The most difficult part is writing the paper. I have a ton of information and insight, but it is always difficult to start, especially when I must still decide precisely how to approach the information at hand. I've been doing research for hours, trying to find general information on NGOs in India and specific information on the role that women play in grassroots organizations. This has been difficult because Wofford does not carry much information on this topic. After searching I found nothing too helpful which is available here, but have a list of books to find elsewhere. I believe most can be found at Barnes and Noble or the public library so I am going to take trips there to look through some of these books for the information I need.
I am trying to organize my thoughts about the specific three organizations that I studied while in India. I feel that I learned a lot about the internal workings of each, but must decide what is most important and how to present it.
At the moment I am thinking of writing the first portion about NGOs in India in general, specifically details such as: the biggest problems in India, how NGOs have (or have not) addressed these issues, how the presence of NGOs has effected India, the complexity of issues like poverty and women's rights in India, the limitations of NGOs, and the trend for NGOs to be grassroots organizations run by women. The second portion will deal with the complexity of the interworkings of NGOs. This deals with the character itself of NGOs. Here I will use the 3 organizations that I looked into as case studies.
I'd also like to note that I read the first chapter of Edward Luce's In Spite of the Gods, and found it very interesting and relevant. The first chapter deals with the economic system and changes that India has undergone since independence which shed light on how so many have been left behind in the modernization movement. Unlike China, where the development has been labor intensive, India's growth has been capital intensive because of the tight laws and restrictions on businesses in India. Because of this, development is not creating more jobs which is what India really needs. He also mentioned how many, because of the legacy of Gandhi, are convinced that the villages are the key to India. This, unfortuantely, is not plausible anymore because the population continues to grow and plots of land are getting smaller. Many villagers must migrate to cities or travel there for odd jobs to feed their families because farming cannot provide for them anymore. So few in India are a part of this growth, yet even a small percentage of the population is equivalent to millions of people, and therefore, makes India look strong. It is interesting that we are considering the rise of India as a world power when the majority of the country is illiterate! The role that NGOs play in filling in the needs that are left behind by the government is important, but ultimately change with government leadership is vitally important.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Jan 25 Finally Home!
Note: Today I posted two blogs. A blog from sunday that I wrote in the airport and this one from yesterday. For some reason my computer has had a hard time re-adjusting to internet in the US so I couldn't post at first.
Monday
Today was a relaxing day. The time difference has me pretty tired. I got up and mostly took it easy today. Lots of things are really strange. I was only gone for 3 weeks, but India is so different than the US that it is more strange being back this time than when I was in Europe for a semester. The traffic is so orderly and here I can drink the water and flush toilet paper in the toilet. I took a long warm bath today which was amazing then got out into a room warmed by central heating! I was in a great mood all day because I realized how amazing my life is. I am so unbelieveably thankful for my life here! The main thing I've been thinking of is that if I grew up in India as someone in the lower middle class I probably wouldn't have an education or being doing any of the things that I've been able to do. That's an exciting and tough thought. Its wierd to think that I did nothing to deserve these things. Simply by growing up in the US I have been exposed to great opportunity. It could have been very different.
One thing very apparent in India is that people do not just sit around content with where they are. They are always trying to get ahead, to work to improve their situation. There is a strong spirit here. People take advantage of every opportunity. Americans/Westerners tend to be lazy. We have so much but try to escape working hard at anything. Many of the wealthiest people in our societies do very little, but make the most by having others do the work. Almost every American has access to higher education, but so many do not take advantage of it simply because they don't feel like working! How selfish and unwise! Children in India are desperate for a chance to get out of their situation and many know that education is the key to that, but so mnay don't have access or opportunity. One sixth of the world's population lives in India and about 3% have been affected by the prosperity of India over the last few years. It is so hard to get ahead there. That's been a good lesson for me. Seeing the strong and resilient spirit of India has reminded me that I must take advantage of the opportunities around me. If we don't, Indians will continue to take our jobs overseas.
Today I reviewed some of my information, but mostly took a day off to process all that happened. Tomorrow I am going to make a plan for the project and start on it. I've got 6 days to get it all together.
Jan 24 Coming Home
I am really not sure what time it is or what day it is here. It's sunday I guess because I'm supposed to be home on sunday! I’m sitting at a Starbucks in the Chicago O’Hare airport enjoying a coffee. I only had coffee a few times in India and it was never very good. Normally I am an avid coffee drinker so seeing this was refreshing! I’ve got a pretty long layover; about 4 hours and I never sleep in airports when I am alone so I am occupying the time a number of ways. I love to take walks around airports and look in the shops, mostly because I know that once I am on the flight I can move around much. There doesn’t seem to be much around here though so I figured I’d write a blog. Between packing and leaving India and then of course the huge time difference I’ve missed a day or maybe two of blogging (sorry Dr. DeMars).
