Wrappin Things Up

We’re in our last full week here in Raiganj. We’ve been quite busy wrapping things up. Andrea and I went back to Bolaigaon for a few days (the village we went to our second week we were in India). It’s crazy to think how fast the time has gone, but I think Andrea and I both feel a special connection and warmth towards the sisters in Bolaigaon and the village communities there. The second week was the hardest week for me this entire trip. I didn’t emphasize the challenges too much in my blog last time, but I’ll admit I was scared, homesick and uncomfortable. This time it kind of felt like home, like family. (I know I said that about Kumarganj too, but even more so in Bolaigaon.) Right as we drove through the gate, a bunch of the hostel girls smiled and shouted in excitement, “Good Morning Didis!” I even recognized one of the girls at the gate (that is a big deal because we’ve met thousands and thousands of hostel children- all adorable kids with bright white smiles and beautiful dark features.) Andrea and I had a great time with the sisters. Two of them are about our age and they’re super fun. Never knew how hilarious a couple nuns could be! Seriously, we were laughing non stop. We saw Bondita and her 5 year old daughter Bernali again and we took some little hair clips as a gift for Bernali. (Bondita was the health worker we met before who so generously gave us some of her intricately hand-woven tablecloths and mats – the one who I said I would never forget.) Bondita ran away in so much excitement after greeting us and before we knew it she was back with a really nice breakfast - again, so generous, so kind, so giving. Her husband chatted with us too this time and tried to convince us to stay for a month with them. He said we could really learn Bengali that way.

We spent last Saturday at the MCs again. We were there for about 4 hours this time. Sadly, one of the babies died just an hour and a half before we got there from severe diarrhea. The mother was there weeping over the crib where the body of her one-year old boy was under a sheet with a couple fresh flowers on top. Her husband had just died 6 months before and she was a patient in the nearby TB hospital. It was definitely a heartbreaking moment as you can imagine and a sight that I hope I never ever have to see again.

We spent a lot of time with the babies, feeding them, holding them and loving them. Just when I thought that kids couldn’t get any cuter, the weather got “cold” and they are now all bundled up in tiny little sweaters and scarves. By “cold” I mean a little chilly in the mornings and at night but hot during the day. (Somewhat like a hot summer day back home; we still sleep with our windows open and occasionally still turn the fan on at night.) We had a great time with the kids but they really wore us out! There’s a bunch of new ones there, almost 30 altogether.

We’ve been working on lots of projects. Last Sunday we went to a place called Majlispur where we split up a project proposal for the construction of a girl’s hostel and cranked it out in just a few hours! We looked quite official, all working hard with laptops. There was a big procession going on in the village too. There is always some kind of procession or celebration going on here, but usually they are all either Puja celebrations with the Hindus or some kind of political march. This one was a Christian procession for the celebration of Christ the King. (It’s a holiday here.) A couple thousand people participated in the procession; it was a pretty awesome experience. The same procession was going on in many villages and towns throughout West Bengal.

Last night we went marketing with Father to get a few gifts and one more sari. Man, it was a fun outing! Customers actually sit on the floor and the shop owners and clerks throw tons of fabric in front of you. Before we knew it we were hidden in a mound of saris and shawls. We picked through the pile as Father explained the different qualities of fabric. They even brought cool drinks and snacks! This store had so much fabric it was unbelievable. Each small room kept leading to another! Never thought you could shop sitting down! The whole phrase, "Shop til you drop" doesn't really apply here in India. Dad, I think even you could manage this kind of shopping! Haha.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Andrea and I spent the last few days out in Bolaigaon again. I can’t believe it’s been 2 months since we were there last! (I will try to write more about it later, but for now, I just want to mention the Thanksgiving festivities.) The sisters there made us a special lunch for Thanksgiving with foods we mentioned as Thanksgiving foods. It was quite the feast – even some yams and pumpkin (boiled w/ fresh coconut shavings on top). Then of course, crunchy baby fish, green beans, cucumber and onion, meat, rice, daal, mango juice, and mini bananas. You can't forget, I am in India! :)

For dinner we went to our friends’ house, Jonathon and Ruchika (and their adorable little 9-month old daughter Trisha). They have become close friends here and we have lots of fun with them. We made mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing. Thanks to the package Scott’s mom, Jan, sent! And also some green beans, chicken (in place of turkey) and many many Indian treats. It was a fun evening. Definitely a Thanksgiving we’ll never forget.

