British Raj, the Pig Kingdom, Weddings, Chillies, and Other Associated Phenomena

Two women in the village of Dantli ki Dhani using a rotary blade to cut chara - cattle feed.

Some members of the youth group, children, and women in Dantli ki Dhani


Connection to Math and Science Center: upon my request, John McConnell and Maurice Moore of the Western Colorado Math and Science Center (my previous place of employment/experimentation) have sent me a box containing some of the Center’s patented activities, including alkaseltzer rockets, electroscopes, and oil and water (and other things that I don’t know yet). I will do some experiments with the NGO workers’ kids, as I have played and talked with them much and they are quite dear to me. It is wonderful that this connection between my previous math and science education work and my current development work in India could be made. I owe a great debt of gratitude to John, who has provided the materials and Global Priority shipping from the Center free of cost. As always, he is showing his commitment to math and science education for all. I know the kids will love it as there are NO science facilities, nor is there any science equipment in the village areas, so all of this will be fresh and stimulating. I will definitely take pictures as they set of their rockets, get those packing peanuts in the air, and watch the coloured bubbles come up through the oil. I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces. Be on the lookout for this in the future. Once again, a wonderful connection made between the Center in Colorado and kids I love in India. Just so meaningful.

Illness and frustration: So, the last week (Tuesday June 9th –Sunday June 14th) or so has been a bit frustrating. I went to Jaipur to get three things: an electricity/voltage converter so I could use my photo printer, some malaria prophylaxis, and an internet connection (the USB unit had arrived and they needed to install it). All were a complete failure. Couldn’t get a voltage converter, got the wrong medication from the medical shop guy (who was either trying to rip me off, or made a huge honest mistake; instead of giving me the prophylaxis he gave me an antibiotic that treats all sorts of stomach ailments – not malaria – and something to treat headaches and fever; obviously not malaria prophylaxis), and the internet connection guy never showed up (or to be precise, showed up for 5 minutes, tried once, it didn’t work, told me there was a technical error and he would come back the next day; he didn’t). I went back to the medical shop and did my best to tell the guy how dangerous it was for him to give me the incorrect medication, to which he seemed to give a sly smile of recognition of what he had done (though this could be cultural miscommunication; don’t think so, though). So, I came back to the village, a bit angry that I wasted two days in the city that could have been used productively here in the village. Some good did come out of it though, as I was able to buy badminton supplies for the girls of the new youth water clubs, and brought a train ticket for Shyam-ji, who is going for a training on peace. After getting back and doing work on Thursday, I began to feel quite tired and felt bad that I didn’t want to do work while here in India. Then I realized that I had a fever and was sick. Some of the symptoms approached that of malaria (fever, bodily weakness and pain), so, given my lack of success in getting the prophylaxis and my large number of mosquito bites, I was quite concerned. I talked with my mother and we resolved to pre-emptively start the malaria treatment, lest it get worse. However, by the next day the fever receded and it became clear that I had gotten food poisoning, perhaps from eating cold pizza. I had brought the pizza from the city for Rohitash to try; he also got sick – a cold - so we are the cold-pizza eaters/sick guys. I visited the village hospital and got some basic medicines to relieve the symptoms. I have made a recovery (see village hospital under Indian customs, etc. above for more info) from my stomach ailment and was given malaria prophylaxis – chloroquinine - from the Govt. Of India supplies (it is free to all Indian people – though I think as treatment, not prophylaxis), but now I seem to have caught Rohitash’s cold. So, struggling along a bit, and have been sidelined from any fieldwork. At least I don’t have malaria though, for which I am grateful.

More field workers: As far as I know we are currently looking for more fieldworkers for SVS to carry out this youth water program and otherwise expand SVS’s operations. Discussions are going on about and with various people, so eventually we should get some more staff to help in this critical work.
I have gotten an update on this issue and have been told that we will have two new workers by the end of June. We have put the word out in the villages that we are looking for help and are currently in contact with several people and after an interview process will pick two of them to join the staff. This is a good development.
Another update: we are in conversation with some people in the area who we hope will join up in the next week or so. Indeed, I was here for an interview today, in which Manu emphasized that working for SVS meant being part of a team doing service for the area, which entails being involved in all aspects of the NGO’s work and living most nights at the NGO office. I have also been there as the current staff have tried to persuade people in and around their villages to come work for SVS. I think we’ll have the requisite staff soon.

Microcredit group (SHGs): I went back to the same one that I had attended in May and was once again impressed by the operation. It is a very efficient process of money handling, transfer, etc. for those who need to take loans, pay them back, etc. It is like a mini-bank with no interest taken by the bank. This is one of the cornerstones of SVS’s work, and it is rock solid. Good stuff.

Youth Water Groups:
06/14/09
I have not been able to attend the meeting for a while due to my ailments and cancellations due to weather, but I know that they are progressing well and that discussions are going on with the women of the SHGs on how to attract and incorporate girls into the group. To this end we have purchased some badminton supplies for the girls to use. I hope to see the girls out soon. I will keep you updated on this situation.
Note that sports equipment is in great need here for this program. So, if you have any volleyballs, badminton racquets, footballs (international and American J) or anything else sports related that is going unused and you think you might want to donate, please email me at derek.vigil@gmail.com. Every little bit helps.