My last day of work was very sad! I’ve included some pictures below but the videos I have are the best to look at. I realized that over those 3 weeks which were frustrating at times, I had really grown to love them. Each of them was unique and precious. Some who were especially difficult to handle had the worst family situations. I almost cried as we left. I’d especially grown close to several children. I had 4 kids by the end who just loved me. My favorite little girl always made me smile because she was so cute. The way she talked was hilarious and she was so tiny and full of energy. She has the most beautiful eyes. Her parents put eyeliner on her eyes to keep the bad spirits away so they stood out. Another was a tiny boy who I described before in a blog as the smartest of the little kids. He also has a smile that will melt your heart instantly and loved to show me his artwork, to which I would exclaim “Shabash!” or “Bahut acha!” The girl before who I described as looking like Cindy Loo Who with the squeaky shoes would have tickle wars with me. And a little boy who at first I did not like so much warmed my heart by the end. He hits other kids a lot so I would get frustrated with him, but he decided he liked me and would always shove other kids over to sit beside me. We became buddies by the end. The saddest part is when we left the children said goodbye as usual, not understanding that we wouldn’t be coming back.
Mobile Creches
The end of my trip was good because by the last day I was prepared to leave. A part of me was definitely sad to go, but I was also very excited to get home. On the last day I had the last meeting for my project at 1:00. I was very impressed with the women I spoke with and with the organization. I had been working with Mobile Creches for three weeks and did not know much of the information that they shared with me. I think that CCS should provide more information to volunteers about the placements they work at to enhance their knowledge about what their work is really contributing to. I was also happy with the interview because these women took me seriously and seemed to enjoy the interview. Some of the other organizational leaders did not seem to do so. I spoke with Shruti Joshi, the director of field operations, and a manager of one of the urban settlements. Both were amazing women. There many many oppressed and uneducated women in India, yet Mobile Creches is mostly run by strong, educated women.
After introduction my first question was about the strength/unique factor of Mobile Creches. Mrs. Joshi had a very long answer to this question. She said that first, few organizations concern themselves with education of children from 0-6 years old, but studies show that the years before the age of 6 are important years in child development. Many children are not academically stimulated at all before this point, making it even more difficult to learn at age 6, which is legal schooling age in India. Mobile Creches also works with mostly the migrant population of India (migrant workers’ children) which is difficult because this group is highly unstable and mobile. This makes it very hard to MC to record its impact. They see 5 to 6 thousand children each year at their sites, but at any given day only 12 to 14 hundred show up. Many times a child will be there for only a limited time; sometimes only days. This is frustrating for them because it makes it difficult to record success, and makes budget management really tough. Still, MC believes that even if they help a child for only days it is well worth it because for those few days the child will get 3 meals and care. Additionally they both mentioned that the loyalty of employees was a huge strength. MC has existed for over 40 years (since 1969) and about 85% of the staff have been there for 25 to 30 years. Many begin as teachers and move up to work in the higher ranks. This has allowed for the consistency and long-jevity of the NGO.
I learned that MC has 18 centers at constructions sites, 8 centers in urban settlements, and they also work to facilitate programs run independently by builders and contractors at their own construction sites. At the construction sites, MC largely funds the centers but they will never go to a site where the contractor is not cooperating and where there is no infrastructure. Contractors must contribute financially, but this is usually minimal. At the urban centers MC train women in the community to run the centers on their own. Here children have to pay 100 rupees a month to attend because the women are paid directly by this. There is also a large advocacy sector but this mostly operates separately from the particular sites. They advocate for children to the builders and contractors then they also work at the ministry level. MC has been part of the 11th 5 year plan of INDIA??? To make contributions regarding child’s rights. They work at the national level with other NGOs and independently to advocate for children through legislation and other means.
I’ve asked almost every one that I have spoken to about the impact that NGOs have made in Delhi. I’ve gotten some similar answers, but Mrs. Joshi’s answer was different and insightful. She said that NGOs realized that the government is the largest agency to bring aid and change so NGOs work makes the government more responsible and responsive. The government tends to choose short-term concerns over long-term ones, often bringing problems such as the lack of planning for city beautification projects for the coming Commonwealth games which has led to an influx of migrant workers who have nowhere to live. NGOs, through advocacy and projects, challenge the government to see and react to problems it had ignored. She also added that when she worked in Africa she saw the lack of civil society under dictatorship and realized how strong self-help movements are in India and how they influence the government
A Summary of My Research
The organizations that I looked at in-depth were Cross Cultural Solutions, Mobile Creches and Vidya. I am happy with the amount of information that I was able to gather in those three weeks. All 3 were different so it was neat to see the ways that they were similar and different. I’ve also been looking at the impact of NGOs more generally India, which of course is somewhat limited by the contacts that I came across, yet pretty consistent. CCS was the organization I was volunteering through so I was able to get a grasp of what they do and how they do it. I worked at a site of Mobile Creches for 3 week and was able to speak with 2 women from the main office. VIdya was very interesting to me because I has several different contacts who provided different information. Daniel Lala, a former CCS volunteer, has independently taken over at a site of Vidya which has been mostly ignored by Vidya even though he is not paid to do so. He has worked there for 3 years and comes up with most of the funding for that site and has single-handedly set up several successful programs there. He provided a lot of insider information for my project. Anne, a volunteer at CCS who is finishing her 3rd month volunteering at Vidya, also provided a perspective. She mostly mirrored a lot of the things that Daniel suggested. Then I spoke with the vice-chairperson who had a very different outlook. As Daniel pointed out, she rarely visits the site so she actually does not know too much about what goes on there on a day-to-day basis. These 3 organizations have provided interesting case studies for me to look at.