As wonderful as all these celebrations were, I hate to admit it, but I do miss the fam back home. Since Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks, (and it's still Thanksgiving for you all - 13.5 hrs behind me), I find it appropriate to give a little shout out to my family back home. When I think about the many blessings God has given me, family is definitely top of the list. I am very fortunate to have such an amazing family - Mom, Dad, my broski Adam, Aunty and Grandma Frank, Grandma and Grandpa Pflueger and the whole Pflueger clan. A family that is filled with many incredible individuals who have all taught me what love is all about. Seventeen grandkids on the Pflueger side just to give you an idea…! Of course, everyone has their own very special and unique gifts that they bring to the group, which makes for one awesome bunch!!!! To all of my family back home: I love you very very much and wish I could be there with you all. You have each shaped me in a very special way, brought me many wonderful memories and lots of laughs and lots and lots of love! I wouldn't be who I am without each and every one of you. Thank you for bringing such joy to my life! I will surely be there with you in spirit- even the pool tourney!!! :)

And to all my friends and family reading this, Have a very Happy Thanksgiving feast and please take a moment to think about all those in this world who go without…without food, without family, without health or without love. They aren’t as far away as they may seem.

Kumarganj

Last weekend we went to a village named Kumarganj. I tell you what; there is just something about the place. So much love and so much generosity! We met a bunch of families after mass on Sunday morning and then they all wanted to show us their home. We immediately felt like family. We went one by one, to each of their bamboo and mud huts, and sat for at least a couple minutes either on bamboo mats, plastic chairs or hammock-like beds. We had Father Kennedy and Sister Lizzy with us so were able to communicate w/ translations. The villagers were soooooo excited that we came all the way from America and wanted to meet them and spend time with them. One woman yanked on my arm and begged us to stay with them. Their kindness and generosity is incredible. Despite the fact that they have very little food to eat, they all brought a plate of rice or one or two rupees for the offering at mass. As we were walking from hut to hut, Andrea and I both had two little girls on either side of us holding our hands. It was one of those moments I didn’t want to end.

We also met a couple thousand hostel children and were greeted with songs and dances again. It has been awhile since we have visited the hostels; it made me realize how much I’ve missed it! My cheeks hurt again from smiling so much! :)

Oh yeah, and Friday was a blast too! It was Father’s birthday so we celebrated just about all day long! His office was filled with treats and flowers. In the evening we had a really fun dinner at DDC (about 10 of us). Scott and I even performed a little dance for entertainment! Haha. :) It was a very lively and joyous evening to say the least.

Children's Day

Last Wednesday (November 14^th) we celebrated Children’s Day in a nearby village named Dhumpur. We set up a health fair and had lots of fun activities. This was much different than the health fairs I’m used to – no brochures and pamphlets even distributed! The village has only a 17% literacy rate, so written materials are not very helpful. When we first got to the village the children lined up in two single-file lines while one of the supervisors taught them their chants. They were chanting about children’s rights. Things like, “Right to Education, Right to Immunization, Right against Polio, Right against Child Labor…” and so on. Of course this was all in Bengali so we needed some translations in order to understand. I was helping to tape the thin paper signs to bamboo sticks so that the children could hold them. We marched with the children through a few nearby villages.

There were a few health officials there from the government that spoke about different health and hygiene topics. Each mother brought the child’s immunization record and all records were reviewed by health workers to determine which children had received all the vaccines they needed at the appropriate times. Incentive prizes were given for the best immunized children. A doctor was also there and free medical check-ups were offered for all the women and children present. Medicines were also provided in very small amounts after the check-up.