06/16/09
Some great work has been going on as of late. Ironically, yesterday in both villages good discussions were had because in both places the volleyball was flat due to being penetrated by a thorn. Hence, there was no volleyball to be played and we instead discussed for a while.
In Kukrela, where I was, we talked very seriously about the meaning of the group in terms of harnessing the powers of the youth for positive change in the area. We emphasized that soon the boys in the group will be the heads of their households and that they should realize their own strength and energy right now. I emphasized that in the US some of the best work and ideas come from the youth. We also had a conversation about the status of below-poverty-line (BPL) families in the area. This was definitely one of the most involved conversation that we have had to date. The members are definitely starting to get comfortable with contributing their thoughts and ideas, which is good.
In Dantli ki Dani, Gopal talked with some of the girls in the village about coming out to the group in the future, to which they agreed. There are about 10-15 girls in the village and they should be able to come out. They talked about how in the groups they will learn new things, like computers, and discuss the problems of the area, and play games. They displayed much interest, so we think they should be coming out soon (I hope today). Anyways, very heartening news on all fronts.

06/24/09
We are working hard to get girls involved in the groups. We think that by the time I go this should happen. We have already purchased the equipment for them and will try to draw them out as soon as possible. This is a slow process due to the deeply ingrained patriarchy in the villages of the Viratnagar block.

On a more upbeat note, we were able to find information online about Rajasthani grammar, language and idiom, jokes, history, and other such things. We were also able to find Rajasthani songs. This was a big victory, as Gopal told me that this information is often not available to the people of the village. I could tell he was greatly overjoyed by finding the music (Gopal loves songs; “songs are my hobby”, as he put it) and was happy about all of the information we found. He got a good laugh out of the jokes. Even better, we got to share it with the youth group in Dantli ki Dhani, and they enjoyed the jokes and seemed to be very interested in the information. Thus, I think the internet is already showing great promise here in the village. I think that the access to information and resources will be a big boon to the youth and will stimulate their creativity and output, making them more likely to learn the computer and hence reap the benefits of this knowledge in today’s computer-driven world. It’s a small start, but I feel there is just so much potential here. I will let you know how this progresses.
Indeed, the interest that the kids have shown in the computer and the internet has been great to see, as well as the interest of the NGO workers. Seeing the joy sweep across their faces as they see and recognize the different parts of their village from an aerial view on Google maps or when they hear a familiar Rajasthani song playing from a governmental cultural website has correspondingly brought great joy to my heart as well. It is amazing how much they appreciate all of the things, big and small, the internet can bring. So much potential for growth, fun, and learning here. My enthusiasm for this work is growing exponentially as I see the positive outcomes. I will definitely push this computer and internet aspect of the project with Manu-ji. The workers are already on board as they are enjoying being able to access information and have already written me a few emails. They definitely see the possibilities for bringing positive growth (educational, personal, economic) and job development to the area if computer and internet literacy becomes widespread (it is basically zero right now). It is amazing what has been learned and accomplished in the matter of a month, and, in the case of the internet, a week. I have no doubt that if we can sustain this part of the program it will be a great boon to the area. This is once again where more computers will be helpful. If any of you are interested in and/or know how to start an old-laptop collection drive, please let me know (derek.vigil@gmail.com). The internet connections are easy enough, if a bit costly, but the computers are sorely needed first.


Website:
06/14/09
Except for photos, the posting of some documents, and a visual history of the organization (for which I need photos), I have pretty much finished the website. I have relied heavily on the input of the workers to inform me of the NGOs past work, its philosophy, and its impact. As I have talked to them about the organizations past work I have become more inspired, as I see how their people-centered, development focus has worked to bring results in this rural area. The site will go through further refinement as I get more input from the workers, but it is pretty much finished. I will try to post a version soon, so that you all can see it, critique it, and give me feedback. Through your feedback I hope to improve the website to attract those who would be interested in our work. If you can help me in this regard, that would be great. In theory we are getting the internet on Monday, though I have obviously learned not to trust the word of the internet guys here (see the frustration and illness post), so after that the website should be up soon. I may put it up without all elements, just so that it is there and you can give me feedback. I will send out the web domain as soon as everything is ready. Your participation is much appreciated.

06/23/09
We have the internet and the necessary photos, so the site should hopefully be up by the end of the week. I’ll let you know. Please check it out when I sent the link. Your input and criticism is much appreciated.

On Rural Charm and Difficult Living Conditions, Infidel things, and Progress

Injuries: So, we have had a rash of injuries at the NGO. I have escaped thus far, but Manu got a sore elbow from playing with the kids, Rohitash turned his ankle and has been hobbled for a couple weeks now, and, showing the dark side of India’s often chaotic operations, Gopal fell off his motorcycle and sustained significant, if not critical injuries. For the last part, Shyam and Gopal were hauling a motorcycle that needed to be fixed behind another motorcycle with a tow rope. Gopal was on the towed motorcycle. While they were going a rock hit him in the head and he lost his balance and fell off the bike. He got road rash on his knee and elbow, and due to the rocks on the road, sliced his palm open and had to get stitches. This is one area where the convenience of American automobiles for towing purposes, and our better maintained roads would have helped. Perhaps a good reminder that all is not fun and games with the challenges faced here.