Last Day
On my last day in Delhi I was a bit sad because both of my roommates (and 2 of my favorite volunteers)
Anne and Heather, were out of town on a trip to the Ganges. Most of the others left before me either Friday night or earlier on Saturday. After my meeting at MC I went to some markets with Jake. We ended the day at a sweet shop where we got some kind of mousse cake and ate it while we ate back, arriving right in time for dinner.
As Jake pointed out to me on Saturday night: I accomplished everything that I came to do! I got to speak with the people that I wanted (with one exception), I had a meaningful time working with children from the slums, I learned a lot about India, I got to do and see the things that I wanted to in Delhi, and I made some great friends. It was an amazing trip.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Jan 21
I am completely amazed right now that I am in India. What an interesting time to be here! With all of the talk about the rise of India to the world stage it is fascinating to be here seeing this country. Its confusing and complex. As Edward Luce who writes for Fiinancial Times wrote in his book In Spite of the Gods; “No visitor to India can fail to notice the juxtapostition of great human deprivation with its deeply religious culture.” Many are hypnotized by the spiritual elements of India, but these exist among the reality that suffering exists all over. For a country with a high economic growth rate there are so many people who have been left behind in all of the changes. The wealth gap is growing. There are many very wealthy people in India, but a large majority of the population lives in terrible conditions…only around 50% of the women are literate and in many cases this only means that they can write their name. There is a vast business of child prostitution. The vast majority of the population lives in poverty. Many children do not go to school because they simply see no value in it; they have to work alongside their parents to feed the family. India is in need of reforms. India is also beautiful and neat and has traditions which go back beyond much of Western civilization.
RESEARCH
I feel pretty good about my project now. I have spoken with numerous people about NGOs and the role that they play in society. Yesterday I talked to people from Pappan Kalan (a slum where Vidya has a project), Mala (the vice-chairperson of Vidya), and Bella (the director of CCS India and co-founder). Today I met with Daniel again to talk some more about Vidya and specifically Pappan Kalan. Tomorrow I will meet with someone from the YMCA and then Saturday I will meet with someone from Mobile Creches.
In the conversations I’ve had already I have asked each person how they think that the surge of NGOs in Delhi has affected the city. Since independence NGOs have sprung up in India, but over the years there has been lots of growth. People responded to the question differently, but it is clear that most people in the city he encountered an NGO and would recognize this term, even if they do not know much about what NGOs are. NGOs ha definitely had a positive effect in the community. The vast majority are grassroots organizations, because as Mala said, Indians know best what problems are in their community. For instance, Mobile Creches started when a woman saw children playing at a construction site where their parents were working, doing nothing constructive. She had the idea to open centers to care for children and feed them while their parents work so that they will be cared for and be doing something useful which can open opportunities for them. Likewise the founder of Vidya saw several young girls in her neighborhood playing outside each day and not going to school. She started teaching them on their porch in the mornings and this led to her opening schools for children in the slums.
NGOs do a vast number of things in India, but schooling is a big issue. Government schools can only take so many children and many children from lower classes do not have the money to buy school supplies or bus fare to get to school. Many children from the slums do not go to school because in their mind they do not see the benefit for doing so. Organizations like Vidya send social workers out to teach parents and children of the lowest caste the importance of education for providing new opportunities beyond their current environment. They have programs to get children back in school and to teach them at the standards of the government schooling. Someone told me of a book which talks about this parallel education which has arisen in India from private schools and NGOs.
Womens issues are also very important and there are various NGOs which work towards women’s empowerment in a country where women still are seen as lesser citizens by many. Interestingly in the upper castes, women are seen much of the time as equals to men and have powerful jobs in government and in businesses. There is a woman president in India right now and there have been several women prime ministers. Among the lower castes though women are greatly oppressed. This comes from a lack of education. Many men do not want their wife to become literate. If she can sign her own name she gains power apart from him. There has been a lot of progress in women’s rights (the constitution has seen them as equals from the beginning) but there is still much to be done.
Additionally there are many other NGOs which do things from promoting eco-friendly policies to battling AIDS and working with handicapped people. NGOs have provided many services that the government cannot provide or chooses not to. We had a speaker come to talk to us today about the economy of India and he told us that the reason that many of the problems in India exist are because the government is so corrupt. Only 3% of the population pay taxes for instance, and much of the money collected goes into the pockets of officials rather than to the government. There again comes this gap- India has developed nuclear weapons, yet most of the country works in unskilled labor. Three people fill a job which should take only one worker. There are not enough jobs to go around, yet India brags of its large labor force as a strength. There are many problems which are being ignored rather than solved, making the role of NGOs important in India.
Still, it is illogical to claim that the impact of NGOs has been only good. At times NGOs create dependency. Daniel talked to me about Vidya today and pointed out that many of the microskills programs which teach people a skill such as sewing to enable them to create goods that they can sell for profit, create dependency on the NGO rather than the independence that they claim to provide. This is because the NGO will teach people then give them a market to sell to, and instead of encouraging them to create their own entrepreneurial co-ops or to find their own markets, they will take the comfortable route and continue to produce for the NGO. The NGO then becomes a business and profits from the people it has trained who cannot sell their goods apart from it. Also, some businesses create NGOs only so that they will get certain benefits from this status. NGOs must empower people and then after a necessary period of time leave them to do things on their own. Many NGOs have good intentions but actually stunt the growth of the people that they wish to empower. The impact of NGOs has mostly been positive, but of course there are always drawbacks.