Lastly, there was a “quiz competition” for the mothers. Questions regarding health and immunization were asked to the crowd. Those who answered correctly were given a bar of soap and a small pouch of laundry soap as prizes. This is a great way to check their knowledge and awareness about different health issues as well as evaluate the effectiveness of previous interventions. Again, because of the low literacy rate, written tests or surveys are not very helpful. Two very important things were determined through the quiz competition: 1. Their knowledge about immunization was very good. They knew which vaccines were to be given at which times. 2. No one had any knowledge or understanding of HIV/AIDS! Thank goodness for our next HIV program that just got passed! :)

A True Indian

I’m laying here in my room at DDC reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, laughing to myself as I identify with many of her feelings and experiences while living abroad in India. I’m also trying to hydrate myself and consequently getting up to use the toilet just about every 10 or 15 minutes. The last couple weeks were difficult to stay completely healthy and hydrated – partly due to the heavy pollution in Calcutta and the fact that most places didn’t have a water filter. I’d much rather be slightly dehydrated than severely sick.

I just realized I’ve never really described our room here…ah…so it’s actually quite spacious, but unfortunately not too homey with the cement floor and steel iron bedposts. Our “mattress” is more like a comforter on a board. We have a small table against the wall that is currently covered with the small library Andrea and I brought, Nalgenes, empty plastic water bottles, a small alarm clock, and actually a bunch of junk and way too many bugs. Right above the table is the lonely light bulb hanging on a wall covered in way more ants and odd looking bugs than I can possibly count. We haven’t had any cockroaches in awhile so that has been nice. The lizards seem to have stopped visiting as well. Now it is just lots of tiny bugs that unfortunately are able to crawl their way through the little holes in the mosquito nets. The worst part about those ones is that when you turn off the lights and try not to think about them, you rub your arm (or anywhere for that matter) and squash one. Next to the table are two chairs (currently covered with dirty laundry from the past two weeks – basically my entire wardrobe here). It was really nice to wear some of the Western clothes I picked up at Value Village before coming here while we were in Calcutta. Wearing the churidar (Indian dress) we wear here in Raiganj would attract some funny looks from Indians as well as foreigners in the big city. It’s funny because here it’s the opposite. Going into the villages in western clothes is not something you want to do. Trust me on this one.

And our bathroom…ha…um well it also has a cement floor and walls with a small sink emptying to the floor, believe it or not a Western style toilet that doesn’t really flush without a bucket of water and manual labor…of course two small pails for water used in place of toilet paper…ants on the floor and pigeons that perch themselves above us, constantly making odd gurgle noises and often using the top of our toilet as theirs as well…yeah…only a couple times they’ve made it into our room and flown around…it’s actually quite a challenge to get pigeons out of your room if you were wondering. We take quick cold showers every day, although when we get a chance to take a shower mid-day, we do because then it might be warm on a hot day (the water tank is outside on the roof). Let me just quickly remind you that you’re looking at someone who used to complain about using an outhouse while camping and often spends close to an hour in the bathroom getting ready for the day at home…yeah…you can only imagine! Let’s just say I’ve toughened up a bit in this regard.

Yesterday after washing my hands after lunch and using my Indian shawl to dry them, Father says, “Erin has become a true Indian.” Now, you have to realize that from Father that is one of the best compliments he could give me! A strong sense of accomplishment was hidden behind the smile on my face and small little chuckle I made. All the discomforts, all the awkwardness, all the frustrations accompanying this full immersion in Indian culture…have I really adjusted?!! SWEET.

Today there was a strike so everything in town is closed (including the office at SWI). So, today we have “a day of rest”. I kind of feel like it is a Snow Day when you can’t really go anywhere and everything kind of just gets put on hold for the day. Except here it’s hot outside and the sun is shining bright and instead of going to play in the snow, we venture our way out to the paddy fields (rice plants). We’ve been reading, relaxing, drinking coffee, and spending some good quality time together. If Father and Scott hadn’t stopped by earlier I’m pretty sure I’d still be in my ‘house robe’ as they call the thin cotton wrap-around bathrobe that women wear at all hours of the day around the house. Andrea and I purchased one a couple weeks ago for a couple dollars so we could hang out with the other girls here at DDC not in our Western jammies. Mine is bright turquoise and black and it looks quite Asian. Actually it kind of reminds me of a Japanese kimono.

So Andrea and I just went on the terrace to watch the sunset. What a beautiful evening. There was music blaring from beyond the trees – couldn’t even tell where it was coming from, but it was nice background music. We had a nice chat up there. Man, what a blessing Andrea has been for me here. I honestly can’t imagine this experience without my wonderful little roommate, companion and friend.

