldest. Right now her little cousin lives with her parents, her aunt lives there and also her grandmother. She is a very determined, hard-working and dedicated worker and student. Her story and her life have been very inspiring to each of us.
Next week we are traveling to Darjeeling because we have the week off for Durga Puja. This is the biggest festival of West Bengal. It started a few days ago and lasts for about 10 days. It’s somewhat similar to the Christmas season back in the states (students go home on break to be with their families, new outfits are given as gifts, and there are lots of lights and special traditions). There is also what is called Kali Puja, which happens in November. Scott tried to have his students explain the different celebrations to us in English class as an activity but we still have some questions. Main point is it’s a huge celebration.
I realized that I have written a fair amount about my experience but not too much about the smaller things. Things like the food...we eat a ton of rice, chicken, curry, dhal, mutton, vegetables, fruit, eggs, fish and different kinds of flat bread. Indians don’t snack like Americans do, although they take way more coffee breaks…and I love it!!! :) The coffee is instant coffee; we are still trying to learn the right mixes of coffee, milk powder and sugar. Scott has it down pretty well. The food is tasty, although many times quite spicy. They sneak in chilies to all kinds of things. We also occasionally have hard-boiled eggs in curry sauce. There is a great variety of fruits…papayas, pomegranates, guavas, bananas, apples, pineapples, grapefruits, mangoes…they always serve the fruit at the end of the meal kind of as dessert (with all 3 meals).
I have seen some incredibly beautiful sunrises and sunsets. This morning on our way to Mass the sun was like a bright red ball of fire in the sky. The sun rises at about 5:30 and it is dark by about six. When we leave SWI around 7:30 it always feels so much later than it is. We usually are in bed around 9:00.
Oh yeah and here’s a story for you…I woke up the other day with a bad rash on my right arm. I knew it wasn’t heat rash because I’ve had heat rash off and on the past month and this was much different. So when I woke up yesterday it looked much worse and began to itch a whole lot more; Father got concerned and wanted to take me to the doctor to check it out. Turns out…ready for this…there are hundreds and hundreds of mosquito bites on my one right arm!!!!! I’ve been getting random mosquito bites here and there but nothing like this. It turns out what had happened was that when we stayed in a hotel we didn’t bring the little plug in oil to kill the insects and I must have had my arm against the mosquito net while I was sleeping and the bugs just went to town without me knowing it! Lesson learned…don’t go ANYWHERE without the bug oil killer!!! Seriously, in about the size of a dime, I have about 10 bites no joke, especially on my knuckles. Kind of gross but thank goodness it's only mosquito bites! Oh yeah and the best part is, we didn't even have to pay for the doctor visit! Man, Father has connections all over the place!!! :)
Friday, October 12, 2007
Health Update
We are implementing a new health program to increase knowledge and awareness about the importance of routine immunization in children. We are specifically targeting pregnant women, newborns and children under the age of five. We hope to also decrease infant mortality rates, decrease death rates of mothers during pregnancy, and improve access to immunization programs. The team of coordinators, supervisors, volunteers and health workers consists of 264 people. There are approximately 240,000 beneficiaries of this program. This is a year long program so I will be involved with the initial stages. I am really excited because the next month and a half will be very busy with staff trainings and visits to villages to monitor and ensure the success of the interventions. The staff meeting today was just with the district coordinators and supervisors (about 20 staff).
I have also been working on finishing the past project proposal for the repair of the dispensary in a nearby village named Altapur. The roof is about to collapse, and because this is the location offering health services and distributing medicines and other treatments to the community, it is extremely important to repair. It has not only become an unsanitary environment, but it is also causing injuries and additional health risks.
A few days ago we had a deadline for a grant proposal for HIV Reduction. We sent it to the Clinton Foundation in hopes of getting approval (and funding) for the program. We were on a time crunch so we split up the project into three parts and each worked like crazy for the entire day. We had to provide all kinds of information and data about West Bengal as well as the program plan and budget. It ended up to be 14 pages long and we were quite proud to finish it.
I have also been working on finishing the past project proposal for the repair of the dispensary in a nearby village named Altapur. The roof is about to collapse, and because this is the location offering health services and distributing medicines and other treatments to the community, it is extremely important to repair. It has not only become an unsanitary environment, but it is also causing injuries and additional health risks.