Looking into Vidya and working with Mobile Creches has given me insight into how incredible these organizations can be, but also has taught me of the politics that goes into it. People working see things very differently. Those in charge paint a pretty picture of the organization and those who get their hands dirty tend to reveal the shortcomings and limitations of the organization. It is good to see both sides because it enhances understanding about the organization. In most cases the organization really does have good intentions and wishes to address whatever issue is at hand, but obviously with any group execution of a project will have its limitations and weak points.
RESEARCH
I feel pretty good about my project now. I have spoken with numerous people about NGOs and the role that they play in society. Yesterday I talked to people from Pappan Kalan (a slum where Vidya has a project), Mala (the vice-chairperson of Vidya), and Bella (the director of CCS India and co-founder). Today I met with Daniel again to talk some more about Vidya and specifically Pappan Kalan. Tomorrow I will meet with someone from the YMCA and then Saturday I will meet with someone from Mobile Creches.
In the conversations I’ve had already I have asked each person how they think that the surge of NGOs in Delhi has affected the city. Since independence NGOs have sprung up in India, but over the years there has been lots of growth. People responded to the question differently, but it is clear that most people in the city he encountered an NGO and would recognize this term, even if they do not know much about what NGOs are. NGOs ha definitely had a positive effect in the community. The vast majority are grassroots organizations, because as Mala said, Indians know best what problems are in their community. For instance, Mobile Creches started when a woman saw children playing at a construction site where their parents were working, doing nothing constructive. She had the idea to open centers to care for children and feed them while their parents work so that they will be cared for and be doing something useful which can open opportunities for them. Likewise the founder of Vidya saw several young girls in her neighborhood playing outside each day and not going to school. She started teaching them on their porch in the mornings and this led to her opening schools for children in the slums.
NGOs do a vast number of things in India, but schooling is a big issue. Government schools can only take so many children and many children from lower classes do not have the money to buy school supplies or bus fare to get to school. Many children from the slums do not go to school because in their mind they do not see the benefit for doing so. Organizations like Vidya send social workers out to teach parents and children of the lowest caste the importance of education for providing new opportunities beyond their current environment. They have programs to get children back in school and to teach them at the standards of the government schooling. Someone told me of a book which talks about this parallel education which has arisen in India from private schools and NGOs.
Womens issues are also very important and there are various NGOs which work towards women’s empowerment in a country where women still are seen as lesser citizens by many. Interestingly in the upper castes, women are seen much of the time as equals to men and have powerful jobs in government and in businesses. There is a woman president in India right now and there have been several women prime ministers. Among the lower castes though women are greatly oppressed. This comes from a lack of education. Many men do not want their wife to become literate. If she can sign her own name she gains power apart from him. There has been a lot of progress in women’s rights (the constitution has seen them as equals from the beginning) but there is still much to be done.
Additionally there are many other NGOs which do things from promoting eco-friendly policies to battling AIDS and working with handicapped people. NGOs have provided many services that the government cannot provide or chooses not to. We had a speaker come to talk to us today about the economy of India and he told us that the reason that many of the problems in India exist are because the government is so corrupt. Only 3% of the population pay taxes for instance, and much of the money collected goes into the pockets of officials rather than to the government. There again comes this gap- India has developed nuclear weapons, yet most of the country works in unskilled labor. Three people fill a job which should take only one worker. There are not enough jobs to go around, yet India brags of its large labor force as a strength. There are many problems which are being ignored rather than solved, making the role of NGOs important in India.
Still, it is illogical to claim that the impact of NGOs has been only good. At times NGOs create dependency. Daniel talked to me about Vidya today and pointed out that many of the microskills programs which teach people a skill such as sewing to enable them to create goods that they can sell for profit, create dependency on the NGO rather than the independence that they claim to provide. This is because the NGO will teach people then give them a market to sell to, and instead of encouraging them to create their own entrepreneurial co-ops or to find their own markets, they will take the comfortable route and continue to produce for the NGO. The NGO then becomes a business and profits from the people it has trained who cannot sell their goods apart from it. Also, some businesses create NGOs only so that they will get certain benefits from this status. NGOs must empower people and then after a necessary period of time leave them to do things on their own. Many NGOs have good intentions but actually stunt the growth of the people that they wish to empower. The impact of NGOs has mostly been positive, but of course there are always drawbacks.
