This week I joined the staff of my NGO on an exposure visit to Ahmedabad. We're visiting an extremely innovative and impressive NGO called SEWA (pronounced seva), Self Employed Women's Association. SEWA goal is to organize female workers in the informal sector. I was amazed to learn that only about 7% of the Indian labor force works in the formal sector, which includes government and private industry. The rest of Indians work in the informal sector which includes everything from domestic workers, to street-vendors, handcraft-makers, midwives, agricultural laborers, auto-rickshaw drivers and the like. SEWA's goal is to promote the self-sufficiency and self-reliance of female workers in this sector and much of their work uses a market-based entrepreneurial approach. For example, SEWA will organize agricultural laborers into a cooperative, which will buy the product from the farmers and sell directly to traders in the market thereby cutting out middlemen and supporting higher prices for the agricultural laborers themselves. SEWA also operates a highly successful bank and insurance company, both of which develop financial products to meet the needs of poor, working women.
I of course was very interested in the insurance products offered. (If you don't also love insurance, you can skip this paragraph) SEWA Insurance has about 120 agents which they call Aagewans, or barefoot agents (barefoot because the agents go directly to the customers' homes and communities, where shoes are removed, on average the agents visit the household 3 times to explain benefits before the policy is purchased). They offer several insurance schemes, all are packages covering many household needs. The products are available to SEWA members (women only), who can choose to extend coverage to their husbands and children. The most popular (91%) is the lowest premium/lowest limit combination: 400 rupees premium per year ($8) covers the woman, husband and one child for the following limits (in dollars): life- 10,000 rupees ($200) for wife and husband; health - 2,000 rupees ($40) for each family member, House - 10,000 rupees ($200), Accidental death - 40,000 rupees ($1000) for wife and husband. SEWA Insurance has over 103,000 women as policyholders. They have a staff of only 75 plus the 120 agents. SEWA has found that this type of micro-insurance scheme provides essential economic support to poor, working families. In addition to helping those with claims, insurance plays a important role in the communities SEWA serves because it encourages women to begin planning for the future, rather than simply living day to day.
In other news, tonight is Christmas Eve. So strange it is to be in a land where Christmas is a non-event. There are Christians here but Christianity itself is not highly visible, and certainly not visible in the way of an American Christmas. Actually, there are three Christians who traveled in our group of 17 to Gujarat. I was surprised that this trip was planned for Christmas week but no one else commented. I spoke with the 3 Christian ladies about being away from their families for Christmas and they were sad about it but each felt it was their duty to participate in the exposure visit. As someone accustomed to being a member of a minority religion as well, I empathized with them and helped them locate a church in Ahmedabad where they could attend services for Christmas eve. The gratefulness they expressed for this small gesture absolutely made my day.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Yoga
This morning I attended my first yoga class in India. It took a while to find the right yoga center but now I think I have it. All credit for finding the center goes to my clever and resourceful friend Debbie (and long-lost near relative), who pointed out that the ashram we plan to visit has a branch center practically in my backyard. Actually, I'm finding that this is a trend - things I desire that seem very far away are actually very close at hand. I was recently wishing there were a western-style coffee house in my neighborhood and BAM - my neighbor points out just such a coffee house on an evening walk. I needed to fill a prescription and asked a colleague where a chemist is located, expecting a trek across town. Turns out there is one at the end of the block that I walk past all the time. I think what's happening is that I expect a coffee shop or a drug store to look like a coffee shop or a drug store from home, but instead they look really different here.
Back to yoga. Class this morning was at 6AM. It was still dark out as we made our way over to the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, located 1 block from the beach in an open-air gazebo-like structure. In the front of the gazebo, there was a puja area with pictures of various Hindu gods. The pictures themselves were draped in flowers as is the style here and there were candles burning. There were also pictures on the wall representing most of the world's religions. Instead of sticky mats people rolled out straw mats for their practice, although I did see one woman with a sticky mat on top of her straw mat. I think I might do that next time as I found the straw mat a bit pokey. Aside from a friendly German man who works for the center, we were the only western-looking people there.