Youth Work:
06/04/08
For our youth work we continue to play volleyball and have discussions, and starting from now on (yesterday, really), working on the computer will comprise about half of our session.
With regards to the volleyball, each day the boys are showing improvement and the games are getting more competitive and fierce. This is helped by the fact that we now actually have a net, so full volleyball can be played. Those who know me know that I am fiercely competitive, though I have managed to tame this instinct for the most part in adulthood. The youth volleyball games here challenge me to maintain this calmer composure. The youth have many strategies to get one another riled up, one of which seems to be purposely saying the score wrong, tilted towards one’s own team, to get the other team angry and distracted before the coming point. I have to admit that this kind of worked the first few times, but then I finally realized what they were doing. It is interesting to note however, how sports and competition seem to be quite universal, i.e. nothing seems to get people motivated to improve more than wanting to beat the other team. After we have built up a good number of youth groups we plan on holding cricket and volleyball tournaments, with village trophies and small prizes, to motivate the groups. To me this seems like quite a good idea, as it is equivalent to after school and summer programs in the US that keep the youth focused and disciplined and out of trouble. It already appears that in one of the villages we may need to split the group because a lot of people are showing up and packing the volleyball court and making logistics a bit difficult; but this is a good problem to have and we are very happy to see more kids coming out each day to join the group. It seems that word is getting out and people like the group, which is a really good thing.
As for the discussions, I usually don’t completely understand them because the dialect of Hindi is quite difficult for me (and my Hindi is less than stellar), but I get summaries from the workers and catch bits here and there. A couple of days ago I attempted to communicate why education is important to me, emphasizing the aspect of meeting people from all over the country and world, which opens one’s mind and changes one’s perspective to a more holistic, understanding one. Additionally, about a week or two ago, the boys asked me why I was in the Viratnagar block. I said to help the NGO, especially with computer work, and to see the formation of these youth water action groups (with an aim to do some sort of fundraising, whether of money, computers for the villages, or whatever). It is good to be able to communicate, and I hope that I can add a little bit to the program.
On the computer program, the program started in earnest yesterday. We got the laptop three days ago and did not have a chance to use it until yesterday. The laptop is a shiny, slick HP and the kids really seems to like it. I showed them how to type in English and Hindi and many of them took turns typing “My name is _____”. I also showed them how Excel could be used for rural business purposes, compiling a list of animals that could be sold, their price, and a theoretical quantity, then calculated the money received from each type of animal and the total, all with lightning speed. Today we are going to start the session with the computer, beginning with basics like how to turn it on, what programs and folders are, what programs are used to type and do math, and this type of stuff. We are then going to give each group member about 5 minutes to work on the computer, to become personally acquainted with it. Other people will be able to watch, as I’m sure as much exposure as possible is desirable. Here is where I wish I had a few more computers, so more people could work on them. So, I will repeat my earlier call: if you have any old computers you think you could donate, please contact me at derek.vigil@gmail.com . Even if you think the computer is slow and basically junk, I’m almost sure it could be used here, as all it is needed for is for Word, Excel, and other simple applications. Laptops would be especially welcome, as they are light and will be easy to ship to India. Also, if you know of any businesses or government agencies that are changing out computers, give them my contact information for a possible place to dispose of the old computers. We are starting basic here, with an emphasis on basic computer literacy. I hope this will stir the kids’ imaginations and they will learn how computers are used to create, modify, and share information. To the latter end, I hope to have a least an internet connection that the kids could use to access information about subjects they are interested in, especially related to the water issues of the area. We continue to negotiate the structure of the meetings amongst the NGO workers, the youth, and the youth’s parents. There seems to be a high demand for learning computers coming from the parents ( and the kids as well), so it looks like we will try to do half computers, half playing volleyball and discussion. We will see how this all progresses. I will certainly keep you updated.

06/09/09

The meetings keep on progressing, with the boys improving at volleyball each day, such that I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up in a couple of weeks. That is a good thing.
We have spoken with the boys about the meaning of the groups, comparing what we want them to become with what the SHGs have become for the women of the Viratnagar block: an organizing, unifying, and lobbying force for their ideas, problems, and rights. We want something similar to come out of these youth groups. I spoke with some boys yesterday by myself, i.e. no NGO workers around, and asked them what they thought of the program, and they said it was good. They also seemed to understand the end goal of the program being youth empowerment, so that is good. One step we are making towards the latter is kicking the older men out of the group. The older men really love to play volleyball and so have been showing up to the groups, often dominating the games and pushing some of the younger, less experienced members of the group out of the way. This is obviously not good for youth confidence and empowerment, so we are putting an end to it. Other than this , things are progressing well, with high energy both amongst the youth and the NGO workers for this new program. The youth show up and stay for 2-3 hours continuously, learning about the computer, playing volleyball, and participating, though timidly right now, in the discussions. The latter I’m sure will improve with time. The bottom line is that the program is showing lots of energy and promise, which is a good thing.
Another positive development is that the NGO workers have spoken with the women in the SHGs about how to attract girls into these youth group. We had the groups open to boys and girls alike, but so far no girls have showed up. The women thought that if we got another activity for the girls to do separately from the boys, e.g. badminton, that this would be a good thing. They are all for girl’s and women’s development, but the high physical contact in volleyball makes a mixed-gender game simply a no-no for Rajasthan’s conservative culture. It is perfectly fine if the girls sit with the boys for discussion and learning about the computers, but the physical contact is not okay. So, we are making moves to this end, purchasing some badminton equipment and perhaps some Frisbees. Note that this process has showed the NGO’s strength and dedication to women’s development and empowerment: the SHGs are a platform for women to voice their opinions on what should go on in the village, in this instance for the new youth water program. In this way girls will be included in the groups and will be empowered as well. Slowly, slowly SVS is changing the culture of the area, working on it in ways that are culturally sensitive, but in the end aim to change the culture to a more women-friendly one. It is exactly this type of development that has to occur, as no peoples blindly accept the dictates of an outsider. However, slowly, through these types of programs, change can occur, as evidenced by the empowerment of women that has resulted from the SHGs and their operations. Very happy with the program. I am also very heartened with the progressiveness of the NGO workers, as one of their daughters told me that she wanted to become an engineer and another of the daughters is the smartest/academically hardest working in the family, with this not being view negatively. Small stuff, but crucial. The NGO workers still let the women do a lot of the work, but they are definitely better than the large majority of men in the area. This is good, as change has to come from people who believe in change themselves. SVS’s workers do believe in this change.
So, on the computer in the youth groups we have had the kids type their names, village names, etc. in English, as well as do some math in Excel. We have also had them play some games related to water (and not). Through this they are learning how the computer works and what it is used for. Even simple things such as how to use the mouse on a laptop are a significant challenge. However, as all young people do, they are learning very fast, and I have no doubt that they will have a basic understanding of the computer soon if they are allowed to keep working on it. To this end, more computers would definitely be helpful, as we need to be able to leave some computers in the villages where groups are established while we establish new groups and bring the one laptop we currently have to the new groups. So, I will repeat my call. If you have any old laptops, no matter how junky, please consider donating them to SVS, as they would be of great use to the work here. Desktops would be good also, but are a little less desirable as they don’t have a battery, which is a considerable limitation in a village area in which electricity is intermittent, at best. Email me if you can help in this regard (derek.vigil@gmail.com)
Website:

06/04/09
I figure this is a good point to transition into talking about the website I am building. I am using Microsoft Publisher and it is steadily progressing. We now have a home page built, along with an About Us page with the NGO’s work history and philosophy of action, an incomplete Projects page, a Contact Us page, a staff page, and a Links page with links to my current blog, a future blog with updates about the field work, and, later, the websites of organizations that SVS has worked with in the past. We have the NGO’s logo, name, and tagline on all of the pages, so that is good. Still left to do is make a visual history of the NGO using the pictures they have, put up a list of the villages in which they have SHGs Still left to do is make a visual history of the NGO using the pictures they have, make a Volunteering page where people can contact the NGO about coming to India to offer their services and skills, put up a list of the villages in which they have SHGs, put up a map of the field area indicating the villages where work is going on/has been done and where the NGO workers are from, put up a Donations section where information about donating computers, money, etc. for our program will be put, and creating a page where the documents showing the NGO’s work (like the documents I posted on this blog) can be posted. So, lots of work going on, with lots of work to still be done. We are all very excited about this website, as we think it could be key to getting SVS the exposure it needs and deserves. From all I can observe, SVS has been doing excellent work for roughly 25 years, building a trust and rapport with the people that leads to friendly and productive relations. However, due to lack of computer literacy, they have had almost no way to get the word out about their work except by word of mouth, established connections to a few funding agencies, and further connections resulting from established connections. This is obviously not sufficient in the modern, tech-centered world. A website is a must to get full exposure to any agency/individual that might want to contribute to SVS’s work, either through donation of supplies and money, or through services and skills provided. I will tell you how this progresses as well. This telling should be facilitated by the fact that we are scheduled to get internet in the next couple of days, increasing our connectivity.

06/09/09
The website has progressed tremendously, as the NGO workers have given me input on what should be included about their backgrounds, the NGO’s past work, etc. I have become more inspired as I have learned of the NGOs past work and successes in bringing positive change and development to the people of the Viratnagar block. I will not delay by telling you about what I have learned, but instead will give you a preview of the information on the website. I am very excited about this website and am luckily being helped in the process by computer engineering/best buddy from college Piotr Buczak. He has procured the domain name, and is informing me about webhosting and other aspects of having a website. Always good to have those critical connections from life. Without further ado, here is some of the info:

Dairies
Prior to 1998, the people of the Viratnagar block had difficulty making a living from the milk from their livestock due to the lack of functioning dairies. There were small-scale buyers, but they skimmed off profit from the villagers’ product and did not give payment in a timely fashion.
To address this problem many discussions were held in the area, during which SVS suggested the idea of forming dairy centers at which milk could be collected and sold. At these discussions were SVS, the Gram Vikas Mandal (village development committee), people of the village, and representatives of the Jaipur dairy. The managing director of the Jaipur dairy informed the people of the abuses of the small-scale buyers, and volunteered to bring in dairy equipment and provide training for the establishment of several dairy centers in the Viratnagar block. The dairy did a survey of the number of cattle in the region and told the villages to pick secretaries for their dairies. Thus, the process of starting the dairies began.
Initially, 10 dairy centers came out of this process, in the villages of Dantli ki Dani, Kukrela, Mohan Gurjar ki Dani, Palari, Harikishanpura, Kalyanpura, Talwa, Jodhula, Swami ki Dani, and Ghevta. Additionally many more dairy centers and subcenters have since started, after the program was seen to be a great success. The dairy centers are now widespread in the Viratnagar block. The Jaipur dairy provides some fodder, medicine, and insurance for the cattle of the region. All of the operations are now computerized, with electronic calculation of the fat content, from which comes the price per volume. The villagers now receive timely payment - within 10 days - and proper economic benefit from their work, enhancing their wealth and opportunities, economic and otherwise.
SVS would like to emphasize that this work came out of cooperation between the people, governmental organizations, and business, all facilitated and started by the SVS. This type of organization and mobilization is SVS’s specialty, and is due to its belief in involving people at all level in the decision-making and problem-solving process. Additionally, all of the diary center presidents are women, further showing SVS’s belief in and commitment to women’s empowerment in all aspects of life.