A few days ago we had a deadline for a grant proposal for HIV Reduction. We sent it to the Clinton Foundation in hopes of getting approval (and funding) for the program. We were on a time crunch so we split up the project into three parts and each worked like crazy for the entire day. We had to provide all kinds of information and data about West Bengal as well as the program plan and budget. It ended up to be 14 pages long and we were quite proud to finish it.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Road Trip
Last Tuesday we had the day off because it was Gandhi’s birthday. We took a little road trip for about 2 hours to a place called Gour and we saw lots of ancient monuments and mosques. It was the first kind of touristy thing that we’ve done since we got here. Then we got to go to the Bangladesh border. We didn’t actually cross into the country, but we saw it. Bangladesh used to be part of India until 1947 when the British took over.
The English class is still going very well and has been a lot of fun. We are getting to know the students much better and they have invited us to come hang out in the park this week. Many of them are about our age (late teens to mid twenties). They have enjoyed teaching us a few Bengali words as well. It is always a guaranteed laugh when we attempt to speak their language. It is a pretty tough language to learn especially if you don’t see the words written out phonetically.
Saturday was a really good day. We went back to the MCs to play with the children. This time many of the kids remembered us. Again, we did Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, The Hokey Pokey, The Macarena, the Penguin dance and “Copy what Scott does”. Then Scott decided to become a scary monster and crawl on the floor and chase after the kids. They loved it and they ran around giggling and hiding. Although while all this craziness was going on, there was also a little boy who was lying down on the bed very sick and in pain. There was a cracker next to him with only one small bite out of it; he was too weak to eat any more. I sat down next to him and remember feeling so helpless. His feet and stomach were swollen and he had burn marks on his stomach and wrist because in the village they didn’t know what was wrong with him and what was causing the illness so they thought maybe they could burn away the pain. It is so heartbreaking to see and play with these children, but at the same time so nice to feel that we are getting a chance to give them the attention they crave and simply to love them. We also get to witness success stories. On a happy note, an orphan baby that we met last time got adopted!
Since we don’t work on Sundays, we did what we often do on our days off. We go church and hostel hopping. :) I’m pretty sure we’ll end up seeing every parish in the whole diocese before we go home. Each place we go to we chat and have coffee and treats and get a tour of the mission. (A mission usually contains a chapel, a school, a boys hostel, a girls hostel, a convent, a presbytery and a dispensary.) Most of the time the kids hear we’re coming to visit and they get all dressed up and ready to do a performance. If they don’t know we’re coming, they often run back to the hostel and put red bows in their hair. After their welcoming song and dance, they ask us how we’re doing. When we answer them with “Bhallo achi” they get really excited and start giggling and whispering to each other. Then any more questions they ask us, we have to get translated. Sometimes after that we sing them a song or do a dance. After many pictures are taken with the kids, they get very excited and say that they are coming to America with us on our cameras. :)
The weather is still extremely hot and humid. Many people are saying that this is an unusually hot year. We have heard a few times, “October is usually much cooler and much more comfortable. You must be quite hot.” We are constantly wiping sweat off of our faces and at night wiping tons of bugs off our bodies. Thank goodness for the mosquito net, the large insects can’t get to us as easily. We often have lizards and other odd looking insects in our room. We always hope and pray that the electricity doesn’t get cut because that means no fan, which also means no sleep. (The electricity gets cut a few hours a day.) These discomforts have taken a little adjusting to, just like everything else, but I know that the more challenges we experience, the stronger we become and the more we grow.
The English class is still going very well and has been a lot of fun. We are getting to know the students much better and they have invited us to come hang out in the park this week. Many of them are about our age (late teens to mid twenties). They have enjoyed teaching us a few Bengali words as well. It is always a guaranteed laugh when we attempt to speak their language. It is a pretty tough language to learn especially if you don’t see the words written out phonetically.
Saturday was a really good day. We went back to the MCs to play with the children. This time many of the kids remembered us. Again, we did Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, The Hokey Pokey, The Macarena, the Penguin dance and “Copy what Scott does”. Then Scott decided to become a scary monster and crawl on the floor and chase after the kids. They loved it and they ran around giggling and hiding. Although while all this craziness was going on, there was also a little boy who was lying down on the bed very sick and in pain. There was a cracker next to him with only one small bite out of it; he was too weak to eat any more. I sat down next to him and remember feeling so helpless. His feet and stomach were swollen and he had burn marks on his stomach and wrist because in the village they didn’t know what was wrong with him and what was causing the illness so they thought maybe they could burn away the pain. It is so heartbreaking to see and play with these children, but at the same time so nice to feel that we are getting a chance to give them the attention they crave and simply to love them. We also get to witness success stories. On a happy note, an orphan baby that we met last time got adopted!
