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.
My best buffalo friend again. This year. The previous one was from 1.5 years ago.
The white sun in the morning. Has anyone ever seen anything like this? I haven't. It's also not very bright and you can look right at it. Strange.
Cows hanging out in the village center in Jawanpura, knowing that no one will ask them to move.
Volleyball. I'm all about the spike baby. Look at me prowl (I probably wiffed the block...).
Typical Rajasthan picture. Lots of buffalos, heads down, eating like there's no tomorrow.
