Oh, Hai There.

My name's Viraj, and although Jill mentioned me in her post, I've never written on this blog myself. And now, on my second-to-last-day, Suneil has demanded blog posts from both me and Chelsea, so here goes nothing.

As usual, my experience with Maitri has been interesting - in the good way. This organization is amazing in the amount of responsibility it gives meager high school interns like myself, especially with it's own diligent team of employees and college-level interns. It's a little intimidating, but enormously fulfilling to see something you start and work towards become a reality. That's the feeling I got while contributing to Project Jagriti (for a description of the project, look at the previous post by Jillian). WE determined the content of the workshops. WE put the presentation together. WE led the seminar. And WE created the closing reports to give others insight into the project.


That's me trying to answer a question. I hope I got it right.

One thing I loved about these workshops is that despite how much I might tell myself that I'm the teacher in these workshops, I'm often the one who ends up learning more. All of the students we interact with have such a different background from mine, and offer perspectives through their stories and beliefs that I've never considered. I learn about their culture, one that despite my skin color, I still consider foreign. I learn about the Indian approach to dealing with certain topics that aren't as taboo in the states. I learn about what sort of pressures these students have (because all teenagers feel unbearable amounts of pressure, globally), what kind of families they come from, what their mindsets are. And I'm always surprised.

Back to our job: teaching. I loved these workshops because they provided us with immediate satisfaction that we were helping. I found that the students we talked to were, for the most part, lacking in knowledge on certain key topics involving sexual health. Watching their clueless faces turn to those indicating comprehension was definitive assurance that on an extremely small scale, we were making a difference. Which is a cool expression. In my mind, it means taking the difference (what's been subtracted), and filling it. In our case, that's filling in certain essential pieces of information which the excessively conservative taboos in Indian society restrict.
We bring these issues to light.
We talk about them.
We increase awareness.
And we make this acceptable, hopefully encouraging discussion and getting change off the ground.

This is all starting to sound a bit idealistic. But hopefully it made some semblance of sense. Thank you for an amazing experience this summer, Maitri, and I hope that I'll continue to be able to work with you in the future.

- Viraj

P.S. Here you can find the reports from our two latest workshops:

Project Jagriti

One of the ongoing projects of Maitri is Project Jagriti. This project focuses on educating High School student about various issues including HIV/AIDS, Drug and Alcohol abuse, Safe Sex, as well as many other adolescent issues.
Me, Viraj, Hannah, Sarthak, Divya, and Vibhor were all part of these amazing workshops. The first school we went to was the Guru Harkrishan Public School on July 15th, then we went to Mt. Saint Mary's School on July 21st, and most recently we did a workshop at Modern School Vasant Vihar.
We started off discussing different situations and decisions that students face to get the students comfortable and open. We then transitioned into a power point where we talked to the students about STDs and STI's with a focus on HIV/AIDS as well as substance abuse. After giving them the basic issues about these subjects, we decided that it would be best to seperate the students by sex for the adolescent issues portion. This was a time where we could talk to students candidly and they could talk to us about any thought, feelings, or questions about growing up. Finally we had an anonymous question portion where students wrote down their questions and we read and answered them in front of the whole group. Being teenagers ourselves we understand how their are some questions that you do not want everyone to know you are asking although you are dying to know the answer.
We started off to a rocky start at Guru Hakrishan, it was our first time doing this workshop and we were all extremely nervous. It didn't help that many of the students were not eager to talk and interact with us. This was a good learning experience though and helped us tweak our workshop for the better.
Mt. Saint Mary's School was the largest group that Maitri has seen for a workshop yet, their were about 250 students. It was a lot of fun and the students were super interactive once we broke the ice and got them to laugh and talk to us. This was a great experience and definitly got us excited to do more workshops. I think that we all would deifnitly do another workshop there.
Our most recent workshop at Modern School Vasant Vihar was a little shy but relatively interactive. The workshop went well and we got really good responses from the students. It felt really nice to know that the students were appreciating the work that we were putting into the workshop.
All in all, the workshops were a success as well as an amazing experience.
-Jill