Since we don’t work on Sundays, we did what we often do on our days off. We go church and hostel hopping. :) I’m pretty sure we’ll end up seeing every parish in the whole diocese before we go home. Each place we go to we chat and have coffee and treats and get a tour of the mission. (A mission usually contains a chapel, a school, a boys hostel, a girls hostel, a convent, a presbytery and a dispensary.) Most of the time the kids hear we’re coming to visit and they get all dressed up and ready to do a performance. If they don’t know we’re coming, they often run back to the hostel and put red bows in their hair. After their welcoming song and dance, they ask us how we’re doing. When we answer them with “Bhallo achi” they get really excited and start giggling and whispering to each other. Then any more questions they ask us, we have to get translated. Sometimes after that we sing them a song or do a dance. After many pictures are taken with the kids, they get very excited and say that they are coming to America with us on our cameras. :)
The weather is still extremely hot and humid. Many people are saying that this is an unusually hot year. We have heard a few times, “October is usually much cooler and much more comfortable. You must be quite hot.” We are constantly wiping sweat off of our faces and at night wiping tons of bugs off our bodies. Thank goodness for the mosquito net, the large insects can’t get to us as easily. We often have lizards and other odd looking insects in our room. We always hope and pray that the electricity doesn’t get cut because that means no fan, which also means no sleep. (The electricity gets cut a few hours a day.) These discomforts have taken a little adjusting to, just like everything else, but I know that the more challenges we experience, the stronger we become and the more we grow.
Monday, October 1, 2007
It’s Electric!!!
First of all, I want to add captions to the pictures I posted last week. The top picture is with the orphaned children at the Missionaries of Charity convent. Yes, that was the wet skirt incident. :) Which little one do you think it was?! It could have been about 5 different ones…who knows?! The second picture is outside of DDC where Andrea and I are staying. It has very beautiful greenery and gardens. The third pic is simply showing you how we look in Indian sarees. :) Believe it or not, we have 5 and ½ meters of fabric wrapped around us! We even have a bindi on our forehead (the dot). We had quite a bit of assistance putting the saris on; it was about a half hour process. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to do it by myself next time.
So as for the update…I am back safely from Bolaigoin. We arrived last night around 10pm. I have a whole week worth of new stories and experiences, but as always I will pick a few to write about. The sisters were extremely hospitable, loving and compassionate and they made sure we didn’t go hungry! (I think I’m still full!) Our regular daily schedule was wake up about 4:30, morning prayer with the sisters at 5:00, Mass at 6:00, breakfast at 7:00, relax and rest for an hour or so until 9:00, leave for the villages at 9:00, walk for an hour or an hour and a half to a village, stay out most the day (with a lunch break), then evening prayer with the sisters at 7:00pm, dinner at 8:00, bed around 9 or 10pm. Yes, the days were jam-packed. And I know what you’re thinking, yeah right, Erin, did you really wake up that early?! And yes, it’s true, some days we got to sleep in until like 5:15 or 5:30, but either way, I’m usually pretty slow to get moving in the mornings…as some of you might know…but somehow I managed quite well and it was actually a relaxing start to the day. During one of the prayer times the sisters asked if we would sing a song, so Andrea and I sang Amazing Grace because it’s a song we both really like and we thought it would be an appropriate one to teach them. Andrea has a beautiful voice and was able to keep the tune, because well, if it were up to me….it might not have been so pretty! The sisters loved it and had us write the lyrics down for them so they could learn it, then the next day we sang it two more times and they joined in.