Bhubaneshwar and Puri

After Kolkata we took a long train ride to Bhubenasewar (a city in the state of Orissa). First off the 6 hour train ride was a memory in itself. When we first got on, it was super crowded and the three of us were all spread out but eventually I managed to make my way for the window seat. Some good ‘ol Beatles music playing in my ears with a nice breeze and scenery so green and so absolutely gorgeous. It was almost like driving with the top down in the convertible with the oldies cranked with Dad. :) Well except of course all the villages and different types of tropical trees. While I was in my own world feeling happy as ever starring out my window, I looked over to find Andrea and Scott laughing and making some new Indian friends in another seat.

In Bhubaneshwar we did a little sight-seeing of ancient temples and historical sights. One of our favorites was Udaygiri - a place where we climbed in a bunch of really cool old caves and saw a beautiful view of the city.

We also went to some villages where prawn is cultivated. There is some major health and social concerns facing the workers, so from an NGO perspective, Father wanted to check out the situation to perhaps develop an appropriate health program to improve the conditions. The main health concerns involve the nervous and respiratory systems. More specifically, shivering, severe coughing, and neck problems. We will be assisting with writing the project proposal for this so it was nice to go and physically observe the situation. The workers here are being completely taken advantage of and have lost all their dignity. Unfortunately they have been conditioned how to think and they’re uneducated so they don’t know the difference. Often the owners of the land where the workers live and cultivate the shrimp live far away in a distant city or state of India. One man we talked to explained that his owner lives in Delhi (all the way across the country) and the only time he returns is to get the prawn and his money. If the workers show any resistance or understanding of what is really going on and how they’re being cheated, then the owners will simply kick them out and find new workers, leaving them jobless and in even worse poverty. To me it sounds like slavery. The worker’s entire livelihood rests in the landowner. I’m beginning to understand more clearly why Kolkata has the poverty it does. I’m thankful for the opportunity to work at SWI to witness and contribute to the preventative efforts in helping the poor rise up, understand their dignity and rights, and help them achieve ‘freedom’ if you want to call it that (if freedom can be synonymous with education, dignity, health and happiness.) I feel that this is what true social justice is all about.

Lastly, we went to Puri and hung out on the beach for an hour or two. We even rode a camel – yeah, all three of us together- it was quite a sight to see. And the ocean water was like bath water it was so warm!!!

Kolkata

We just returned early Sunday morning after our 10 day trip and almost 24 hours of traveling on a bumpy road filled with potholes. I haven’t been able to use the internet so I wrote my blogs in my journal. I decided to split these into three entries. I apologize for the length; I hope you don’t find them too long and overwhelming. The first half of the trip was spent in Kolkata and the last half was in Bhubaneswar and Puri.

To begin with Kolkata - The city itself is extremely crowded, noisy and polluted. My initial thought was how much it looked (and smelled) like Tijuana, Mexico. When we first got there we had a little interview with a priest named Fr. Sarto. He is also a journalist and wanted to write an article about us in his magazine to encourage the youth of India to do some service among the poor. After about an eleven hour bumpy bus ride the night before and no shower, we somehow managed to pull ourselves together and share some thoughts with him. He asked us about our motivation in coming to India, our experiences while here, our faith and our interactions with the youth thus far.

We stayed in a hotel on Sudder Street (a somewhat sketchy area but none-the-less where all foreigners stay when they come to volunteer). We met up with a guy from Seattle University that we met on the flight from SeaTac. He was with a group of almost 10 others. We spent some time sharing stories and experiences of the past couple months here in India. Their experiences in the big city have been drastically different than our experiences in the small rural town of Raiganj.

We volunteered at Nirmal Hriday in Kalighat – The home for the sick and dying. When Pope John Paul II traveled to Kolkata to visit Kalighat, he called it “…a place of suffering, a house familiar with anguish and pain, a home for the destitute and dying…but at the same time, a place of hope, a house built on courage and faith, a home where love reigns, a home filled with love…” I had to add in that quote because I feel like it’s a very beautiful way of describing the place. To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t think I’m totally capable of describing the place or the experience myself. It was pretty overwhelming in many ways.