Intern Excusion to Amritsar

On 10 July, Mrs. Singh offered the intern and volunteer cohort (Me, Chelsea, Jeevan, Jill, Hannah, and Virginia) a chance to visit Amritsar. We were all excited to go for the opportunity to see a city of such historic significance with some of the most impressive sites in India. We took a train early Saturday morning and reached Amritsar by the late afternoon. Mr. Anant Ram went along with us and we stayed at a guest house being run by the General's brother, Mr. Bubble. The accommodations and food were wonderful and we had a blast getting to know Mr. Bubble and his wife. We were in Amritsar during the consolation World Cup match between Germany and Uruguay and stayed up late watching the game with Mr. Bubble.



The evening we arrived, we went to the Wagah Border where the Singhs were able to arrange some seats for us. The Wagah Boarder is the only road border between India and Pakistan. Each night there is a traditional lowering of the flags ceremony in addition to a parade by Indian and Pakistani border patrol officers. We were all fascinated by not only the parade and ceremony, but also by the large gathering and energy of the crowd on both sides of the border. Wagah Border was an interesting and enjoyable experience. I loved every minute from the disciplined marches and rituals the guards showcased to the energetic crowd pridefully shouting in response to the intercome "Vande MATARAM" and then "Hindustan ZINDABAD".



At night we had our first visit to one of the most famous destinations in India, the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib, a Gurudwara, which is a religious place for the Sikh religion). The temple was easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen; the entire group was deeply impressed by how the lit temple looked in the middle of the surrounding water. We walked around the area with Mrs Singh and she took us inside while explaining some of the significance of the Golden Temple and Gurudwaras.



The next morning we went back to the Golden Temple, which was a completely different, although equally amazing, experience. Both times the Temple was packed with people coming primarily for worship. In the morning we spent more time inside the Temple and saw and learned more about Sikh practices and traditions. We were fortunate to have seen the Golden Temple both in the morning and the night.



In the afternoon we went to Jalianwalla Bhag, which is the memorial for the massacre of a peaceful gathering in Punjab back in 1919 when 50 British soldiers opened fire on between 1,500 and 2,000 Indian civilians-- one of the worst massacres of a peaceful gathering in world history. It was haunting to see the location in its present day-- bullet holes in walls brought a sense of realism to the independence struggle faced in the early to mid 20th century.



After visiting the memorial, we spent our last moments before our train ride home wandering in the nearby markets and then ate at Brothers Dhaba, which was great food to say the least.

Our two day trip to Amritsar was an amazing experience-- Amristar is now easily one of my favorite places in India. The trip was full of enjoyable company and the best possible sight-seeing. We are all very thankful to the Bubble's, who were our gracious hosts and the Singhs for planning this opportunity for us to come see this great city.


--Suneil

Project Jeevan Slideshow Video

Click on the below video to view the slideshow of the Project Jeevan launch.





This is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jzZ0cDk1bU

Project Jeevan Reflection

My first visit to Vrindavan opened my eyes to a social custom that is particularly prevalent in West Bengal and Orissa. Traditionally, as soon as a woman’s husband, she has to deal with a second bitter reality – losing her identity, her family, and her home. She becomes an untouchable such that she cannot be part of any social event or ceremony in the family or community. In many cases, the widow is brought and left in a state of destitution to beg and fend for herself in Vrindavan and Varanasi. Why Vrindavan? Because it is the home of Krishna, and in the minds of these women, he will be their savior. The widows believe that by singing hymns in his praise they will get salvation from the karma of life and death.

I was left stunned by the sheer misery and the state of their health. Their faces haunted me for weeks thereafter. The women were fighting for survival without any energy. The frail women were getting pulled and pushed for a handful of grain and dal. It was the utmost indignity to which a human can be subjected. I spoke with my husband, General Bhopinder, who was also consumed by the thought as to what we could do to bring these widows respect and dignity.

With the germination of this idea and the support of Ashok Jolly, our Maitri Board Members, Ulf and Joe, we decided to put a nutrition and health program in place. It took brainstorming and plenty of hard work by Maitri staff, Silky, Anita, and Captain Anant Ram; Maitri interns, Jeevan, Chelsea, and Suneil; and Maitri volunteers, Jillie and Hannah. On 4th of July, we finally saw the program launched.