Overall the class followed a pretty familiar routine. Class started off with Ohms and then breathing exercises. We spent quite a lot of time focusing on breathing and I found the breathing exercises pretty challenging. It was terrific to be able to hear the birds chirping and feel the sea air on my skin. By the time I opened my eyes after the breathing routines, the sun had started to rise and the lush greenery surrounding the center was becoming visible. Next we moved into sun salutations, followed by leg lifts, headstand, shoulderstand, fish, backbends balance postures and shavasana. Class followed a pretty mellow pace and lasted about an hour and a half.
After yoga, we walked back along the beach, buying fresh young coconut along the way. The vendor used his machete to cut off the top of the coconut and handed it back to us with straws. For breakfast we made a fruit salad from papaya, pineapple and bananas purchased the night before. I felt ready to greet the day.
Back to yoga. Class this morning was at 6AM. It was still dark out as we made our way over to the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, located 1 block from the beach in an open-air gazebo-like structure. In the front of the gazebo, there was a puja area with pictures of various Hindu gods. The pictures themselves were draped in flowers as is the style here and there were candles burning. There were also pictures on the wall representing most of the world's religions. Instead of sticky mats people rolled out straw mats for their practice, although I did see one woman with a sticky mat on top of her straw mat. I think I might do that next time as I found the straw mat a bit pokey. Aside from a friendly German man who works for the center, we were the only western-looking people there.
Overall the class followed a pretty familiar routine. Class started off with Ohms and then breathing exercises. We spent quite a lot of time focusing on breathing and I found the breathing exercises pretty challenging. It was terrific to be able to hear the birds chirping and feel the sea air on my skin. By the time I opened my eyes after the breathing routines, the sun had started to rise and the lush greenery surrounding the center was becoming visible. Next we moved into sun salutations, followed by leg lifts, headstand, shoulderstand, fish, backbends balance postures and shavasana. Class followed a pretty mellow pace and lasted about an hour and a half.
After yoga, we walked back along the beach, buying fresh young coconut along the way. The vendor used his machete to cut off the top of the coconut and handed it back to us with straws. For breakfast we made a fruit salad from papaya, pineapple and bananas purchased the night before. I felt ready to greet the day.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Happy Birthday Mom!
In addition to being my mom's birthday, today was also Tamil Nadu's Hanukkah, Karthigai Deepam. (It's not actually anything like Hanukkah, except being a festival of lights.) In the evening there were special celebrations in honor of the Hindu lord Shiva -- the temples were lit up with thousands of small oil lamps and people also lit lanterns in front of their homes. It was really beautiful. I celebrated with my colleague Chitra's family and went to temple with them. Afterwards her kids set off a ton of fireworks which of course made me extremely nervous. Luckily we all made it through.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Routine
It's been extra-ordinary four weeks since I arrived in India. Last week Chennai experienced massive flooding due to monsoon. As a result I was house-bound with intermittent power supply but plenty of good company.
Now I am beginning to settle into a bit of a routine. I know where to buy corn flakes, soy milk and dried pasta, I have a favorite restaurant ("hotel"), and I know how to direct autos so they take me home. These things may sound trivial but they took a long time to figure out! There have been lots of pleasant discoveries. There is a terrific beach for morning walks less than a kilometer from where I am staying - a peaceful pedestrian street along the sea that fills up with walkers (human and bovine) around 7AM.
Everywhere in the city extremely comfortable lightweight cotton clothing can be found at very low prices. There's an ironing wallah (man ironing behind a stand on the street) a few doors down from my office who irons my clothes for 3 rupees (6 cents) per garment. There is tea each afternoon that is milky and sweet and sometimes arrives with a piping hot samosa. My office is very near one of India's preeminent dance schools, just gearing up for the winter concert series. It is a good life!
