Sexual and Reproduction Workshop - Guwahati, Assam- January 28, 2011

Hi Everyone!

I have so much to tell all of you! These last couple of weeks have been extremely busy for me.  I’ve been working on a Sexual and Reproductive Workshop for young adult girls and NGO’s.  The workshop was held in Guwahati, Assam  (a state located in the northeast of India).  Karuna (head of the trafficking department at HRLN), Sukti and I created and implemented the 2 day workshop with the help of HRLN Guwahati Chapter.  It took Karuna and I 50 hours on a train to get from Delhi to Assam.  It usually wouldn’t take that long, but the train kept on stopping, and in the beginning there was an 8 hour delay.  Needless to say, it was a loooong journey to Assam, but it was well worth it. :)

Waiting for the train to come.

40 hours later. . .  STILL on the train. :/

The word "Sexual" was not allowed on the banner.

The first day of the workshop was for young adult girls between the ages of 18-22 years old. There over 90 participants!!! The purpose of the workshop was to teach the  girls in the state of Assam about their rights. Specifically, sexual rights, reproductive rights, trafficking, and STI’s (including HIV/AIDS).  Day 1 was held on a local college campus in Guwahati.  Although the workshop was about sexual and reproductive rights, we were not allowed to put “Sexual” on the banner because it included the word “Sex”. That topic is still not socially acceptable to talk about in India: especially for young adult girls.  Needless to say,  in creating and implementing this workshop, Karuna, Sukti and I were doing something brand new. We were the first to have a workshop of this nature in Guwahati.  We may have ruffled some feathers, but letting young adult girls know that they have sexual and reproductive rights is very important. They have the right to know about different diseases; they have the right to know that they have a right to health care; and they have the right to know there are governmental schemes that make sure they get help if and when they get pregnant: they need to know.  The situation is Assam is devastating.  Assam's maternal mortality rate (which means the amount of women that die during childbirth) is double that of India's.  Why are these women dying? Well most are below poverty line, or have an infectious disease, no money to pay the hospital, no transportation to the hospital, etc. etc. All these factors contribute to hospitals turning these women away. 

Quick side note to give you a glance of how some below poverty line women are treated by these hospitals (and they reluctantly accept this treatment because they do not know their rights).  Okay, so,  HRLN Delhi worked on a case regarding maternal mortality.  In this case there were 2 women that were below poverty line.  The first woman was shuffled from 4 different hospitals with a dead fetus for over five days until she finally received medical treatment: the hospital wouldn't treat her because of her status.  During her next pregnancy, she suffered her 3^rd miscarriage and delivered a 7 month premature baby girl and died immediately after delivery.  The second woman in the case was a  young homeless who delivered under a tree in full public view in Delhi after repeatedly being denied treatment from public hospital. In this 2010 ground-breaking judgment, the Delhi High Court recognized maternal mortality as a human rights violation, and the right to reproductive health as a core component under Article 21's Right to Life in the Indian Constitution!  This is why we had this Day 1 workshop.  Young girls need to know that they do not have to keep quite and silent just because society expects that from them: they have rights!

Okay, back to the workshop --> I led the session on sexuality and reproduction, and STI’s, Sukti led the sexual and reproductive rights session and Karuna led the trafficking session.  It surprised me how much the young adult girls did not know about their sexual and reproductive right prior to us teaching them.  Prior to the first session in the workshop, the girls were given a 10 question questionnaire asking them, for example, to name 3 different sexually transmitted diseases, the definition of sex trafficking, whether or not child marriage is illegal, etc.  The purpose of this questionnaire was for Karuna, Sukti and I to assess what the girls knew prior to the different sessions.  We handed out the same questionnaire at the end of the day, and I was amazed that most of the girls were now able to answer every question correctly!

The girls were really paying attention! lol

Teaching my session.

Still teaching my session. . . the girls were really into it, and so was I!

Another pic of me teaching the session.

Sukti teaching her session.

Karuna teaching her session.

 During my session regarding Sexually Transmitted Infections (in the States we call it STD's), after the lecture I had the girls create posters in groups regarding what I just taught them.  Some topics included: prevention of STI's, symptoms of STI's etc.  This was a fun activity for me to assess whether or not they understood what I was saying.  I liked the poster-making process because the girls seemed as though they were enjoying creating the posters, AND they were being very creative.

A group creating their poster.

This poster said: "Prevention is better than cure." - They made that up on their own! :)

Close-Up of above poster- they drew me in the corner, it says "Asia Di" which means "Sister Asia".

Overall, the Day 1 workshop was a success. There was an amazing turn-out and the girls learned a lot while having tons of fun. 

HRLN Guwahati Chapter gave me a gift for helping to organize Day 1 of the workshop. So sweet.

Over 90 participants!!!

Doing the introduction for Day 2.

The purpose of the second day of the workshop was to Build partnerships with local NGOs engaged in reproductive, sexual, anti-trafficking, and HIV/AIDs advocacy efforts with adolescents.  The workshop focused on an information exchange between local NGOs as to ground conditions on sexual, reproductive health, and trafficking issues in the Northeastern States, and legal awareness of a rights-based approach to addressing sexual and reproductive rights violations.