What a delight it was to see the happiness on the women’s faces when they got a fully cooked, nutritious meal – rice, dal, vegetable, and halwa – for the first time in probably months and years. At the same time, I was sad to hear the doubt in their voices, as they feared this was probably a one-time donation. After repeated assurances from our team that this program would be continuous, they broke out in a song and dance. They sang in praise of Krishna that they would now have a proper meal every day. Life would be a bit better.

In addition to the mid-day meals, Maitri is providing the widow mothers with other services such as health camps, medicines, clothing, and advocacy. On the 4th of July, Maitri organized a health camp with a few doctors who did checkups with the widows and gave them essential medicines. Many of the widows are infirm, and bone diseases are a common issue. Maitri gave each widow daily multivitamins and supplements, including calcium, folic acid, and Vitamin C.


I hope we can make the widows happier by providing them with nutritious meals and other essential services. All that they want is respect, dignity, love, and caring. It is not too much to ask. As they say, Krishna will take care, and I hope he does.


--Winnie Singh

Another Perspective of the Launch of Project Jeevan

My third real day in India, July 4th, brought with it another completely new experience. The staff and interns, including myself, arrived in Vrindavan that morning to greet a small group of widows who were already sitting, their white cotton saris surrounding them, their bodies small and frail. As each new woman came they were given a dish and once they were all there and seated the food was served. Soon the room was filled with music as the nearly 200 widows began to sing in perfect unison; their weak bodies contrasting with their strong voices. That moment was one I know I will never forget. The realism of what I was doing and the true hardships of these women hit me then as each voice chanted in a language foriegn to my ears. It was heartbreaking, but also very beautiful.
After their meal, the widows had the oppurtunity to go see the doctor. I found this a wonderful plan for the project since the widows are in such need of medical treatment. Almost every woman there, young and old, suffered from arthritis and felt constant aches and pains. We were able to supply medicine as well as referals to a nearby hospital.
I'm happy that I was able to do my part to help these women who have been left with virtually nothing after the loss of their husbands. It definitely showed me a world different from my own and taught me more about the culture. I was so grateful for the oppertunity to get a first hand look at this ongoing project and I am excited to see what else India has in store for me.
-Hannah

The Launch of Project Jeevan

The 4th of July, the interns along with many of the other people from Maitri went to Vrindavan for the launch of Project Jeevan. This was my second day working with Maitri and my first real experience with one of their many projects. What an adventure. This launch will supply the widows with meals, doctors and medications for their various ailments. Getting to Vrindavan was an experience. We woke up bright and early and as soon as we got outside we were welcomed by the monsoons. This did not, however, deter our journey. We arrived in Vrindavan and a few of the widows had already started to arrive. Thankfully, a few Maitri workers had been in Vrindavan for 3 days previous to the launch in order to set up. So we got to work right away.
We were posted at the medicine counter. We got off to a rocky start because we were severely out numbered by the widows, not to mention my Hindi is limited to just a few words. Thankfully, it only took a few minutes for us to get into the swing of things and soon enough we got into a really good rhythm. The widows would come to us after being checked out by the doctors. They would hand us their information card which had their name, age, address, picture, etc. On the back their would be the medications as well as any referrals that they needed. Every widow would get Calcium, B-Complex, Vitamin C and for many of them multivitamins as well to take for 10 days, at which time they would get enough medication for the next 10 days etc. We would then send them to get their other more individual medications for cough, cataracts, etc. Aside from their individual ailments, many of these women also suffer from aches and pains which we helped them with as well.

This was overall an amazing experience. I had never really heard about the terrible treatment of widows before I started as an intern with Maitri. Seeing these women first hand was extremely sad, not only were many of them very thin from lack of food, but their clothes were dirty and many of them did not have the proper care and medication to live a happy and healthy life. Although I just got here and just started interning with Maitri, I still felt an amazing sense of success at the end of the day.

-Jill