So as for the village experiences…where to begin? The first day we were there we met a team of health workers that Sister Anisha coordinates and supervises. They were very excited to meet us and had many questions for us. Where are you from? What is it like in America? Are there poor people there? Do you have villages? Do you have any black people? What do you eat? And many more questions…Some were more difficult than others. The health workers are trained on different issues facing the tribal communities and villages. They are trained about different health issues such as AIDS, Diarrhea and many others. (Many children die here every day from diarrhea). Other topics of trainings and meetings include Women’s Empowerment, and Self-help Groups. The women have been learning that they can also use their talents and make handcrafted materials to sell and bring in some money for their family. This also offers them a support network and increases their confidence and dignity as women. Each of the health workers coordinates about 10 self-help groups where they are able to meet on a regular basis. The primary purpose of the self-help group is economic development. The goal is to help the poor understand the concept of saving and teach them how to do it as well as how to take out loans from the government and pay the loans back. One especially important aspect of the groups is the internal loans that take place. Each group member contributes a certain number of rupees to the group fund each month and if one member has an emergency and needs to take a loan from the rest of the group, they are able to do so. The groups also provide a great base to implement different programs to improve health and education. Through the health workers as well as the self-help groups, a great deal of information can be administered to the communities and it creates a great opportunity to increase knowledge and awareness about different issues, as well as an organized setting to implement new programs that are planned and developed here with the SWI staff. SWI alone is linked to over 2,000 self-help groups. It is a very efficient way to reach large numbers of people and communities. There are also sub-centers set up in the villages at different locations on certain days of the week where a government health worker comes and offers medicines and vaccines to the community members. If someone needs to be sent to the hospital they will also arrange for that. One of the days we were there Sister Anisha took a woman (a teacher from the hostel) to the hospital whose face was swollen on one side around her jaw and her eye. She had been complaining about a headache, but it turns out that she had a severe tooth infection that hit a nerve and traveled upwards.
Within the villages there are a few schools run by the government but not all families send their children to school. The school provides one meal a day so some children go to get the food and don’t stay for the class because they have to help their families work and earn money in order to eat and survive. The convent we stayed in is also a girl’s hostel on the second floor. For about 20 rupees per month (less than one dollar) a child may stay in the hostel, go to the school and get three meals a day. So the families that can afford it send their children to the hostel so they may get an education and a safe place to stay. There is also a dispensary at the convent where they store medicines and offer health services to treat the children when they are sick. There were about 80 or 90 girls staying there and the boy’s hostel and school is run by the priests next door.
One of my favorite things from the week was whenever we walked by the children, they would always say, “Good Morning Didis” or “Good Evening Didis” all synchronized. (Didi means elder sister.) One evening we were there the children wanted to show us their dance program. So they dressed up and performed different dances for us! Again, couldn’t stop smiling! It was very entertaining and a lot of fun. We had brought some candy for them, so after they finished the program we gave them each two pieces. They got in a single file line and each got a huge ear-to-ear smile when we gave it to them as they said, “Thank you Didis!” :) Just about the cutest thing ever! Then they wanted us to do a dance for them, so Andrea and I were caught on the spot trying to think of something we could do to entertain them. I suggested a little mix of the Electric Slide and The Macarena. It wasn’t near as impressive and graceful as theirs and we couldn’t help but laugh during it, but nonetheless, they loved it! Yeah, can you picture it?!! Haha. Then the teachers got a brilliant idea to dress us up in sarees (they didn’t know we had before) and so the kids got a kick out of the whole process- flowers in our hair, bindi again on our forehead…the whole thing! Then when we went to take pictures outside we were bombarded by all the girls running and trying to hold our hands and arms for the picture. Then after the photo session, Andrea and I taught them how to give high fives and tens. I think we gave about 90 of them, they were pretty excited. :)
Oh yeah, I almost forgot! We got to go to some houses where the health workers lived. One lady we spent a lot of time with was Bondita. She was actually one of the supervisors of the health workers. We got to meet her 5 year old daughter and her husband as well. (Her son is staying in the boy’s hostel.) Bondita showed us all the hand-crafted mats and table cloths she had made and generously offered to give each of us one; she insisted we take one with us. She also was very excited to give us lunch. Because we were in the villages, we had to be super careful about the food and drinks we tasted due to contamination. She is an individual I won’t forget. Her smile was so bright and she and her daughter both were filled with so much love and so much joy.
After that the girls were able to convince the sisters to let them go watch the football (soccer) game that was going on at the boy's hostel. It was some kind of huge tournament with probably about 400 people there. Should have known better that we would end up being interviewed by the announcer! Knowing most of the crowd couldn’t understand us anyway, it was somewhat easier to talk. They wanted us to sing as well, but we didn’t quite go for that one. It was pretty funny though, we thought we would go watch the game and as soon as we got seated up with the announcer the crowd was no longer watching the game…It was a lot of fun though and they played very well. It is just like American soccer except they play barefoot.