Now I am beginning to settle into a bit of a routine. I know where to buy corn flakes, soy milk and dried pasta, I have a favorite restaurant ("hotel"), and I know how to direct autos so they take me home. These things may sound trivial but they took a long time to figure out! There have been lots of pleasant discoveries. There is a terrific beach for morning walks less than a kilometer from where I am staying - a peaceful pedestrian street along the sea that fills up with walkers (human and bovine) around 7AM.
Everywhere in the city extremely comfortable lightweight cotton clothing can be found at very low prices. There's an ironing wallah (man ironing behind a stand on the street) a few doors down from my office who irons my clothes for 3 rupees (6 cents) per garment. There is tea each afternoon that is milky and sweet and sometimes arrives with a piping hot samosa. My office is very near one of India's preeminent dance schools, just gearing up for the winter concert series. It is a good life!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Adjustments
Today was a interesting day. It had it's nice shiny moments but overall, challenging. Day started off with a trip to Airtel, my mobile service provider (you may guess where this is going...). Airtel has been sending me automated voice and text messages saying that they need me to submit my identification documents or they will disconnect my service. Already I submitted these documents when I purchased the SIM card but apparently there is some issue. I try calling customer care, but each time I try "all lines are currently busy". So I go into the Airtel office in Besant Nagar with copies of my passport, visa and passport photo duplicates. I take a number to talk with someone and wait about an hour before my number comes up. Finally the number is called. I'm thinking this is going to be simple. Problem is, I purchased the SIM card at a different Airtel office and apparently the systems don't talk (in India? IT prowess!). The customer service rep who is helping me is clearly stressed out. But even thought I have a Tamil speaker with me, she prefers not to talk to either of us. She is looking blankly at the computer and fidgeting with a rubber band, the pen, her hands, picking at an adhesive. We sit there like this for another hour before she finally manages to get ahold of the other store on the phone. We learn that the documents are there but have not submitted them yet. The store confirms they will submit the documents today. Meanwhile, I've already received another threatening text message from Airtel this afternoon. I think there's about a 90 percent chance my phone will be disconnected.
After the Airtel experience I return to the office, where a staff meeting is taking place. The meeting is in Tamil so I can't really participate. I don't have any work that I can do independently at the moment, and I do not have nearly enough work to in general. I'm racking my brain to figure out something productive to do. Not a whole lot is coming to mind. I read up on another Indian NGO that we're going to visit in December, read the news and do some chatting. I am very disturbed that I don't have enough to show for my time.
In the later afternoon I attend a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new office of my NGO. We travel there on a divided highway and I spot a cow sitting in the median looking pretty blissful among the traffic chaos. The ribbon cutting was quite interesting and I really enjoyed meeting the community members in this area, which is a fishing village directly on the shore.
On the drive back from the ribbon cutting, we run over a dog. This was terrible. I still feel sick from it. I've never hit an animal in a car and I had a very strong emotional reaction. The whole thing was easily preventable - two dogs walking across the street in plain sight. The driver just did not slow down. Nobody else in our packed let on that they were particularly bothered by this.
I came home feeling dirty from the beach and the hot day, looking forward to an evening shower. Turned the faucet - no water.
Not that I'm complaining (even though it may sound like it). I'm happy to be here.
After the Airtel experience I return to the office, where a staff meeting is taking place. The meeting is in Tamil so I can't really participate. I don't have any work that I can do independently at the moment, and I do not have nearly enough work to in general. I'm racking my brain to figure out something productive to do. Not a whole lot is coming to mind. I read up on another Indian NGO that we're going to visit in December, read the news and do some chatting. I am very disturbed that I don't have enough to show for my time.
In the later afternoon I attend a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new office of my NGO. We travel there on a divided highway and I spot a cow sitting in the median looking pretty blissful among the traffic chaos. The ribbon cutting was quite interesting and I really enjoyed meeting the community members in this area, which is a fishing village directly on the shore.
