Many of you have reacted with spontaneity to some of the human problems that I write about..and some of you have suggested solutions that seem plausible and humane.. these are the very solutions that used to come up to my mind when I began my work.. but most of them had to be reviewed and corrected as one discovered the reality of India and life in urban slums..
What was important was to define what one aimed at: short term patch up options that satisfied one’s own conscience, or long term solutions that may seem harsh in the beginning but could sow the first seeds of long term changes..
We opted for the latter..
Let me share some of the unimaginable situations that we have had to deal with.
What do you do when a severly malnutrioned mother tells you that they do not eat left overs!
What do you do when clothes you have given are not put on the child because the local soothsayer tells the parent that the child’s ailment is due to her wearing given garments that have spells acst into them..
What do you tell a woman who defends a drunkard husband who beat her and her children…
How do you fight the local quack or the local money lender who lends at 10% a month!!
How do you fight the need to impress which makes people buy a TV but not food…
How do you fight the stranglehold of religious diktats where enormous amounts of money are spent to fulfill the hunger of the Gods, where milk and fruits are bought for a stone deity but not for a little child..
What do you say to someone you want to help when he says that he is happy with his pathetic life because his employer gives him the timely carrot..
Hopeless.. one may say.. not quite. There is a way, albeit a slow one.
We chose to walk that path at pwhy. It entails getting the confidence of those you work with and slowly setting small examples. What you have to keep in mind is the long term objective.
One has to remember that one is fighting with age old traditions, outdated mores, atavistic feudal attitudes that will take time. Mothers are always a good starting point and children the real strength. You have to play a judicious game of slow empowerment, where you demistify existing values and slowly introduce new ones..
In city that are bursting at the seams and are real tinder boxes, the message you have to send is that the future lies back home, in the villages and smaller town; start telling the children that all the skills and knowledge they acquire should be taken back. Each problem you encounter should become a larger lesson..
And then you know you are on the right path when a Vicky tells you: I will go back and set up a pwhy in my village in Bihar..
The road is long but it is the right one…
Oh darling yeh hai India!
Hi
I tried to transfer money online but the details of the bank account you gave me was based in gurgoan
so I couldn’t do it because online banking was available only at delhi
branches
So I mailed you a cheque
a couple of days back
I don’t know but I think you might have recieved it by now
I had written my email and phone number on the back of the envelope
Let’s see I will try and send another cheque maybe a month or two later
and I myself might get involved in some voluntary work at a local government school here
BTW
I saw the goodnewsindia.com article on you and I must tell you I actually have been reading good news india long before I saw the link at the bottom of your email’s signature
Its a great site and recently when I went there I saw the article about you
I had actually read that same article many months ago and remembered vague parts but had not realised that it was you until I reread it about a week ago
All the best
Regards
Abhay
indiacorporatewatch.blogspot.com
Also on the article I concur with you
The future lies in our towns and villages
and not in these concrete jungles that makes beasts out of men
hmmm…thanks anou, for spelling it out. your approach bears fruit on two levels: encouraging people to return to their roots, and perhaps take some of what they have gained back there; the other, giving the kids a better chance, and protecting their God-given rights while they are here.
daunting but do-able..
Though I’ve never been to these urban-slums, I have an idea that people there seem to think urbanizing would improve their life.
Seems like toughest task to break this belief of theirs. We should try and show them the happy-rural India. Maybe try to end hardships faced by these people in their villages. That could be one of the reasons for their moving out.
I’ve been reading this blog and the work here seems so interesting, I’ve an urge to leave my software job and join you.
I believe in time, so my time hasn’t come yet probably.
Good luck in your efforts.
I shall keep supporting you.
Thanks,
Jyothi