Looking into Vidya and working with Mobile Creches has given me insight into how incredible these organizations can be, but also has taught me of the politics that goes into it. People working see things very differently. Those in charge paint a pretty picture of the organization and those who get their hands dirty tend to reveal the shortcomings and limitations of the organization. It is good to see both sides because it enhances understanding about the organization. In most cases the organization really does have good intentions and wishes to address whatever issue is at hand, but obviously with any group execution of a project will have its limitations and weak points.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Jan 20
I made progress today! Today I talked with several people. I went to Pappan Kalan which is the site of Vidya where Daniel works. Interestingly, Pappan Kalan is basically a slum created by the government. Several years ago the government of Delhi moved a lot of migrant workers who were essentially homeless, living in tents under the bridge outside of the city. Initally there were shacks and tents but over the years a village was built. I wish I could show you what it looked like. Its difficult to explain anything to people who have not seen something. Basically it’s a neighborhood with lots of small homes (basically apartments) all crowded together. The conditions and construction are terrible! There is very little room between the buildings, just small roads which most run perpendicular to each other creating squares. Mostly it is a Muslim community. The apartments were painted various colors on the outside. The tiny muddy, filthy streets were crowded with people, especially children, and stray dogs. Dogs are rarely made pets in India so there are tons of stray dogs all over the city. They are very dirty, but the children here play with them in the muddy, littered streets. Even though it was really cold most of the children didn’t wear shoes. Its not that they don’t have shoes of their own or that they could borrow, but many just don’t know that shoes should be worn when its cold. Anne told me that there is a woman in her class that has frostbite on several toes, but doesn’t understand that it could go away if she’d keep her feet warm with socks! General health standards that we know are just non-existent here! Its so surprising! There was a baby standing alone outside in the street with no pants or socks on. The homes are very tiny. Still, there was something about the neighborhood that was cute. It was buzzing with people. Indians are very relationship oriented. They know their neighbors and are always walking around chatting with each other. Something about the neighbor was nice. But it was a mess.
Pappan Kalan is a project of Vidya, and several other NGOs work there as well. There are between 2,000-3,000 people crammed in there. Vidya has several classes for children. They have to pay ten rupees to attend each month and the goal is to get the kids smart enough to get back into government school. Many kids in the slums drop out of school because they don’t see the use of it, they aren’t encouraged at home, and/or they help their parents out by working instead. Vidya tries to get kids back in school and to give them a good education so that they can have more opportunities. It also has programs for women. At Pappan Kalan there is a sewing class which is also a class for women’s empowerment. They have discussions which help women to see that they actually can do quite a lot of things and have potential to do things in the future. After talking to Anne who explained the background of Pappan Kalan I traveled to the Vidya head office to talk to the vice-chairperson of Vidya.
It was interesting to speak with Mala because her perspective of Vidya was slightly different than that of Anne and Daniel. Of course she told me of how great Vidya is and of all the programs it has. The biggest need that the NGO has is money. There are so many programs it runs in several locations that it is very limited by the funds it has. Anne told me that she thinks Vidya spreads itself too thin. Mala told me that there are several donors including GE which I am going to look more into. There are no partners in the community, but there are donors mostly from the U.S. that contribute to the projects. Vidya has programs in these areas: education, adult literacy, skills programs, health programs and empowerment. I will include more details from this interview in my blog tomorrow.
I was also able to finally talk to Bella today. The interview was great but it came after 8 or 9 attempts to meet with her! I will include more details about both tomorrow but I do not have the time to do so today. Today has been very busy and tonight we had a farewell program for all of the volunteers leaving after this week. I am exhausted and I’ve got to get up early again for work.
Pappan Kalan is a project of Vidya, and several other NGOs work there as well. There are between 2,000-3,000 people crammed in there. Vidya has several classes for children. They have to pay ten rupees to attend each month and the goal is to get the kids smart enough to get back into government school. Many kids in the slums drop out of school because they don’t see the use of it, they aren’t encouraged at home, and/or they help their parents out by working instead. Vidya tries to get kids back in school and to give them a good education so that they can have more opportunities. It also has programs for women. At Pappan Kalan there is a sewing class which is also a class for women’s empowerment. They have discussions which help women to see that they actually can do quite a lot of things and have potential to do things in the future. After talking to Anne who explained the background of Pappan Kalan I traveled to the Vidya head office to talk to the vice-chairperson of Vidya.
It was interesting to speak with Mala because her perspective of Vidya was slightly different than that of Anne and Daniel. Of course she told me of how great Vidya is and of all the programs it has. The biggest need that the NGO has is money. There are so many programs it runs in several locations that it is very limited by the funds it has. Anne told me that she thinks Vidya spreads itself too thin. Mala told me that there are several donors including GE which I am going to look more into. There are no partners in the community, but there are donors mostly from the U.S. that contribute to the projects. Vidya has programs in these areas: education, adult literacy, skills programs, health programs and empowerment. I will include more details from this interview in my blog tomorrow.
I was also able to finally talk to Bella today. The interview was great but it came after 8 or 9 attempts to meet with her! I will include more details about both tomorrow but I do not have the time to do so today. Today has been very busy and tonight we had a farewell program for all of the volunteers leaving after this week. I am exhausted and I’ve got to get up early again for work.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
JAN 19 Preparing
MY PLACEMENT
Today was the best day at work so far. It was wonderful. The children were great. Before my main frustration came from my desire to contribute but lack of ability to do so. Now that I am on the same page as the teacher it is very different. Today I was prepared. I brought worksheets that I made yesterday pertaining to counting and fruits and the teacher liked them and so did the children. The sheets really challenged them and directly related to what they were doing. There were not many kids today so all age groups were combined. The main teacher sat in the middle of the group and they were pretty quiet because they are as intimidated by her as I am. When a child would giggle or have a bit too much fun she would say a few words in Hindi and all of the children would get silent. She can strike fear in the hearts of people of all ages. I just moved around and helped the children work. They love to show me their work because unlike most of the teachers I act very excited to see what they have done and I praise them a lot.