SHGs
SVS has used the formation of microcredit groups, or self-help groups (SHGs), as a tool for economic empowerment, village organizing, and empowerment of women. The last of these is a special focus of SVS’s.
About 15 years ago, before the formation of the SHG’s, the people of the Viratnagar block were forced to take loans from predatory lenders in order to finance basic aspects of their lives: their fields and animals, medicines, weddings, and funerals. These lenders would keep the people enslaved to their debt due to the high interest on the loans, making economic and general advancement very difficult.
SVS stepped into this situation and implemented an innovative program: the formation of microcredit groups (SHGs), especially amongst women, with a model that emphasized the well-being of the entire community, even outside the group. In this model, groups are formed from no more than thirty women. The women give Rs 25-100 per month to their group’s central fund, and in turn take loans out to finance the basics of life listed above. On these loans interest is applied at a reasonable rate (24%), with the interest going to the group’s central fund. This central fund can be used for further loans and to make donations to people in need in the village for, e.g. school fees, medicines. This model promotes the well-being and advancement of both the members of the group and the larger community.
Additionally, an equally important, if not more important, effect of this work is the empowerment of women in the SHG’s. They get an increased prestige and role in the family due to this economic empowerment, which results in more influence in the decision-making process. Additionally, during the group meetings SVS field workers discuss with the women the issues of the area and what they think should be done about them. If an issue emerges that is clearly critical to the area, the groups are then organized and mobilized to take some sort action, such as going to the state capital and lobbying the government, or holding a rally on the issue at hand. In this way women are involved in all aspects of the village’s functioning and are empowered in the decision-making process. Through this work the patriarchal culture of the Viratnagar block is slowly changing, leading to more opportunities for the females of the area. In an area where the female literacy rate is just 39.1% (versus 63.1% for men), the empowerment of women must be one of the highest priorities of one’s work. This belief guides much of SVS’s work, especially in the SHGs.

WOTR Award

For the acute reader you may have noticed that when I mentioned the NGO WOTR's award, I put the following in parentheses:

Look up name and put it here

This was meant to be a note to myself so that I could correct it later. Obviously I forgot. Anne from Eagle was nice enough to provide the award and the link to WOTR's website:

http://www.wotr.org/

Kyoto World Water Grand Prize 2009

Incidentally, this is not an isolated incident. In fact, I have once in the past wrote an email that I was to send out to several people and put "Dear Blank" at the top for a filler. I forgot to erase this filler, with embarrassment ensuing. One day I may learn.

Of BreakFast, Celine Dion, Bird Battles, Dirt is not Dirty, Squatty Potties, and other things

Proper introduction to the people of the NGO (besides me: the itinerant international outreach person): there are 3 field workers who live in the area in which the NGO’s work is conducted – Rohitash Meena, Shyam Singh, and Gopal Singh. They live in villages that are within 30 km of the field office, which is pretty much the physical area that the NGO covers. The head of the NGO lives in Jaipur (the capital of Rajasthan – about 5 million people), but spends considerable time at the field office in Jawanpura (small village – 2000 people). His name is Manu Sharma. Technically, Manu is the Secretary, but he seems to make most of the important decisions. The NGO does have a president, vice-president, etc. that form a board for guiding its activities. All of the NGO workers have families. The NGO workers are in their mid to late-thirties, while Manu is about 55 (I think). This is a small local NGO. The local nature is critical, as I have already mentioned, though we are looking to increase the size.



Some of the NGO’s previous/ONGOING work:

Cheend-Bihajar: SVS coordinated the work done in Cheend-Bihajar to harvest water during the monsoon season in order to re-charge groundwater and make life in the area more sustainable and verdant. The engineering was done by a large and famous Indian NGO called WOTR – Watershed Organization Trust, which has recently won an international award (Look up name and put it here) for its watershed work. The funding was provided by a German funding agency, Andheri Hilfe Bonn. This project involved massive involvement by the villages’ people to dig trenches, build mounds of earth, build check dams and gully plugs, and all sorts of other things. The point of all of these things was to slow down the water coming off the hillsides (the location of the NGO’s work is a very hilly area: the Arawalis), so it could be absorbed by trenches, etc. and be used to re-charge groundwater for drinking and for agriculture/animal husbandry, which is a large source of money and employment for the area. Additionally, the slowing of the water also lessens the amount of soil erosion that occurs. I literally just talked with Shyam and he told me the benefits of this work are 4-fold: 1) Employment and money for families in the village (so they don’t have to migrate – prevents slums), 2) Increased groundwater, 3) Less soil erosion, and 4) More fodder for animals. Another indirect benefit is that the NGO can set up SHGs (self-help groups – SVS’s name for microcredit groups) in the areas where the watershed work is going on, then organize these groups into a large block, which can then meet as a unit and lobby the government for changes in policy with regards to water and other issues critical to the area. In terms of the direct benefits, Rohitash previously told me that the work definitely showed results in the last year. Shyam told me that, with water becoming more scarce, the villages of the area are clamoring for this watershed work. However, the funding has dried up (painful pun intended) from the German agency, and other sources need to be found. Another thing to add to the list.