On the drive back from the ribbon cutting, we run over a dog. This was terrible. I still feel sick from it. I've never hit an animal in a car and I had a very strong emotional reaction. The whole thing was easily preventable - two dogs walking across the street in plain sight. The driver just did not slow down. Nobody else in our packed let on that they were particularly bothered by this.
I came home feeling dirty from the beach and the hot day, looking forward to an evening shower. Turned the faucet - no water.
Not that I'm complaining (even though it may sound like it). I'm happy to be here.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Soap Making
Monday, November 17, 2008
Address
I have an address! If you would like it please let me know. Deleted from the blog for security.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
I have a phone!
Today I got a new mobile. If you want to contact me from the States, dial 011-91-9940213224. I've noticed that Indians always answer their phone no matter what is going on around them - a meeting, a presentation (where they are the presenter), a one-on-one conversation. I don't think this is my style - so if I don't answer, please try me again. I don't have voicemail on this line.
I am finally aware enough of my surroundings to be able to spot my location on a map:
View Larger Map
I stumbled upon this temple on an evening walk on the beach:
I am finally aware enough of my surroundings to be able to spot my location on a map:
View Larger Map
I stumbled upon this temple on an evening walk on the beach:
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Chennai Day 1
After a productive and enjoyable week in Delhi (during which I saw just a little bit of Delhi outside of the hotel where orientation was conducted), yesterday I arrived in Chennai. I was pretty exhausted so luckily the travel was easy. Kingfisher airlines is very comfortable and the food is really excellent.
I'm staying in a private room attached to my office for now. It is comfortable. My only complaints are that there is only one outlet in the room and there is no hot water. Not too bad! This morning I went for a walk to start to get to know my new surroundings. I started by heading up to the roof of the building where I'm staying. I was surprised to see the ocean so close by!
Less pleasant was this view. Trash is a serious issue.
After a morning walk I had enjoyed the staple southern Indian breakfast: idli (like rice cake), sambar (dal), vada (like fried lentil patty) and two chutneys (coconut and onion). It is a delicious morning meal and I don't imagine I will tire of it any time soon.
Today was my first day on the job. Yes, the work week is six days! So much for scaling back...
My organization, which I've been asked not to name directly, works with women who are "the poorest of the poor" in Chennai and the surrounding villages. The specific groups they target are domestic workers, adolescent girls and single women. Single women largely consists of women who are widows, these women may face social stigma and economic deprivation.
My "job" for the first few weeks is to immerse myself in the activities of the NGO and learn as much as possible about what is going on in the community and in the NGO's programming. Beyond learning about these issues, we've identified three goals for my time: I am going to help create databases of program participants for program design and evaluation purposes, I will work on revising the existing promotional materials, and lastly I will work with the management and staff of the NGO to help them adopt some western-style SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely).
After a morning meeting in the office and a peek into the dance class for adolescent girls going on downstairs, I headed out to the field with Chitra, one of the program coordinators. First stop was a field office where some girls from nearby slum areas were being trained in computer skills and sewing skills. Next up, Chitra and I visited two slum neighborhoods. Chitra spoke with groups of girls about sexual abuse prevention and gender issues. Here are a couple of snaps from the visit:
According to the census in 2001, the male female ratio in India is 927 women per 1000 women (the world average is 1045 women per 1000 men). There are many factors contributing to these "missing girls" and one of them is the preference of parents towards boys, which may be demonstrated by giving boys more or higher quality food and better medical care. One of the things Chitra was talking about with these adolescent girls, many of whom will be mothers in a few years, is that they should treat their boy children and girl children equally.
I'm staying in a private room attached to my office for now. It is comfortable. My only complaints are that there is only one outlet in the room and there is no hot water. Not too bad! This morning I went for a walk to start to get to know my new surroundings. I started by heading up to the roof of the building where I'm staying. I was surprised to see the ocean so close by!
Less pleasant was this view. Trash is a serious issue.
After a morning walk I had enjoyed the staple southern Indian breakfast: idli (like rice cake), sambar (dal), vada (like fried lentil patty) and two chutneys (coconut and onion). It is a delicious morning meal and I don't imagine I will tire of it any time soon.
