Just another ordinary day

This morning, I woke up not feeling well at all. My throat is sore and I just feel icky.

Nevertheless, we left for the train station and managed to us use the commuter train (the "women's express") to get to work. It was packed but we found that people are very helpful and willing to tell you how the system works. There is a certain rotation system so that the people getting on and off can get through.

At work, we found out that we were not going to the producer today afterall, but instead got to meet a social worker that has started working with The MarketPlace the past 6 months. She explained that mental health still has a negative connotation in India. Basically, anybody who needs counceling must be "a true psychopath", as she put it. She has spent the past few months teaching the women affiliated with the MarketPlace about their rights as individuals, how to cope with stress, parenting skills and so many other aspects that are such a crucial part of empowerment. She explained that the biggest problem in the colonies is domestic and substance abuse. She provides both individual session on psycho therapy and groups sessions to teach the women to reach out and be a support for each other.

In the colony, they live so close to each other, but they keep a distance based on distrust, different religion and basically never been taught to create a network of support. I have seen in India in general, because there are soooo many people, there is no privacy. There are always scores of people right there, looking and listening to what you are doing. In the beginning, it was for us Westerners overwhelming because we are so used to outward distance. In our culture, you wait in line, give each other space, and would NEVER on your own start telling how to complete your ATM transaction, especially when nothing was going wrong anyway. But in India, 10 people are constantly in your business, so you have to create an internal bubble, so to speak. Because of this attitude, the women have never considered using each other as a network for support and they are now learning to do so. They hear in group sessions for the first time that the woman two "houses" down has the exact same problems as you and how she deals with it. Great work!!

We also visited another producer group and I still marvel at the concept of the slums in general. We walked through a maze of 1 yard wide paths that hosts hundreds of 8x8 rooms, rooms that are all a family has. The lucky ones have a sheet hanging in the doorway, providing them some privacy, others are not so fortunate and have to share their entire lives in public view. Every time I am in the colony, I am so grateful for the life we enjoy.

Unfortunately I felt too yucky to finish the day and went back to the apartment early. After a nap, my head decided to join the party, but I sure hope by tomorrow morning I am feeling better.

Just another day in India.