Day 2 did not contain any actvitios because the participants were mainly NGO’s that were well-versed in the law already.  The purpose of the session was to learn from the different NGO’s on what is happening in Assam regarding violations of reproductive and trafficking rights.  The information will then be used to file different petitions in the courts. 

Sukti leading her Day 2 session.

Karuna leading her Day 2 Session.

Other than working on the Sexual and Reproductive Rights workshop, I must say that the weather here is still AMAZING. 

Beautiful Weather in Assam!

 So now I am about to leave Assam and hop on a train back to Delhi. I really hope that the train ride isn't 50 hours again! :/ We'll see though.

Until next time, peace and love.

It's time for a change. - January 16, 2011

Hello Readers!

I am happy to report that the weather is absolutely lovely here in Delhi. I cannot believe that winter is pretty much over: it only lasted a month! In talking about the end of winter, I am extremely excited about the warmth: no more pea coat for me [until I get back to the states that is]. To celebrate the end of winter, and to celebrate the harvest, there is an Indian celebration called Lohri.  [<-Let’s see how many times I can use celebrate in one sentence? Lol]

Lohri is a Hindu festival and celebration in many parts of Northern India.  Usually people celebrate Lohri by making a bonfire with family and friends.  At the bonfire, people sing songs, eat food, and genuinely have a good time.  During the middle of the workday, the whole office went outside and set up a bon fire in celebration of Lohri. Afterwards, we all went inside to eat snacks of peanuts and popcorn.  It was fun.

On an unrelated note, for all of my readers that were concerned about Chloe, as a quick update, she is doing a lot better.  She came back to work last week and is in good spirits. Prayer works!

Last week was an extremely busy week for work.   I definitely had to multi-task while doing my assignments.  On Thursday, Sister Delphy and I went to visit 2 women’s shelters for a fact-finding investigation.  Throughout the week I visited a total of 4 shelters to find out information regarding an HRLN case.  Thursday stood out as interesting because I had to ride the metro in order to get to the women’s shelters.  The metro in India is very similar to the MARTA in Atlanta, or the T in Boston.  It travels from one side of Delhi to the other. I actually wish I would of found out about the metro sooner because traveling on the metro is a lot cheaper than getting an auto rickshaw.  The funny thing about the metro is that there are a lot of signs everywhere about fines for doing certain things.  For example, there was a sign that said:  “Spitting is a Rs 200 Fine!” [Which is equivalent to $4.42]  <- I thought that was funny. 

The metro contained separate cars for men and women. The women sit in the front of the train and the men sit in the back.  The men’s section is definitely more crowded than the women section. The funny thing is, women are allowed to sit in the men’s cars, but the men are not allowed to sit in the cars designated for only women.

This past Saturday Chloe, Chesapi and I went to yet another protest for the release of Binayek Sen.  [Read my earlier blogs for the details of why he was put in jail.] It was a very peaceful protest that lasted from 2-7pm.  There were artisits that sang songs and read poems, it was great.

"Artists for solidarity."

One group singing songs.

During the protest I met Dr. Binayak Sen’s brother.  In addition, , Chloe, Chesapi, I went to dinner with his brother (and others as well): I thought that was kind of cool. We had dinner at a place called the “The Press Club of India”.  In order to eat at The Press Club of India you  must have a membership,  or accompany someone with a membership, and further membership is obtained if you are a part of the press. Luckily, Chloe, Chesapi and I went with members of the Press Club that work at the HRLN office.  

Chloe, Chesapi, and I with Dipankar Sen (Dr. Sen's brother).

 

 On yet another unrelated note, Andi and Mark went to the state of Sikkim for work and won’t be back for a month or so.  For their, ‘going away party’, Andi cooked us dinner. It was delicious.

Anusha and I ready to eat.

Final product-spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce!

Chef Andi.

Last week I decided to do a video blog and unfortunately I could not post pictures, :/ I’m not sure why, but here are the pictures from my blog last week. Enjoy. :)

I tattooed my whole hand! . . .

Just kidding, it's henna :).

 

Anusha (intern from America) and I at Jayshree's b-day party.

Andi, Anusha and I at Jayshree's house.

Picture is blurry, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAYSHREE!

During the upcoming weeks I am taking 2 trips with work.  I am really excited about the trips. For the first trip I am traveling to the state of Assam for a reproductive rights workshop. I’ve been working these last few weeks on the adolescent sector of the workshop.  I enjoyed planning the adolescent day because I could finally use my Teach for America skills.  I planned different activities, games, lectures, etc. all for the purpose of teaching the adolescent girls of Assam about their sexual and reproductive rights. Specifically, the fact there are laws protecting their right to health care no matter what their socioeconomic status may be.

After Assam I am traveling to the state of Goa for a conference regarding Special Economic Zones. You should definitely stay tuned for my next blog update for all the details and pictures about these two trips.  

On a random note, on my way to work one day I decided to take pictures. 

Action shot on a Rickshaw.

Little stores like this one are common in Delhi.

People buy their vegetables from farmers that sell them on the street.