Today was my first day on the job. Yes, the work week is six days! So much for scaling back...
My organization, which I've been asked not to name directly, works with women who are "the poorest of the poor" in Chennai and the surrounding villages. The specific groups they target are domestic workers, adolescent girls and single women. Single women largely consists of women who are widows, these women may face social stigma and economic deprivation.
My "job" for the first few weeks is to immerse myself in the activities of the NGO and learn as much as possible about what is going on in the community and in the NGO's programming. Beyond learning about these issues, we've identified three goals for my time: I am going to help create databases of program participants for program design and evaluation purposes, I will work on revising the existing promotional materials, and lastly I will work with the management and staff of the NGO to help them adopt some western-style SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely).
After a morning meeting in the office and a peek into the dance class for adolescent girls going on downstairs, I headed out to the field with Chitra, one of the program coordinators. First stop was a field office where some girls from nearby slum areas were being trained in computer skills and sewing skills. Next up, Chitra and I visited two slum neighborhoods. Chitra spoke with groups of girls about sexual abuse prevention and gender issues. Here are a couple of snaps from the visit:
According to the census in 2001, the male female ratio in India is 927 women per 1000 women (the world average is 1045 women per 1000 men). There are many factors contributing to these "missing girls" and one of them is the preference of parents towards boys, which may be demonstrated by giving boys more or higher quality food and better medical care. One of the things Chitra was talking about with these adolescent girls, many of whom will be mothers in a few years, is that they should treat their boy children and girl children equally.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
48 Hours in New Delhi
It's about 4 in the morning, approaching the time I arrived in New Delhi 2 days ago. Last night I slept solid through the night, tonight not so lucky. It's been a colorful and delicious 2 days.
My first Delhi experience was of the traffic traveling from the airport to the hotel at 6AM. I'm not sure of the exact distance but I can tell you we traveled very slowly. But to one accustomed to the orderly flow of western traffic, it was an eventful ride. The streets in Delhi are painted with lane lines but these are ignored. This seems to be true of both small streets and highways. You may see three vehicles traveling side by side in the two lanes. We made a right hand turn from the left lane. The horn is used constantly, kind of as a greeting. There seem to be many large trucks with no windows or side view mirrors, but with pretty cursive signs painted in pastel colors "Please Honk". Drivers of smaller cars may keep their side view mirrors folded into the car to make the vehicle more narrow. There is a wide variety of vehicles on the road. Cars, trucks, motorcyles and mopeds, auto-rickshaws, bicycle-rickshaws, bicycles, cows, horses, horse and buggy. And pedestrians - there are lots and lots of pedestrians. Seeing so many people on the street, it feels to me like New Years, or a big party.
My first Delhi experience was of the traffic traveling from the airport to the hotel at 6AM. I'm not sure of the exact distance but I can tell you we traveled very slowly. But to one accustomed to the orderly flow of western traffic, it was an eventful ride. The streets in Delhi are painted with lane lines but these are ignored. This seems to be true of both small streets and highways. You may see three vehicles traveling side by side in the two lanes. We made a right hand turn from the left lane. The horn is used constantly, kind of as a greeting. There seem to be many large trucks with no windows or side view mirrors, but with pretty cursive signs painted in pastel colors "Please Honk". Drivers of smaller cars may keep their side view mirrors folded into the car to make the vehicle more narrow. There is a wide variety of vehicles on the road. Cars, trucks, motorcyles and mopeds, auto-rickshaws, bicycle-rickshaws, bicycles, cows, horses, horse and buggy. And pedestrians - there are lots and lots of pedestrians. Seeing so many people on the street, it feels to me like New Years, or a big party.