On Sunday we went to a church blessing and had Mass at the small new chapel. There was a very entertaining program after with lots of songs, dances and bright costumes. Of course we enjoyed all the dances, but our favorite by far was the boys dance. All the dances we had seen so far were mostly just girls, but this one the boys were dressed up and the dance was very catchy and entertaining!
The week was filled with all these wonderful experiences, but also many very tough and challenging ones. Just to mention a few...We were a good 40 minute drive away from Raiganj (I was wrong in my last blog when I said 15 minutes), and I felt quite disconnected from everything without internet available and very minimal cell coverage.The weather was very hot and humid and Andrea and I both got fevers and had to take a full day of rest (very likely dehydration and heat exhaustion). I had a really close call with an accident (no worries though, all is well!). The malnutrition and the poverty level in the villages are quite different and much more intense than here in the town of Raiganj. That in itself was a lot to take in. When spending some time with the girls in the hostel, sister was explaining to us some of the circumstances and stories of each child. One child she explained didn’t have any parents; one had a mother in the hospital and no father (he died from TB). Sadly, this is all too common here. All these challenges and experiences contributed to me feeling a bit homesick, tired and overwhelmed, but at the same time, they made me realize not only what I take for granted but the things that I often mistakenly think of as guarantees - things like my health, my family, my food, my home, and my life.
So as for the update…I am back safely from Bolaigoin. We arrived last night around 10pm. I have a whole week worth of new stories and experiences, but as always I will pick a few to write about. The sisters were extremely hospitable, loving and compassionate and they made sure we didn’t go hungry! (I think I’m still full!) Our regular daily schedule was wake up about 4:30, morning prayer with the sisters at 5:00, Mass at 6:00, breakfast at 7:00, relax and rest for an hour or so until 9:00, leave for the villages at 9:00, walk for an hour or an hour and a half to a village, stay out most the day (with a lunch break), then evening prayer with the sisters at 7:00pm, dinner at 8:00, bed around 9 or 10pm. Yes, the days were jam-packed. And I know what you’re thinking, yeah right, Erin, did you really wake up that early?! And yes, it’s true, some days we got to sleep in until like 5:15 or 5:30, but either way, I’m usually pretty slow to get moving in the mornings…as some of you might know…but somehow I managed quite well and it was actually a relaxing start to the day. During one of the prayer times the sisters asked if we would sing a song, so Andrea and I sang Amazing Grace because it’s a song we both really like and we thought it would be an appropriate one to teach them. Andrea has a beautiful voice and was able to keep the tune, because well, if it were up to me….it might not have been so pretty! The sisters loved it and had us write the lyrics down for them so they could learn it, then the next day we sang it two more times and they joined in.
So as for the village experiences…where to begin? The first day we were there we met a team of health workers that Sister Anisha coordinates and supervises. They were very excited to meet us and had many questions for us. Where are you from? What is it like in America? Are there poor people there? Do you have villages? Do you have any black people? What do you eat? And many more questions…Some were more difficult than others. The health workers are trained on different issues facing the tribal communities and villages. They are trained about different health issues such as AIDS, Diarrhea and many others. (Many children die here every day from diarrhea). Other topics of trainings and meetings include Women’s Empowerment, and Self-help Groups. The women have been learning that they can also use their talents and make handcrafted materials to sell and bring in some money for their family. This also offers them a support network and increases their confidence and dignity as women. Each of the health workers coordinates about 10 self-help groups where they are able to meet on a regular basis. The primary purpose of the self-help group is economic development. The goal is to help the poor understand the concept of saving and teach them how to do it as well as how to take out loans from the government and pay the loans back. One especially important aspect of the groups is the internal loans that take place. Each group member contributes a certain number of rupees to the group fund each month and if one member has an emergency and needs to take a loan from the rest of the group, they are able to do so. The groups also provide a great base to implement different programs to improve health and education. Through the health workers as well as the self-help groups, a great deal of information can be administered to the communities and it creates a great opportunity to increase knowledge and awareness about different issues, as well as an organized setting to implement new programs that are planned and developed here with the SWI staff. SWI alone is linked to over 2,000 self-help groups. It is a very efficient way to reach large numbers of people and communities. There are also sub-centers set up in the villages at different locations on certain days of the week where a government health worker comes and offers medicines and vaccines to the community members. If someone needs to be sent to the hospital they will also arrange for that. One of the days we were there Sister Anisha took a woman (a teacher from the hostel) to the hospital whose face was swollen on one side around her jaw and her eye. She had been complaining about a headache, but it turns out that she had a severe tooth infection that hit a nerve and traveled upwards.