I don’t know most of the names because they have difficult names to pronounce, so unfortunately I can’t distinguish by name. There is one girl (my favorite) who wears eye liner everyday. She is beautiful. When she smiles I just want to hug her. She is precious, but especially dirty. She is always covered in snot or smells like pee. Apparently parents put eye liner on children because it is supposed to scare evil spirits away. The smartest kid of the younger group is a cute, tiny boy who is always smiling. When the other kids are coloring purple and pink tomatoes and refusing to count he always colors things the precise colors, stays in the lines, and answers my questions. One girl looks just like an Indian Cindy Loo Hoo (from How the Grinch Stole Christmas). She has squeaky shoes. She will put them on and stomp around, grinning. Even though its annoying its cute. Other kids take the squeakers out sometimes though and that makes her cry. Though they drive me crazy sometimes I can already tell that I am going to miss them.
RESEARCH
Today I called the YMCA and have an appointment to meet with someone on Friday afternoon. I will confirm that tomorrow. Again Bella could not meet with me. Today the excuse was that it is her birthday. She promised to talk to me tomorrow. Tomorrow will be quite busy then. I have a meeting with two different people from Vidya. One from the headquarters and one from the office of the Papayn Calayn site, which is where Daniel works. I finished my questions and looked over the web site. Unfortunately for CCS staff to arrange these meetings I will have to miss work tomorrow to go. Jackie missed work today because she was sick so she will take over tomorrow while I have my interviews. I am excited to make progress.
I also watched the documentary on auto-richshaw drivers that Prashant’s NGO made. It was very interesting. It said that 93% of the vehicles on the road are private vehicles, but carry 30% of the travelers in Delhi. 3% of the vehicles are auto-richshaws and they carry 60% of travelers! (The rest go by bus or taxi). There is a huge demand for transport but little supply and they system, because of excessive government regulation and control they system has become corrupt and basically run by the Indian mafia.
Today was the best day at work so far. It was wonderful. The children were great. Before my main frustration came from my desire to contribute but lack of ability to do so. Now that I am on the same page as the teacher it is very different. Today I was prepared. I brought worksheets that I made yesterday pertaining to counting and fruits and the teacher liked them and so did the children. The sheets really challenged them and directly related to what they were doing. There were not many kids today so all age groups were combined. The main teacher sat in the middle of the group and they were pretty quiet because they are as intimidated by her as I am. When a child would giggle or have a bit too much fun she would say a few words in Hindi and all of the children would get silent. She can strike fear in the hearts of people of all ages. I just moved around and helped the children work. They love to show me their work because unlike most of the teachers I act very excited to see what they have done and I praise them a lot.
I don’t know most of the names because they have difficult names to pronounce, so unfortunately I can’t distinguish by name. There is one girl (my favorite) who wears eye liner everyday. She is beautiful. When she smiles I just want to hug her. She is precious, but especially dirty. She is always covered in snot or smells like pee. Apparently parents put eye liner on children because it is supposed to scare evil spirits away. The smartest kid of the younger group is a cute, tiny boy who is always smiling. When the other kids are coloring purple and pink tomatoes and refusing to count he always colors things the precise colors, stays in the lines, and answers my questions. One girl looks just like an Indian Cindy Loo Hoo (from How the Grinch Stole Christmas). She has squeaky shoes. She will put them on and stomp around, grinning. Even though its annoying its cute. Other kids take the squeakers out sometimes though and that makes her cry. Though they drive me crazy sometimes I can already tell that I am going to miss them.
RESEARCH
Today I called the YMCA and have an appointment to meet with someone on Friday afternoon. I will confirm that tomorrow. Again Bella could not meet with me. Today the excuse was that it is her birthday. She promised to talk to me tomorrow. Tomorrow will be quite busy then. I have a meeting with two different people from Vidya. One from the headquarters and one from the office of the Papayn Calayn site, which is where Daniel works. I finished my questions and looked over the web site. Unfortunately for CCS staff to arrange these meetings I will have to miss work tomorrow to go. Jackie missed work today because she was sick so she will take over tomorrow while I have my interviews. I am excited to make progress.
I also watched the documentary on auto-richshaw drivers that Prashant’s NGO made. It was very interesting. It said that 93% of the vehicles on the road are private vehicles, but carry 30% of the travelers in Delhi. 3% of the vehicles are auto-richshaws and they carry 60% of travelers! (The rest go by bus or taxi). There is a huge demand for transport but little supply and they system, because of excessive government regulation and control they system has become corrupt and basically run by the Indian mafia.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Jan 18 Back to Work
RESEARCH/PREP
I looked up the websites of each NGO I will be interviewing people from to gain a basic understanding of each. I’m writing out questions in order to find out what they claim to do, what they actually do, how successful they are, how they work/ type of projects, and most importantly who their partners, networks, and donors are. Dr. DeMars reminded me before coming that NGOs have a mission statement or vision, but they have partners many times that they must listen to in order to stay in business. When the interests of partners interfere with their mission, often NGOs will choose to please their partners because in this lies their existence. For instance, I talked to a volunteer who has been here longer than me who works at a particular NGO. She says that she thinks that what CCS does (in bringing volunteers and plugging them in to work) is great but at times what the NGO will really need is not something that volunteers of CCS can provide because of restrictions that CCS imposes. When different organizations partner together it is inevitable that complex relationships will emerge.