First we helped wash dishes and wash endless amounts of dirty clothes (a process including about 10 volunteers). While we were doing laundry – hand washing one article of clothing at a time, I looked up as a body was being carried out of the room with a sheet over it. It was then that I had a small mental and emotional shock as I realized what I was in for. While washing the clothes and chatting with a volunteer from Australia, my eyes kept wandering over to a man (bed #30) right outside the washroom lying in pain on his bed. He was the only patient I could see from inside. Then as I finished in the washroom I walked out to help with the patients. As I was walking out, the man (#30) had tubes in his mouth and one of the sisters and two women volunteers were on their knees by the bed praying. I too knelt down next to them and joined them in prayer as tears began to fill my eyes. It was only a couple minutes before the man died. As I walked away into the female ward of patients, I felt completely overwhelmed and a little helpless, unsure of what to do. In a room filled with so much pain and suffering, what do I do? Who do I go to? I felt like I was thrown into the ocean with no ability to swim. Basically we were thrown in a hospital of about 100 extremely sick and dying patients with absolutely no training or medical background (or emotional preparation) to help us out.

One lady was motioning me toward her and she kept putting her hand to her heart and then to my face. I sat down with her and held her hand for awhile. Then she bowed in thanks and motioned to me to the rest of the room. So I walked around and stopped at different women and held their hands and tried to comfort them in their immense pain and suffering. I tried my best to offer a smile to each patient, but I found it difficult. The sights were heartbreaking and quite indescribable. I also helped distribute medicines to the patients. One of the sisters would give me some medicine and tell me the bed number of the patient to take it to, and I would go and get a glass of water and take the meds to the patient. Some were too weak to sit up and needed a lot of help to get the medicine in the mouth but they were all so happy to see the medicine coming their way. The sisters then had us take lunch to the patients. The first plate I took to patient #53 - I realized that she was unable to feed herself so I sat with her and did the best I could. I think she also may have been blind; I’m not sure. It was somewhat like spoon-feeding a toddler but even more challenging. Then one of the sisters brought a change of clothes for her and laid them on the bed – I’m thinking, I can’t even get this woman’s mouth to open! How can I possibly get her to stand up?!!! Thank goodness some help came soon after. In the meantime, wounds were wrapped, massages were given, exercises were performed, comfort was given, and love was spread. One woman had about 3 inches of her tibia bone exposed along with 1/3 of her scalp peeled off. Good thing I don’t get nauseous at sights like this!

Kolkata is a place that seems to pull many volunteers from all around the world. Every individual who comes has their own personal reasons and motivation for coming. Some have absolutely no idea what brought them to Kolkata, some have a deep desire and compassion to serve, some to experience true simplicity, some to challenge themselves to the extreme, some to simply spread and share God’s amazing and selfless love and many all of the above. Asking each volunteer their reason for coming was an incredible conversation starter that was just a window into their fascinating lives. I met some really amazing individuals from all around the world. Volunteers were there from Italy, France, Ireland, Sweden, Australia, Japan, Canada and others from the US. I found great inspiration from many of these people – such big hearts and such strong faith. Some volunteers were back for their second trip; some were staying a couple weeks, others a year or more.

We really saw and experienced the dichotomy that exists among the people in Kolkata. The two extremes of rich and poor were the most extreme I’ve ever seen. Along with our experience in Kalighat, we also had a few really nice dinners and a quick tour of a resort area that a couple friends of Father took us to. We felt guilty about having such nice meals after working at Kalighat, but Andrea said it nicely, “You can’t say that you’ve seen Kolkata if you’ve only seen one side of it. This is Kolkata.”

Reaching EVERY child

Yesterday was the inauguration of the routine immunization (RI) program. We decorated the room with flowers, posters and pictures. About 7 or 8 government officials came and gave a few speeches. Father also gave an inaugural address and a lamp was lit to symbolize the start of the program. Unfortunately we couldn’t understand too much of the inaugural ceremony because it was all in Bengali, but we were given a few translations from time to time.

