At the end of September I was sent to Nagpur (Maharashtra) on an assignment concerning a Community Based Sanitation (CBS) project which was initiated with a slum community in Mahajan Nagar.
As I looked through the photographs clicked during my one week in the city earlier on today, thoughts and feelings came back to me.
I landed on a Monday morning and after a small brief by our Regional Office, I travelled with one of the social workers directly to the community. Their first reaction, seeing someone who they didn’t recognize was one of curiosity and somewhat suspicion.
As I walked around the lanes, I felt their thoughts come right at me: Who is she? Why is she here?
I badly wanted to communicate with them, tell them I meant absolutely no harm and was there for them, to understand their concerns, listen to their experiences with our project, and ultimately document their reality with the aim of enabling a change if this was required.
I’ve spent enough time in India to know that in order to blend, one must at first be a by-stander and simply observe. Soak in expressions, movements, vestiments, behaviours, conversations.. and only then find a way to incorporate these somehow in your own ways.
I find it difficult sometimes to do this without loosing my own identity and what makes me who I am. However, I’m certain that experience helps find a balance between these two.
In that effect, I decided to play it safe and simply observe how interactions take place keeping my own first minutes limited to a simple smile and a Namaste to whomever my eyes met.
The brief about the community took about an hour. I was so determined to understand things and not let a single detail slip out of my mind that I didn’t realize till then, that there was an army of kids right behind us. Tiny people who had probably followed us everywhere right from the start. The minute I turned around they stepped back and began scattering away.
Brief done I was free for the next hour to do what I wanted.
My camera has proved to be a great ice-breaker so far in this country. So I immediately put my notes down, brought the view finder to my eye level and signaled to the 3 kids who very bravely as if guarding their territory, stood strong next to me, and I clicked a single shot.
That was all that I needed. From all corners the kids swarmed back and that was it. Faces.. smiles.. hands stretched out.. they all laughed, spoke continuously, incessantly. Unfortunately their words were in a language I couldn’t understand but as time went on this was no longer a barrier. Words in English, words in Hindi and a lot of hand signals was enough for us to understand each other.
Realizing I was harmless, I was immediately grabbed by the hand and as they took me around the lanes, the women happily pulled me into their small homes.
Tea was made on the spot, snacks were handed over to me and I was given a seat in the best corner of every house.
Their attitude completely overwhelmed me. I never expected to be treated so grandiosely by anyone. People who struggled to have a hot meal at night were sharing the best they had with me - a person they knew nothing about, not where I was from neither what I was doing there.
Perhaps it was my association with the social worker, who had done so much for them over the last 10 years I don’t know. All I know is that as more and more people took to me, I felt an immense sense of content and as i withrew to a quiet corner in the slum so as to process all the feelings in me, I began thinking about what really determines ones happiness.
These people were living in unauthorized land previously and were relocated to an area where they were given legal rights over the plots they were assigned to. As owners now, at least they felt recognized and importance was given to them.
I realized that their environment and surroundings were clean, the children were mostly healthy and 90% of the community members were actually employed.
People seemed happy here.
As for myself. This assignment fulfilled THE reason I’ve been longing to work in India.
I witnessed the effects of an intervention in the water and sanitation sector not from a computer screen or through paper but at first hand. I was able to run my fingers through the water which we ourselves were treating, use my arms to test the effectiveness of a handpump which we installed and what was certainly of most value to me, I was able to directly communicate with beneficiaries understanding how much value our work had added to their and their families lives.
In addition to this, this exposure brought to light the work of a selected few people. Work which generally happens behind the scenes. Faces and hands we almost never see. It’s a very hard road for them, one which often does not render any type of appreciation.
Project successes are mostly directed at project managers, directors. However, changes that happen at a grassroot level are by no means solely their effort.
Patience, perseverance, a right balance of niceness and rigidness, respect, humility, the ability to openly discuss issues which are considered a taboo and bravery - these are all characteristics which I witnessed at Nagpur during my 7 days with our project’s social worker.