Virat Manch: I mentioned organizing people above, which is a great specialty of the NGO. SVS was instrumental in the formation of a block-level group for the advocacy of women’s rights and issues in the Viratnagar block area, the Virat Manch (manch means platform). They still help coordinate its activities. In fact, I was here one and a half years ago when the NGO organized a group of 100-200 women to go to Rajasthan’s capital, to the building where the state coordinates with municipal governments (I think; the bottom line is that it is a big place of governance for the state). It was amazing to see the women, in their bright clothes and with their head covers, sitting in what very much looked like a big place of governance, with cascading rows of chairs around a central platform from which people speak. There the woman spoke, did traditional dances, etc. The chief justice of Rajasthan’s High Court spoke about the issues being addressed there. A very inspiring occasion, and one that I think exhibits the NGO’s strength and commitment to the empowerment of rural people, especially women. I will try to post pictures of this.



Drilling: Although this is not exactly the NGO’s work, I was watching in Rohitash village the drilling of a borewell, which, if it gave water, would be used for agriculture and for drinking if it was “sweet” not “bitter” (their words). It did give water, though we are not quite sure how much it will give. It is amazing, perhaps sad, the extent to which the people in these rural areas are dependent on a few successful wells, and a few government water tankers. If these wells go dry, there could be huge problems. Additionally, when they dig a bore well – which is a big investment (two years salary) – they are basically guessing where might be a good place. Along these lines, I have talked with Meg about establishing a link between her dad’s business, Delta Epsilon, which makes loggers for finding where water is, and SVS. I hope something can come of this, as both parties would benefit. The village gets some water crucial for life itself and Delta Epsilon gets some business and a chance to really help people. Everyone wins. We just need to find the proper channel/funding agency, e.g. UNICEF, etc.



NREGA: So, NREGA is the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, passed in 2005 and enacted in Rajasthan on April 1st, 2008. It is a landmark act passed to try to stanch the flow of people from the village areas to urban areas (in search of work), and, I think, to make life a little bit better for those in rural areas, who live in some pretty rough conditions without many amenities. SVS did a lot of work in preparation for the implementation of this act. They had discussions during their microcredit group meetings, talked with the local governing bodies, and in general informed people in the area about the details of the act, and what exactly the government’s responsibilities were. They told them that they need to get job cards, how to get job cards, how many job cards a family could get, what the pay rate was, who in government the villagers could go to if they had problems, and other such things. It is just this type of local organizing work that SVS specializes in, in turn giving the people the benefits and opportunities that they deserve. There are currently several visible NREGA projects in the area which I have seen, one of which is a pond to collect rainwater in order to recharge groundwater. So, slowly things are progressing for the people of this area, with the aid of the government and SVS, but mostly SVS. Indeed, the workers have told me that if there is a disaster in the area the government will often call SVS and tell them to handle it. Similarly with the implementation of NREGA.

PRESENT WORK

Youth work: So, the NGO’s work is starting in earnest with the youth. My impressions thus far are that this is going to be a very impactful and important project in the long-term. It is a radical break from the guru-student traditions that has been historically respected and followed in India, even in the universities. In this tradition the energy and abilities of the youth are largely underestimated, as they are supposed to just listen to and absorb the information from their older guru, without much questioning and independent input. This idea is very foreign to the modern critical mindset, and to the American focus on the power and strength of youth (who created Google, Facebook, Paypal, Youtube: young people, young people, young people; most of them recent graduates; who still powers them: young people, young people, young people; who does the majority of the in-the-lab/on-the-ground scientific/engineering work: young people, young people, young people; I definitely respect the power of experience and the wisdom that comes with age, but it must be balanced with an acknowledgment and harnessing of the powers of youth, i.e. new ideas, new thinking, high energy, high focus due to lack of children, etc.). So, there is much to be overcome in order to get the youth involved in the problem solving process, to get the village elders to listen to and integrate them. Hence, the importance of this project, which has the long-term goal of setting up groups in each village in the area for generating awareness and harnessing the power of youth in solving the water issues of the area (and, I imagine, other issues). These groups will help carry out awareness rallies and marches through the area, like the women’s micro-credit groups have, and in general be an active part of awareness generation. In addition, we want to look at getting some of the leaders that emerge out of these groups to go to school (I hope under the NGO’s funding) and come back to the village to work on critical issues, perhaps becoming workers for the NGO. Training in water management would obviously be good, as they could spread technical knowledge to the people and help them manage their lands. I think training in computers would be good as well, because, if computers can be spread into the village areas, then work/school can be done there remotely, without the need to leave the village. This is critical, as one of the biggest problems India faces is the flow of people from the villages to the cities, resulting in large slums filled with people in the village who are trying to scrape by and make a living. The need for local workers is critical, as knowledge of the local language and customs makes the workers more trustable to the village people and accelerates the acceptance of them and their work. The long-term prospects are indeed immense.
So, what is it that we have actually done and what is our concrete action plan for the near future. I will break this down day-by-day, because it seems that my understanding of this project and my role in it is changing daily as I talk more with the NGO workers and we come up with different ideas (and events tend to take their own path as it is).