Until next time, Peace and Love! :)

Hard at work. - January 10, 2011

 

Until next time, peace and love. <3

Happy New Year! - January 2, 2011

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

This past week of co-op was kind of slow.  A lot of the employees on my floor took this past week off so my office was very empty. Although it was empty I still had a lot of work to do.  Work that I can honestly say, I love doing. <3

The first day at work I went to an intense protest. Myself, along with 300 others, were protesting against the unlawful imprisonment of Dr. Binayak Sen (who was recently given a life sentence for charges of sedition). There was no evidence against him: he was a doctor for the poor. From attending the protest I not only made the local news, but my picture was also featured in the "India Times" Sunday newspaper. Kinda cool.

I was in the newspaper!

A larger version of the newspaper article.

From going to this protest I realized how blessed I am to live in America.  We, as Americans, take simple things for granted: like freedom of speech. I know we all have our opinions on whether American’s really have a “freedom of speech”, and that’s neither here nor there: I’m just making the point that Dr. Binayak Sen gets life in prison for apparently saying what’s on his mind, for expressing his own opinions, and it’s unfair. I could go on about this forever, I just would ask that if you live in a society where there is freedom of speech and expression; where you're not afraid  of  getting life in prison for speaking what’s on your mind, just be greatcoat.

On a much lighter note, this week I went to an Indian wedding! An Indian wedding usually lasts between 3-7 days.  This wedding lasted 6 days. I unfortunately was only able to attend 4 out of the 6 events. My landlady invited me to the wedding because her nephew was getting married.  Although the bride is from America, the wedding was a “typical Indian wedding” (as my landlady would say). 

Headed to one of the pre-wedding dinners.

The first 3 days  of the wedding celebration were dinners.  The first dinner I attended was at the grooms' mother's house.  There were a ton of people there from both families. After the dinner everyone danced a lot! One of  my new favorite genres of music is Bollywood music! Good times.  The 4^th day there was an outdoor cocktail.  The 5^th day there was a henna party and another dinner. And finally the 6^th day was the wedding! I had  A LOT of fun at the wedding, but it also was very tiring. Most of the events happened at night so after I got off of work I would go home, change, and go straight to the event. Busy, busy, busy.

The actual wedding day was the most fun.  First, the groom’s family went over the groom’s mother’s house. After some religious ceremonies, everyone went outside to the huge white horse, and the band that was awaiting the groom. This was the start of the parade! We walked from the groom’s house to a temple, just dancing and singing the whole time.  After the ceremony, we traveled to the reception.  There was no dancing at the reception, but the food was GREAT!

My landlady's grand-niece/ my new little friend.

At the grooms' mother's house for the pre-wedding celebration. - My landlady's niece- Her Sari's were beautiful!

The groom on his white horse.

The bride and groom during the wedding ceremony.

My landlady and I at the reception.

She kept bring me flowers the whole night. She was so sweet.

Some of the brides' friends, which became my new friends. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Now let's talk about New Years.  Usually for New Years Eve I go to church with my family, and then we go out to eat at the International House of Pancakes (IHOP).  Last year I went downtown with my friend Natalie and we saw the peach drop.  [If you are not from Georgia: in downtown Atlanta every year there is a giant peach that drops in the middle of downtown to signify the start of a New Year.  There are always a ton of people in downtown Atlanta, and it's a huge celebration.]

A night walk for homelessness.

New Years this year was a lot different than how I would spend it back home.  First, I went with other employees of HRLN to a "Walk for Homelessness".   The purpose of this night walk was to reclaim the city spaces for homeless people.  The organization that put the walk on refers to homeless people as “city-makers”.  The reasoning behind this term is that the homeless of India are primarily the people responsible for building and a maintaining (in a sense) the city: they are construction workers, rickshaw drivers, etc.  Sad to say, but the government is allowing the city-makers to be swept out of the spaces that they occupy (Whether it be a side walk, the street, or a slum).  The authorities kick the city-makers off the street, but don’t provide shelters for them to go to.  The walk was to raise awareness that the city-makers should be treated better: they are the ones building the city.  At the very least, shelters should be provided for them. 

A picture at one of the few homeless shelters in Delhi.

A picture at one of the few homeless shelters.

The walk started at 8pm and was approximately 8 kilometers long (which is approximately 5 miles).  There were about 80-100 people that attended the walk.  Sad to say, even though it was a peaceful walk, police officers tried to break up the walk 3 different times (on the third time they were successful).  Although the walk was broken up at the 8^th kilometer, I do think that we were successful in raising awareness that city-makers have rights just like every other Indian citizen.

Mark, Andi and I before the walk.

Walking on the streets of Delhi.

The police trying to break up the walk.

After the walk, Mark, Andi and I met up with Anant and one of his friends at a coffee shop to count down for New Years. I was shocked at the amount of new year decorations that were around the city. Because of the fact that there were really no Christmas decorations anywhere around the city during Christmas time, I just assumed that no one would decorate for New Years either: boy was I wrong! 

The decorations in the city!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Andi, Mark, Anant, Anant's friend and I at the coffee shop for New Years!

 

 Until next time, peace and love. <3