Most of my time has been spent in the hotel, where I am staying and attending an orientation. The hotel is very comfortable and restaurant excellent. Aside from hotel time, I've had two enjoyable excursions. Sunday night I had a wonderful meal at the home of Sunita, AJWS's in-country representative. Sunita's hospitality was incredible and the food highly delicious. She thoughtfully prepared foods from many different regions in India so we could sample the various flavors and specialties (she prepared more than two dozen dishes!!). 
The second excursion was last night, we walked from the hotel through a pedestrian market to a store called Fabindia, which has been explained to me as the Gap of India. Wonderful bright and colorful fabrics and clothing, bed linen and towels. Sunita says Indians love food and clothes - I'm starting to see why.
The second excursion was last night, we walked from the hotel through a pedestrian market to a store called Fabindia, which has been explained to me as the Gap of India. Wonderful bright and colorful fabrics and clothing, bed linen and towels. Sunita says Indians love food and clothes - I'm starting to see why.Sunday, November 9, 2008
Arrival in New Delhi
After about 24 hours of transit I arrived at my hotel in New Delhi about an hour ago! I am happy to be here, kicking off my adventure with a chapati, a banana and a cup of nescafe. And here ends my first very short post - a new friend just arrived so I will wrap up.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Happy Halloween!
My friend Andrea surprised me today with the gift of a beautiful blue embroidered salwah kameez. I'm incredibly touched by this thoughtful gift and so excited to wear my beautiful new outfit in India!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Seattle Fall
This fall has been incredible, the best since I moved to the Pacific NW in August 2001. These are some pictures from last Sunday - a wonderful afternoon walking around the arboretum with Jess and Rachel.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Welcome to my blog!
Hello friends! Welcome to my blog. Thanks for visiting!
I'm starting this online journal to stay in touch as I prepare to set off for several months of travel, volunteering and adventure. November 7 (36 days from today!) I leave my lovely home, friends, and job in Seattle for Chennai, a city of 7.5 million on the southeast coast of India. I'll be working for about 3 months on a pro-bono consulting project for an NGO that focuses on women's advocacy and education. More on my work soon.
I'm in an overwhelmed and task oriented frame of mind tonight so I think I'll write a little about travel prep. It is crazy! I wish I had MS Project on my home computer to help me out. Instead I've got lists.
Things I have done already (yay!):
Medical consult/ Started vaccinations
Filling prescriptions
Reading - to help with the mental prep for the transition.
Started blog
Things I have yet to do (oy!):
More vaccinations
India visa
Change banks - mine failed last week. I am not worried about money disappearing, I just don't want to risk any interruption in access to cash while I'm traveling.
Iodine tablets/Deet/ Sunscreen/ First aid kit/ vitamins / other supplies
Mail - ask a kind stable friend to monitor while abroad
Travel health insurance
Print extra passport photos
Cancel periodicals, netflix
Pack up my apartment.......
That's all for tonight - Off to attempt progress.. Goodnight!
I'm starting this online journal to stay in touch as I prepare to set off for several months of travel, volunteering and adventure. November 7 (36 days from today!) I leave my lovely home, friends, and job in Seattle for Chennai, a city of 7.5 million on the southeast coast of India. I'll be working for about 3 months on a pro-bono consulting project for an NGO that focuses on women's advocacy and education. More on my work soon.
I'm in an overwhelmed and task oriented frame of mind tonight so I think I'll write a little about travel prep. It is crazy! I wish I had MS Project on my home computer to help me out. Instead I've got lists.
Things I have done already (yay!):
Medical consult/ Started vaccinations
Filling prescriptions
Reading - to help with the mental prep for the transition.
Started blog
Things I have yet to do (oy!):
More vaccinations
India visa
Change banks - mine failed last week. I am not worried about money disappearing, I just don't want to risk any interruption in access to cash while I'm traveling.
Iodine tablets/Deet/ Sunscreen/ First aid kit/ vitamins / other supplies
Mail - ask a kind stable friend to monitor while abroad
Travel health insurance
Print extra passport photos
Cancel periodicals, netflix
Pack up my apartment.......
That's all for tonight - Off to attempt progress.. Goodnight!
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