MY PLACEMENT
Today, monday, meant back to work. Today we had Vicki (one of the staff members) come with us to talk to our teacher. We cannot communicate with her but Jackie and I both really want to help out as much as possible. We got Vicki to ask what our role is supposed to be. Most of the other volunteers can plan whatever they want to do with their kids, but we haven't been able to figure out what she expects from us. We didn't know if we should just come in and supplement what shes doing (even though honestly she doesn't really do anything or teach anything) or whether we can plan activities. What we found out is that she has a cirriculum that she follows and to fit in with it we can bring activities related to counting and vegetables but only for the first hour. After that we must go with her lesson plan. Honestly she really just leaves them alone to do what they want so I am not sure what activities it is that she does in the afternoon, but Vicki helped us to plan approaved activities for the rest of the week. I am excited for a new week and some clarity. I feel good about the lesson plans. Basically the Mobile Creches location I work out is the headquarters in Delhi so there are supervisors and staff that can look on, so they are stricter than most locations about following the cirriculum.
Today was fun with the kids. They are so precious. Very funny children. Honestly even much of the time when they do things wrong they are quite funny. Last week we had a lot of extra kids because some of the schools were closed down so it was extra hectic, but today there was less chaos. The kids were much better today. It was fun interacting with them. And today several of the kids ran up to me and started pointing at their clothes screaming the names of the colors. I tried to teach colors last week and I wasn't sure if they were getting it, but I guess they did! After last week I have a new attitude. I'm just going to have fun with them. You see Indians have different ways of treating children. Since it is a pretty big day care center I guess they ahve to be harsh, but they are much tougher on the kids than we are. They hit them when they are bad and don't allow for much playing. I've decided that whether or not they like it, I am going to play with them and have fun. The kids really seem to like me even though they don't listen to me very much. They all want to sit beside me and are always screaming "Didi! Didi!" but I am not stern like the other teachers so they see as a playmate more than a disciplinarian. I'm going to go with it.
RELIGION
Today CCS took us after work to see a Mosque, a Hindu temple and a Sikh temple. It was very interesting because spirituality is a huge part of India. It reveals both the commonality and differences of the vast country. India is a country which is not united by a common language, ethnicity or religion. It is so diverse that every one is a minority. Despite the vast differences, India remains a unified country. India is a secular democracy, but as Shashi Tharoor writes, "Western dictionaries define secularism as the absense of religion, but Indian secularism means a profusion of religions, none of which is priviledged by the state and all of which are open to participation by everybody. Secularism in India does not mean irreligiousness...Rather, it means, in the Indian tradition, multi-religiousness." In The Elephant, The Tiger, and The Cell Phone (a book I've just started which seems good) he writes about how complex and simple religion is. Hinduism is a religion without apostacy because it recognizes all ways of worship as valid and it is a religion with no fundamentals or set beliefs. Even within this religion there are variants. Still, people of different faiths exist and thrive side by side. Many Sikhs go to Hindu temples to worship and Hindus go to christian churches etc. because they believe that there are many ways to worship.
The mosque we went to was small and we didnt get to see much of it, but they told us about Islam. The Bangla Sahib Gurudwara Hindu temple was really neat-looking. Like Iskcon Temple, how it was set up was fascinating. The inside was not too big but it looked huge from the street. Both temples had towers with nothing in them and large intricate porches I guess you could call them, which looks fancy but really hasno practical purpose. Hinduism is just so strange to me. Not only are there infinite numbers of gods, but in the temples there are these kind of scary idols which look like large porcelin dolls. There are window-type things and through them are rooms with one or more gods which look like scary dolls. They are dressed very ornately with lots of colors. People come in and bow to them and worship them. In the temple there are several shrines all over. Outside on the porch thing there was a monkey god which looked half human-half monkey and a another god with an elephant head. The holy books are full of mythical stories that sound like stories of the Greek gods. It seems silly to me, but I guess christian theology would seem really silly to Hindus.
I found the Sikh temple very interesting. Sikhism is more similar to Islam in that it has strict rules, but men and women are seen as equals. Sikhs have ten gods, but they do not worship idols as the Hindus. The do kind of worship their holy book though. Sikhs must wear turbans at all times (the men) because the hair must remain uncut and be covered. I really like the turbans. I think men look really wise with them on. They also wear a special bracelet, carry a dagger, and leave the beard unshaved. Vicki has a clip which pins his beard up so it doesn’t hang down, but many don’t do this. The sikh temple was neat on the outside but much less ornate than the Hindu temples. We had to wash our feet and hands before entering it barefoot! That was the one thing about this experience that I hated: walking around in Delhi without shoes. I discovered that I am a total germ-o-phobe. I felt so dirty walking where tons of others have walked without shoes. As soon as I got back I soaked my feet in hot water and soap. Other than that though I enjoyed the trip.