Within the villages there are a few schools run by the government but not all families send their children to school. The school provides one meal a day so some children go to get the food and don’t stay for the class because they have to help their families work and earn money in order to eat and survive. The convent we stayed in is also a girl’s hostel on the second floor. For about 20 rupees per month (less than one dollar) a child may stay in the hostel, go to the school and get three meals a day. So the families that can afford it send their children to the hostel so they may get an education and a safe place to stay. There is also a dispensary at the convent where they store medicines and offer health services to treat the children when they are sick. There were about 80 or 90 girls staying there and the boy’s hostel and school is run by the priests next door.
One of my favorite things from the week was whenever we walked by the children, they would always say, “Good Morning Didis” or “Good Evening Didis” all synchronized. (Didi means elder sister.) One evening we were there the children wanted to show us their dance program. So they dressed up and performed different dances for us! Again, couldn’t stop smiling! It was very entertaining and a lot of fun. We had brought some candy for them, so after they finished the program we gave them each two pieces. They got in a single file line and each got a huge ear-to-ear smile when we gave it to them as they said, “Thank you Didis!” :) Just about the cutest thing ever! Then they wanted us to do a dance for them, so Andrea and I were caught on the spot trying to think of something we could do to entertain them. I suggested a little mix of the Electric Slide and The Macarena. It wasn’t near as impressive and graceful as theirs and we couldn’t help but laugh during it, but nonetheless, they loved it! Yeah, can you picture it?!! Haha. Then the teachers got a brilliant idea to dress us up in sarees (they didn’t know we had before) and so the kids got a kick out of the whole process- flowers in our hair, bindi again on our forehead…the whole thing! Then when we went to take pictures outside we were bombarded by all the girls running and trying to hold our hands and arms for the picture. Then after the photo session, Andrea and I taught them how to give high fives and tens. I think we gave about 90 of them, they were pretty excited. :)
Oh yeah, I almost forgot! We got to go to some houses where the health workers lived. One lady we spent a lot of time with was Bondita. She was actually one of the supervisors of the health workers. We got to meet her 5 year old daughter and her husband as well. (Her son is staying in the boy’s hostel.) Bondita showed us all the hand-crafted mats and table cloths she had made and generously offered to give each of us one; she insisted we take one with us. She also was very excited to give us lunch. Because we were in the villages, we had to be super careful about the food and drinks we tasted due to contamination. She is an individual I won’t forget. Her smile was so bright and she and her daughter both were filled with so much love and so much joy.
After that the girls were able to convince the sisters to let them go watch the football (soccer) game that was going on at the boy's hostel. It was some kind of huge tournament with probably about 400 people there. Should have known better that we would end up being interviewed by the announcer! Knowing most of the crowd couldn’t understand us anyway, it was somewhat easier to talk. They wanted us to sing as well, but we didn’t quite go for that one. It was pretty funny though, we thought we would go watch the game and as soon as we got seated up with the announcer the crowd was no longer watching the game…It was a lot of fun though and they played very well. It is just like American soccer except they play barefoot.
On Sunday we went to a church blessing and had Mass at the small new chapel. There was a very entertaining program after with lots of songs, dances and bright costumes. Of course we enjoyed all the dances, but our favorite by far was the boys dance. All the dances we had seen so far were mostly just girls, but this one the boys were dressed up and the dance was very catchy and entertaining!
The week was filled with all these wonderful experiences, but also many very tough and challenging ones. Just to mention a few...We were a good 40 minute drive away from Raiganj (I was wrong in my last blog when I said 15 minutes), and I felt quite disconnected from everything without internet available and very minimal cell coverage.The weather was very hot and humid and Andrea and I both got fevers and had to take a full day of rest (very likely dehydration and heat exhaustion). I had a really close call with an accident (no worries though, all is well!). The malnutrition and the poverty level in the villages are quite different and much more intense than here in the town of Raiganj. That in itself was a lot to take in. When spending some time with the girls in the hostel, sister was explaining to us some of the circumstances and stories of each child. One child she explained didn’t have any parents; one had a mother in the hospital and no father (he died from TB). Sadly, this is all too common here. All these challenges and experiences contributed to me feeling a bit homesick, tired and overwhelmed, but at the same time, they made me realize not only what I take for granted but the things that I often mistakenly think of as guarantees - things like my health, my family, my food, my home, and my life.
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