Summing Up Seva

I closed the Seva chapter of my trip a week ago. It was similar to when I quit work- lots of emotions and feeling a little threadbare after having left everyone. My relationship with India has formed through the lens of service, and my time was spent with Indians who live without the luxury of things I took for granted. I am excited to see family but to some degree I feel like it’s a persona changing experience. The luxuries we claim, as NRIs, are so harshly different from the lives of the people I have interacted with for the past 5 months. I’m not ashamed of the experiences I've been privileged to have in my 25 years of life, rather, I’m struggling with how to let my heart feel comfortable having see the other side of things. Some may say ignorance would have been bliss.

On a positive note (I do still dub myself a realistic optimist), I have loved the experiences of the last five months. I have met so many amazing children and inspiring people. My time has really planted a seed in my heart to return in some capacity and be part of India again.

A few of my most special experiences were eating pani puri roadside with some of the kids and talking to one of the girls about resolving a quarrel with her friends. The friendships built through the Dosti Project have been so incredibly amazing to see and hearing the children scream “Ami-didi” when they saw me are memories that will remain close to my heart. I feel so incredibly fortunate to have spent these five months here. It sounds so cliché but I am pretty sure I gained more from this experience than I was able to give.

All and all one of my biggest lessons learned has been the importance of clarity of heart. My heart and mind were focused on service when I left the states in August. Unfortunately, my first go wasn't as smooth as I would've hoped. The fallout left me in a week-long haze of confusion, but then I found a new organization and miraculously was able to focus back on my original intent. Opportunities presented themselves organically and I was able to persevere through daily obstacles because I had clarity of heart.

Dosti

Preface: Dosti means friendship in Hindi.

The disparity in quality regarding Indian education is drastic. Municipal schools (only free until 8^th standard) are over-capacity and under-served. There have been moves recently to improve the situation (Right to Education Act), but sheer volume makes this a difficult situation. On the other hand, private schools (which are attended by all that can afford it) are generally creative environments with a range of skills taught, including sports, drama, art, music, etc.

India, as a country, is a vast and diverse community. However, it is left divided due the social pressures related to wealth. For example, it is quite likely that a child attending private-school is not aware of the hardships another child his age perseveres through on a daily basis; hardships like malnutrition, inadequate education, and unhygienic housing. Likewise, less-fortunate children are unlikely to understand that importance of discipline and education as a foundation for their lives.

Tuesday, November 6^th, was the first session of a program called Dosti. I spoke about this program in an earlier post- the idea is to create relationships between groups of children that would normally not interact. The event was facilitated through buddy groups between one student attending municipal school and one attending a local private-school. The pairs completed various activities to help them get-to-know each other.  They created nametags and a group painting, as well as completed a trust obstacle course and learned about Gandhiji together.

We debriefed with both groups of children afterwards and asked them what they learned through the day. The children attending private schools said they felt the other students were nicer to each other (specially, “treat each other as family”) and didn’t have cliques like they had in their school. The municipal school children mentioned the high level of discipline and respect the other students have and how well-spoken they are.

All in all, the day was a success in that the seed of friendship was planted. I am excited to plan another installment and to assist in the creation of new friendships built on the foundation of understanding and love.

Please enjoy the collage I created below of the days events.

Current Happenings

Over the last three weeks I have tried to find a fit for myself and develop a schedule to engage with the communities which surround the ashram. I have been fortunate enough to see the majority of current projects, ranging from health to education and from children to elderly, and in the last week I've found a space to focus my time.

I have started helping with two community gardens, one in an NGO-constructed center and the other in front of a home in the slum community (Ramapir No Tekro). We are cleaning the spaces and starting to plant okra, tomatoes, cilantro, and eggplant. The garden in front of the family's home is especially important because it has brought five families together and sets an example of teamwork for others in the community. The women have been amazing to work with and the children really love to be involved. There are other families that have already started asking for advice/assistance for the land around their homes.

Also, I've recently started "working" with 10th standard girls from a nearby hostel. In my first meeting with them we created name tags and then they each wrote something nice about each other. It was a nice exercise and I hope it reminded them of their good qualities and gave them a reason to smile (they have such amazing smiles!). 

My most recent engagement has been sitting with widowed maajis (maaji = elderly women) in the slum community and helping them in any way. We tried to offer to help with house work, but they were not having it so now another volunteer and I sit and talk with them while helping them with some of the sewing work they do. It's been a nice way to practice Gujarati and to interact with a part of the community that generally gets forgotten. 

Another totally different thing I'm doing which is more planning focused, as opposed to directly community focused, is create a Dosti (meaning friendship) program. We are inviting 32 7th standard private school students to the ashram to engage with 32 7th standard students from the slum community. Currently thinking of activities that will help create a foundation for a friendship, and fighting the chance of students only focusing on their differences. 

All in all, my key take away from the last few weeks has been to live without a back-to-back schedule and let the day create itself. I still have specific things to do at specific times, but what I'm learning is to let the time between "meetings" exist and to appreciate the moments where anything can happen.

Stripped

I have stripped myself from the corporate perks. Officially turned in my company phone, laptop, and mifi. Will be deactivating the credit card soon. I feel lighter already. Cheers to a new journey and redefined values.


Heat & humility, here I come.

Leap Of Faith

I officially accepted the Indicorps fellowship position and filed my two weeks notice with Deloitte.  


::pause::  d e e p   b r e a t h  ::pause:: 


This is the biggest risk I've taken to date, but I'm looking forward to the change and know the challenge will help me realize my limits and formalize my values. During the decision-making process, I have acknowledged the comforts I'm stripping away and the challenges I will face as I immerse myself in a new culture. 


I know the journey will not be easy, but it's only a year and I don't think there is any ways it can harm my character. So, there it is. I'm moving to India in the beginning of August and starting a yearlong journey in the state my parents were raised. 


A fitting quote I recently read from the Indicorps twitter account that really hits home right now: 
"He who does not look back to his roots will not reach his destination."