I looked up the websites of each NGO I will be interviewing people from to gain a basic understanding of each. I’m writing out questions in order to find out what they claim to do, what they actually do, how successful they are, how they work/ type of projects, and most importantly who their partners, networks, and donors are. Dr. DeMars reminded me before coming that NGOs have a mission statement or vision, but they have partners many times that they must listen to in order to stay in business. When the interests of partners interfere with their mission, often NGOs will choose to please their partners because in this lies their existence. For instance, I talked to a volunteer who has been here longer than me who works at a particular NGO. She says that she thinks that what CCS does (in bringing volunteers and plugging them in to work) is great but at times what the NGO will really need is not something that volunteers of CCS can provide because of restrictions that CCS imposes. When different organizations partner together it is inevitable that complex relationships will emerge.
MY PLACEMENT
Today, monday, meant back to work. Today we had Vicki (one of the staff members) come with us to talk to our teacher. We cannot communicate with her but Jackie and I both really want to help out as much as possible. We got Vicki to ask what our role is supposed to be. Most of the other volunteers can plan whatever they want to do with their kids, but we haven't been able to figure out what she expects from us. We didn't know if we should just come in and supplement what shes doing (even though honestly she doesn't really do anything or teach anything) or whether we can plan activities. What we found out is that she has a cirriculum that she follows and to fit in with it we can bring activities related to counting and vegetables but only for the first hour. After that we must go with her lesson plan. Honestly she really just leaves them alone to do what they want so I am not sure what activities it is that she does in the afternoon, but Vicki helped us to plan approaved activities for the rest of the week. I am excited for a new week and some clarity. I feel good about the lesson plans. Basically the Mobile Creches location I work out is the headquarters in Delhi so there are supervisors and staff that can look on, so they are stricter than most locations about following the cirriculum.
Today was fun with the kids. They are so precious. Very funny children. Honestly even much of the time when they do things wrong they are quite funny. Last week we had a lot of extra kids because some of the schools were closed down so it was extra hectic, but today there was less chaos. The kids were much better today. It was fun interacting with them. And today several of the kids ran up to me and started pointing at their clothes screaming the names of the colors. I tried to teach colors last week and I wasn't sure if they were getting it, but I guess they did! After last week I have a new attitude. I'm just going to have fun with them. You see Indians have different ways of treating children. Since it is a pretty big day care center I guess they ahve to be harsh, but they are much tougher on the kids than we are. They hit them when they are bad and don't allow for much playing. I've decided that whether or not they like it, I am going to play with them and have fun. The kids really seem to like me even though they don't listen to me very much. They all want to sit beside me and are always screaming "Didi! Didi!" but I am not stern like the other teachers so they see as a playmate more than a disciplinarian. I'm going to go with it.
RELIGION
Today CCS took us after work to see a Mosque, a Hindu temple and a Sikh temple. It was very interesting because spirituality is a huge part of India. It reveals both the commonality and differences of the vast country. India is a country which is not united by a common language, ethnicity or religion. It is so diverse that every one is a minority. Despite the vast differences, India remains a unified country. India is a secular democracy, but as Shashi Tharoor writes, "Western dictionaries define secularism as the absense of religion, but Indian secularism means a profusion of religions, none of which is priviledged by the state and all of which are open to participation by everybody. Secularism in India does not mean irreligiousness...Rather, it means, in the Indian tradition, multi-religiousness." In The Elephant, The Tiger, and The Cell Phone (a book I've just started which seems good) he writes about how complex and simple religion is. Hinduism is a religion without apostacy because it recognizes all ways of worship as valid and it is a religion with no fundamentals or set beliefs. Even within this religion there are variants. Still, people of different faiths exist and thrive side by side. Many Sikhs go to Hindu temples to worship and Hindus go to christian churches etc. because they believe that there are many ways to worship.
The mosque we went to was small and we didnt get to see much of it, but they told us about Islam. The Bangla Sahib Gurudwara Hindu temple was really neat-looking. Like Iskcon Temple, how it was set up was fascinating. The inside was not too big but it looked huge from the street. Both temples had towers with nothing in them and large intricate porches I guess you could call them, which looks fancy but really hasno practical purpose. Hinduism is just so strange to me. Not only are there infinite numbers of gods, but in the temples there are these kind of scary idols which look like large porcelin dolls. There are window-type things and through them are rooms with one or more gods which look like scary dolls. They are dressed very ornately with lots of colors. People come in and bow to them and worship them. In the temple there are several shrines all over. Outside on the porch thing there was a monkey god which looked half human-half monkey and a another god with an elephant head. The holy books are full of mythical stories that sound like stories of the Greek gods. It seems silly to me, but I guess christian theology would seem really silly to Hindus.
I found the Sikh temple very interesting. Sikhism is more similar to Islam in that it has strict rules, but men and women are seen as equals. Sikhs have ten gods, but they do not worship idols as the Hindus. The do kind of worship their holy book though. Sikhs must wear turbans at all times (the men) because the hair must remain uncut and be covered. I really like the turbans. I think men look really wise with them on. They also wear a special bracelet, carry a dagger, and leave the beard unshaved. Vicki has a clip which pins his beard up so it doesn’t hang down, but many don’t do this. The sikh temple was neat on the outside but much less ornate than the Hindu temples. We had to wash our feet and hands before entering it barefoot! That was the one thing about this experience that I hated: walking around in Delhi without shoes. I discovered that I am a total germ-o-phobe. I felt so dirty walking where tons of others have walked without shoes. As soon as I got back I soaked my feet in hot water and soap. Other than that though I enjoyed the trip.
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