Today I joined Manasi for a field visit to Malda (another district here in West Bengal) where the training of health workers was taking place for the RI program. The workers that were trained today function as social mobilizers. They are all women who live in the villages. Many health services are provided to the village people (like the immunization station every Wednesday) but many aren’t benefiting from those services either because they are unaware of them or they are resistant to them. The role of the social mobilizer is to connect the people and the services and to reach the “left-out children” (those not being properly immunized). They do this by increasing awareness and accessibility of services provided. They also determine the factors causing some families to remain resistant to immunization. Some families remain resistant due to various social and cultural beliefs and many superstitions. Since the social mobilizer also lives in the village, they are able to go to each and every house to ensure that no child is missed.

Another role of the social mobilizer is to teach their community about various health and social issues using flashcards (large posters). These flashcards have been drawn by an extremely talented artist and each has a message about different health issues facing pregnant mothers and children. This is a very effective way to teach the villagers. Many are unable to read or write, but they are able understand the message through the pictures and descriptions. I got the opportunity to meet the professional artist last week as he was working on some more flashcards in the office at SWI. I was so impressed; his work is incredible!

I feel like I could talk about the RI health program itself for a long time, in much greater detail, but that would probably not be too exciting for all of you readers (except for my professor Dr. Lindsey and former Community Health student colleagues)! Ask me for more details about the plan and implementation later! It's really exciting and quite impressive! ;)

Earlier in the week, Scott, Andrea and I got to attend the quarterly meeting for the SWI staff. Each department gave a brief presentation of their progress from the past three months as well as their goals for next quarter. The night before the meeting we were surprised to look at a schedule and see our names on it for a 45 minute sharing of our experience here…yeah. So we panicked a little and then decided to chat about what highlights we wanted to share. It wasn’t quite as scary as I thought it might be and we were comforted in the fact that less than 10 people in the entire room could understand us – the rest were relying on Father’s translations. We shared a few things and then had a question/ answer time with the staff. I started off the sharing by mentioning a few of the discomforts we faced when arriving like eating everything with our fingers and using the Indian toilet…it got some good chuckles among the staff. They asked a lot of questions about America – some questions were easier than others. We were very relieved and thankful that the questions didn’t turn political on us like they have before. That makes for an interesting and uncomfortable conversation…

Bummer News- Almost every day someone comes into the office asking Father where the USAID food is. USAID provides food to the hostel children. The food was sent to Calcutta months ago, but it's going to waste because the Indian government won’t pay to get it transported and distributed, so in the meantime, over 7,000 children are hungry. :(

Exciting News- The HIV project proposal that Scott, Andrea and I helped to create for the Clinton Foundation got passed!!! So that project will begin in a few weeks! :)

We're leaving tonight for Calcutta where we'll be for the next four or five days, then we're traveling to a place named Puri on the Eastern Coast. Just a heads up because I'm not sure how much internet access I'll have, so basically, if I don't blog, Mom and Dad, don't worry, I'm fine! ;)

A Special Halloween

Happy Halloween to you all! (When I wrote this entry it was still technically Halloween for you, but yesterday the internet wasn't working so sorry for the late posting.) Believe it or not, we had our own little Halloween celebration! :) On Halloween night we had a nice dinner on the terrace of DDC with candlelight. It was such a beautiful night, very clear with bright stars and in our short sleeved tee shirts, the temperature felt perfect. There were 12 of us, so it was quite the party! :) The girls from down the hall came too, Rekha, Jonaki, Manasi, and Sanchari. They are all about our age, so it’s a lot of fun to hang out with them. You may think a candlelight dinner under the stars doesn’t sound quite like Halloween, but don’t worry, we did what we could to set the right mood… Scott even popped some of the balloons that Father got for us just to scare people. A couple bats flew over our heads and some odd chanting was going on in the background…and you really should have seen Scott’s shirt, it was scary enough in itself! He got it as a gift and we came to find out that it is actually a girl’s shirt. It is orange with black embroidery, just way too perfect and festive to pass up for Halloween. He got a couple funny looks earlier in the day, but then he explained that it was his “costume” for Halloween – an American holiday. I helped out with Scott’s evening class and that was also pretty entertaining. He got some candy to hand out and printed off a couple scary stories that they had to perform skits to. They got pretty into it – flicking the lights on and off and chanting random lines. All in all, it was a great Halloween – one I don’t think we’ll ever forget!