05/26/09
We have started the youth program in two villages, Kukrela and Dantli ki Dani. These two villages have 1,000 and 400 people, respectively. We are in the early stages, so right now we are mainly trying to establish a friendship with all of the boys through discussions, and playing lots of games. The age range of the boys is 14 to 20. The goal I think is to get those boys who are just on the verge of entering adulthood and hence could be impactful in a relatively quick manner. Notice that I said boys. The head of the NGO, Manu-ji, wants to start girls’ groups as soon as possible, within the limitations of the culture in which the NGO is operating, i.e. a patriarchal culture that is suspicious of outsiders attempting to meet with and organize females in the area. Manu was thinking about trying to start the girls’ groups within a week. I don’t know how this will work, but I will update you as it goes.
So, we have been going into these villages daily (even Saturday and Sunday!) from about 5-7pm. We started by giving them the puzzle that I put in my second blog post (the one with connecting the 9 dots), and playing a village game involving knocking over a pile of stones using a ball. It was highly amusing, as Manu, as stately white-bearded man of 55 years age, was running away from a boy who was trying to throw the ball at him (as part of the game) and he ended up getting hit in the head and falling over! As you can imagine the youth got a kick out of this. They also thought it was funny when I played another village game with them. This game is kind of like “Duck, Duck, Goose”, except for with a more thrilling twist suited to 14-20 year old males. In this game every one sits in a circle while one person goes around with a wound-up cloth – kind of like a rope, but much lighter – and eventually drops it behind one person. The people sitting can’t look behind but can feel with their hands if they think the rope has been dropped behind them. If the person behind whom the rope was dropped realizes that it was dropped behind him before the other person has come back around the circle, then he picks up the rope and attempts to catch the rope-dropper and whack him with it. On the other hand, if the sitting person does not realize it and the rope-dropper gets back around to him, then the rope-dropper can pick up the rope and give the sitting person a good wallop, until the sitting person runs around the circle and gets back to his spot. Since the rope/cloth is light, no one gets hurt (unless he gets hit in the eye; this happens rarely), so it is more about the shock that the sitting person experiences once they realize they are being hit. The eyes widen rapidly, and they quickly jump up and run around the circle, to much laughter. If the youth enjoyed giving the old man a go, you can imagine that they really enjoyed giving the angrez - the whitey - a good go. It was all in good fun, but they definitely dropped the rope behind me about half the time (there was 20 other people, so this was definitely not a random probability thing), which left me quite gassed. It was wholly enjoyable, though I wasn’t sneaky enough to drop the rope behind someone without them knowing; mostly I just ran like heck and took a few licks, all to raucous laughing and cheers. I came out dirty as could be from semi-diving back into my seat on the dirt field in order to avoid another wallop, but it was fun and got the youth excited. I definitely think their interest in our group has grown as a result of this, so that is a good thing.
So, we don’t just spend all the time playing, but we also talk to them about relevant issues. One discussion we had was on the importance of education. We started by asking them the simple question, “Why study?” At first the boys were quiet, but they became more animated as the discussion progressed. The discussion ended up with the idea that getting an educated allows one to do “service”, in the broadest possible sense, i.e. government work, NGO work, work in a technology company, etc. Upcoming discussions will almost certainly include the topics of: the importance of youth in society and in building society, water issues in the area and what can be done about them, how computers work and what they are used for, and many more. The main point is to start engaging their minds in solving the problems of society. As youth, they are almost certainly more savvy with technology and will be able to more efficiently use it as a tool for problem-solving and addressing their villages’ problems, e.g. after learning how to use a computer, they should be able to use it to research solutions for the problem of water shortage. Through games, discussions, and treating them as equals –which they are unaccustomed to with elders, I think – we are and will be engaging them. For the computer work we have several games and flash movies on water, the water cycle, ground water, etc. Through these games and the necessity to their lives we will hook them on the water issue. I will let you know how all of this goes.

05/27/09
We attempted to play cricket yesterday, and not too many people showed up. I think it is because the cricket playing grounds are far from the heart of the village and the boys did not want to walk that far. The NGO boss is concerned that there is a lack of interest. Either way, it is not a big deal, as we are considering this a learning process, both for the youth groups and for us. We will try to figure out what works in this new vein of work and how we can most successfully implement this idea of harnessing the youth for problem solving, especially with regards to water. SVS wants to start two new youth groups next month and more each month, so we will learn as we go and I’m sure will have it down pretty well after some time. We also introduced the laptop yesterday, which the kids seemed interested in. I showed them a few games, but that was about it. Perhaps today some kids will get to give a few games a try on it. We will see. We will experiment with different things and see how everyone responds. Slowly we will start to tweak the activities towards higher level thinking and problem-solving, but we are still in the beginning phase. First friendship, then more thought. As I know, I’ll let you know.