I was immensely inspired by this and believe it’s high time, the sector gave some more recognition to all those people who work on the ground, devoting their time and efforts to providing healthier, safer and more dignified lives to others.
As I looked through the photographs clicked during my one week in the city earlier on today, thoughts and feelings came back to me.
I landed on a Monday morning and after a small brief by our Regional Office, I travelled with one of the social workers directly to the community. Their first reaction, seeing someone who they didn’t recognize was one of curiosity and somewhat suspicion.
As I walked around the lanes, I felt their thoughts come right at me: Who is she? Why is she here?
I badly wanted to communicate with them, tell them I meant absolutely no harm and was there for them, to understand their concerns, listen to their experiences with our project, and ultimately document their reality with the aim of enabling a change if this was required.
I’ve spent enough time in India to know that in order to blend, one must at first be a by-stander and simply observe. Soak in expressions, movements, vestiments, behaviours, conversations.. and only then find a way to incorporate these somehow in your own ways.
I find it difficult sometimes to do this without loosing my own identity and what makes me who I am. However, I’m certain that experience helps find a balance between these two.
In that effect, I decided to play it safe and simply observe how interactions take place keeping my own first minutes limited to a simple smile and a Namaste to whomever my eyes met.
The brief about the community took about an hour. I was so determined to understand things and not let a single detail slip out of my mind that I didn’t realize till then, that there was an army of kids right behind us. Tiny people who had probably followed us everywhere right from the start. The minute I turned around they stepped back and began scattering away.
Brief done I was free for the next hour to do what I wanted.
My camera has proved to be a great ice-breaker so far in this country. So I immediately put my notes down, brought the view finder to my eye level and signaled to the 3 kids who very bravely as if guarding their territory, stood strong next to me, and I clicked a single shot.
That was all that I needed. From all corners the kids swarmed back and that was it. Faces.. smiles.. hands stretched out.. they all laughed, spoke continuously, incessantly. Unfortunately their words were in a language I couldn’t understand but as time went on this was no longer a barrier. Words in English, words in Hindi and a lot of hand signals was enough for us to understand each other.
Realizing I was harmless, I was immediately grabbed by the hand and as they took me around the lanes, the women happily pulled me into their small homes.
Tea was made on the spot, snacks were handed over to me and I was given a seat in the best corner of every house.
Their attitude completely overwhelmed me. I never expected to be treated so grandiosely by anyone. People who struggled to have a hot meal at night were sharing the best they had with me - a person they knew nothing about, not where I was from neither what I was doing there.
Perhaps it was my association with the social worker, who had done so much for them over the last 10 years I don’t know. All I know is that as more and more people took to me, I felt an immense sense of content and as i withrew to a quiet corner in the slum so as to process all the feelings in me, I began thinking about what really determines ones happiness.
These people were living in unauthorized land previously and were relocated to an area where they were given legal rights over the plots they were assigned to. As owners now, at least they felt recognized and importance was given to them.
I realized that their environment and surroundings were clean, the children were mostly healthy and 90% of the community members were actually employed.
People seemed happy here.
As for myself. This assignment fulfilled THE reason I’ve been longing to work in India.
I witnessed the effects of an intervention in the water and sanitation sector not from a computer screen or through paper but at first hand. I was able to run my fingers through the water which we ourselves were treating, use my arms to test the effectiveness of a handpump which we installed and what was certainly of most value to me, I was able to directly communicate with beneficiaries understanding how much value our work had added to their and their families lives.
In addition to this, this exposure brought to light the work of a selected few people. Work which generally happens behind the scenes. Faces and hands we almost never see. It’s a very hard road for them, one which often does not render any type of appreciation.
Project successes are mostly directed at project managers, directors. However, changes that happen at a grassroot level are by no means solely their effort.
Patience, perseverance, a right balance of niceness and rigidness, respect, humility, the ability to openly discuss issues which are considered a taboo and bravery - these are all characteristics which I witnessed at Nagpur during my 7 days with our project’s social worker.
I was immensely inspired by this and believe it’s high time, the sector gave some more recognition to all those people who work on the ground, devoting their time and efforts to providing healthier, safer and more dignified lives to others.