finding rickshaw.

And just like that, this trip is halfway done.  Fittingly, AIF hosted a midpoint conference for the fellows last week.  In between two 20 hour train rides, we found ourselves in rural Maharashtra at Baba Amte’s ashram, “Anandwan”.

Anandwan's motto.

Baba, who passed away in early 2008, was a lawyer turned Gandhi disciple and social activist.  His life was dedicated to advancing the rights for those suffering from leprosy.  He created Anandwan to provide refuge to leprosy patients and those with physical handicaps.

Click.

Back then, leprosy patients were social outcasts as their affliction was regarded as a consequence of sins made in previous lives. We know now that leprosy is the result of an untreated infection, not karma.

Anandwan was remarkable, just as advertised. With exception to sugar, salt and kerosene, the community is self-sustainable.  They grow their own food and sew their own clothes.  They earn income by selling crops, gifts, artisan products and hosting retreats.

Artisans.

It was 90 acres of fields, trees, animals and vibrant people.  The latter of which was the most amazing.  No social stigmas or discrimination here; people lived in the serenity of their environment and in the humility of their upbringing.  Click the picture to the left to see Carolyn’s video of a woman who learned to sew with her feet.

The highlights / takeaways from midpoint are below (thanks for the pics, Hamsa!):

10.  Bathrooms. The thing I dreaded most about India was the bathroom situation.  Holes instead of toilets.  Hand/water instead of tissues.  Buckets instead of showers.  Cold instead of warm.  Etc., etc.  Anandwan had all of the above (well, we did bring toilet paper) and it didn’t bother me.  I guess five months in India prepare you to go with the flow.  That said, even if it did trouble me, I wouldn’t have had the right to complain as some of the other fellows’ day-to-day bathroom accommodations are similar to Anandwan.

9. KeyNote and I-Video. I love powerpoint, so this is hard for me to say, but Apple’s KeyNote is 10 times better.  I’m contemplating abandoning PCs and becoming an I-user.

8. Middle of India. We took trains to Nagpur which is the geographic center of India.  We climbed the statue. People were staring.

Middle India.

India's Scenery.

7. Trains. 40 hours of train rides proved long and exhausting, but manageable.   I had great company (4 other fellows were with me) and on the way home, it was cool to watch India.   And I traveled without Imodium.  I’ve changed.

6. Food. Without any additives (as opposed to overly sweet Gujarati food), the rotli, shak/sabji and dahl were delicious.  You could taste how fresh the home-grown food was in each bite.

5. Speakers. Ramki from SAATHI (HIV/AIDS NGO) and Rajubhai from SAATH lectured…rather conversed with the fellows.  Ramki somehow turned “Monitoring & Evaluation” into a compelling and interactive discussion that used case studies and our feedback.  Rajubhai discussed community building.  As I’m sure I mentioned before, he adheres to the “you can achieve anything as long as you don’t care about who gets the credit” philosophy.  He explained how the electricity in Ahmedabad’s slums were the product of Torent Power and how Umeed and its thousands of trained youth were a result of the Government of Gujarat.  In both cases, SAATH took a backseat in recognition and didn’t worry about the credit.  And in both cases, the community benefited.

4. Anandwan. Again, it was beautiful, relaxing, tasty and accommodating.  22 loud Americans and our late night dancing and debauchery seemed to disrupt no one.

Anandwan.

Fun.

3. Fun. It was fun. Celebrity. Taboo (minus the slapping).  Dancing.  90s and Bollywood music.  Massages. And Old Monk.  It was “one of those nights” every night. Maybe this happens every year, but we like each other.

Hemant, disregard?

2. The Fellows. Hearing about each others work.  Sharing horror stories.  Complaining.  It was relieving, relaxing and fun.  Amidst all the presentations, three people really stood out to me.  1) Suzanne:  She is working in rural Maharashtra in microfinance, a field she has no background in, and is loving it.  She has embodied simple living, shrugs off any inconveniences (including rats, unless they have rabies) and has made a home here.  2) Matt & Sophie (they count as 1):  They live in the mountains.  Read this:  http://aifservicecorps.blogspot.com/2009/01/uttarakhand-by-matt-french.html.  And Matt has a man beard.  3)  Diane.  a) She speaks Hindi perfectly.  Which doesn’t bode well for American-Indians sitting next to her on train rides.  The train passengers were in awe of her.  I was jealous.  b) She is living in rural Kutch without many resources.  But rather than doing nothing, she hopped on the back of someones motorcycle, traversed 300 kms of coastline, slept in random people’s homes and temples so she could test attendance in Kutchi schools.  I’m not doing her work justice, but just know that she is making a difference. And she is measuring it.  A development dream.

1. The next five months. Before midpoint and after all my visitors left, I was a bit homesick.  The week was refreshing.  And motivating.   I’m happy that I am in India, but that’s not an achievement.  I can do more.  Hearing my peers’ stories was inspiring.  SAATH is an incredible NGO with resources.  I need to take more advantage of it:  Spend the majority of my time in the field/slums with Yaqoob bhai and Usha ben.  Get the LRC up and running.  Build a highly specialized training program instead of just talking about it.  Create an investment portal for SAATH.  Oh, and formally learn Gujarati.  And travel as much as I can.  And hang out with Harsh and Kanisha.  And have fun.

aint nobody like my...

~ by findingrickshaw on January 25, 2009.

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