05/29/09
We have just spent a few days playing volleyball and discussing with the kids about the meaning of the group and the importance of education. We also introduced the computer and played a few games on it.
In the village that I have been in, Kukrela, I would say that the last few days have been a spectacular success. We have had an excellent turnout (20 or more 14-20 years olds in a village of 1000), the boys have been very engaged in learning and playing volleyball, and have also participated, to an extent, in our discussion about education. I first taught the youth “bump, set, spike” and then we started to practice. I was a little disgruntled that they seem to ignore my advice and were just hitting the ball with the fists (either single our doubled-up), with the result being the ball going everywhere. However, as we started to play formal games they developed a hybrid style with fists, but they weren’t closed all the way so that the boys could hit the ball with their palms (there was still some raw fist hits though). Interestingly enough, when things got tight at the end they also started setting properly, perhaps seeing the necessity of control when things are close. At any rate, it was a lot of fun and I think the youth are getting use to the idea of the group, which is good.
We keep pushing this discussion on education, asking why education is important, why all of the top students come from the cities, etc. As far as I can tell we haven’t gotten too much out of the group members on this front, but it will probably take some time for them to get comfortable and open up. At least they are thinking about it for now.
The boys also seemed to enjoy the laptop. We played a few simple flash games, including “Let it Flow”. To clarify, most of the group members have worked very little on a computer, if at all, so its functioning is completely new to them. As such, things such as dexterity with the mouse are not developed. This made it a bit slow in going for them, but they were completely into connecting the pipes for “Let it Flow”. In fact, we had to break away from the group at the end of the meeting because many people were wanting to play but we only had one computer. This is supposed to remain a part of the program, learning about computers, so I’ll be interested to see how it progresses.
Finally, we had a very good discussion today about how to set up this new youth group-water program. First of all let me admit that I fell asleep half way through it. This has nothing to do with the content, but mainly with the fact that my brain tends to get a little tired after too much Hindi. As far as I know the vision, mission, and objective were discussed and defined. We also discussed simple mechanics and implementation strategy, i.e. how to change the workers’ schedules to accommodate this new evening work, how to enter new villages versus old villages (that is, villages where SVS is already doing work), etc. The vision statement is “To increase the youth’s conceptual understanding/thinking through the participatory process and to link-up the youth in the area, for the sake of natural resources and education.” So, that seems good to me. I’ll have to get the transcript of the rest as I fell asleep after this part. We also had a meeting yesterday in which we laid out the schedule for the program. We are going to take on two new field workers and the schedule will be as follows:



Old NGO workers
Old work: microcredit groups (SHGs), watershed program (1st 20 days of month)
New work: youth group water project (last 10 days of month)
New NGO workers
Training and youth group water project (all month)

So, the way it is going to work is that during the last ten days of each month (including this month, May 2009) the old NGO workers will start new youth group(s) in 1 or 2 new villages. The new NGO workers will then take over the group for the next thirty days, before turning the group over to the youth to run. The NGO will put in 40 days to launch each group and make sure that regularity and punctuality in the meetings is established, then meet with the groups once per month to monitor the group’s progress and to take feedback from the group. This feedback can be used for larger organizational strategies as this program progresses, i.e. lobbying the state government with respect to water issues. The old NGO workers will work on the NGO’s other work during the first twenty days of each month. See the coming concept note for details.

As Manu has said, it seems that through our discussion, this idea is becoming a real program. I am in the process of writing a short concept note that will be extended into a project proposal in due time. I will attempt to post this soon.





New thoughts and ideas: so, two big ideas have come up since I last wrote. One is that I will probably make a website on the NGO, so that their work can be seen by people, businesses, governments, etc. who might be interested in their work, in coming to help, in linking together, etc. The other is that the NGO chief has just linked the ban of plastic bags by the state government with the idea of trying to start up the making of bags from used, more environmentally friendly materials, e.g. newspapers. His enthusiasm seemed to grow when I mentioned that I had received just such a bag when I bought a wall hanging at Tilonia during my last stay in India. It was made from newspaper and had cloth handles. A very slick bag indeed; and it is a possible huge employment and monetary opportunity for the people in the village area, who could start up a cottage industry using basic materials that are readily available (newspaper, cloth, glue). I think these small, home-grown solutions are critical to development, as well as large-scale things like new energy sources, etc. People need to be able to get by and earn money in order to move up the ladder and gain more opportunities for themselves and their children (e.g. educational). These small, piecemeal solutions are critical in providing a method for improvement of one’s situation, while bigger solutions are being worked on elsewhere and EVENTUALLY will make a difference. These small solutions make a difference now and allow the future opportunity to be capitalized on. Additionally, small solutions spread over large populations equals big solutions and gains.
This is one reason why I really like working for/with SVS: I feel that all of the NGO workers are trying to think of solutions for the local problems, whether it is finding different sources for employment for the people, or providing sources for financing small-scale growth and business, or finding solutions for water shortage, or finding ways to improve livelihood, they are always trying different things to see what works for the area. I think I will be able to find funding for 3 more workers, which would double the NGO’s working capacity for its various projects. This is actually not much money either, as each field worker’s salary is only roughly $1000. The bang for the buck is potentially huge. In addition to this I want to find funding for them to do some work with the youth on computers and water, with a long-term goal of attracting tech and water savvy workers to work for the NGO/in the area and improve the standard of living and opportunities in the area (recall that the literacy rate is 12.5% and 54% for women and men, respectively, last time I checked). I will do what I can in this process, from typing proposals for them; to making a website where people can see SVS’s history of doing capacity-building, life-enriching activities in the region through photos, the people of the area’s words and activities, etc; to working with kids through games and computers; looking for linkages with businesses, charities, organizations in the US and abroad; and so forth. Mainly I will just try to learn about their work and do my best to relay the information. I know it is not my main work in the years to come (that would be physics), but it will remain a big part of my life and what I care about. For now, I am just inspired and grateful to have the opportunity to work here.