I have been back in the UK for 5 days now and it has been a bit of a struggle to readjust. I have suffered a bit from reverse culture shock and I am definitely seeing the world through a new pair of eyes.
The supporters visit to India has been an incredible experience. WaterAid is so much more than Taps and Toilets. It really makes a difference to people’s lives. Access to safe water and latrines is just the beginning. Being free from disease and the burden of collecting water enables children to go to school and adults to work themselves out of poverty. In some cases WaterAid really is the difference between life and death, but in so many other cases it is the difference between existing and really living. Just £15 can provide someone with safe water, sanitation and hygiene education for life. That’s just the price of a takeaway. You can make a difference!
Wednesday 14 March 2007
Monday 5 March 2007
05/03/2007 - "Cuttack Slums"
Today was one of the worst experiences of my life. This morning we travelled about half an hour north to the town of Cuttack where there are hundreds of slums across the city. I have never, in my twenty six years, seen such deprivation and absolute poverty as I witnessed today.
We met one man who literally lived under a mosquito net with a piece of polythene on top. I couldn't quite work out if his wife was still alive, but all his children had died because of fever. This man had had chronic diarrhoea and was obviously jaundiced. This was a man who was dying in front of me. I asked Sunil (one of the WaterAid India staff) what the life expectancy is in the slums and he said people are lucky to live to 40. If I lived here, I would be lucky to survive another 14 years.
Then we went to the river, which was across the road. There were human faeces everywhere, to the point where you had to watch where you stepped. The stench was unbearable. And to top it all off there were children swimming and fishing in water that looked like something we would see at Waste Water Inlet works. This was too much for me and I broke down and cried. I don't think the slum residents knew why we were so upset. They have lived this way for most of their lives, some as much as 40 years.
This was just one slum of millions across India and the rest of the world. It doesn't have to be like this and it shouldn't. Please do what you can because this isn't humanity - this was hell on earth.
We met one man who literally lived under a mosquito net with a piece of polythene on top. I couldn't quite work out if his wife was still alive, but all his children had died because of fever. This man had had chronic diarrhoea and was obviously jaundiced. This was a man who was dying in front of me. I asked Sunil (one of the WaterAid India staff) what the life expectancy is in the slums and he said people are lucky to live to 40. If I lived here, I would be lucky to survive another 14 years.
Then we went to the river, which was across the road. There were human faeces everywhere, to the point where you had to watch where you stepped. The stench was unbearable. And to top it all off there were children swimming and fishing in water that looked like something we would see at Waste Water Inlet works. This was too much for me and I broke down and cried. I don't think the slum residents knew why we were so upset. They have lived this way for most of their lives, some as much as 40 years.
This was just one slum of millions across India and the rest of the world. It doesn't have to be like this and it shouldn't. Please do what you can because this isn't humanity - this was hell on earth.
Sunday 4 March 2007
04/03/07 - HAPPY HOLI!
Today is Holi - a Hindu festival that has many meanings including being a celebration of finishing the harvest. It is the most colourful festival in India and basically consists of people throwing powder paint at each other. I have just about managed to get the paint off but I seem to have a pink moustache!!
02/03/2007 - "School Visits"
Today we visited 2 schools in Dhenkenal. It quickly became appraent how important hygiene education is at the school and the variety of mediums that are used to communicate the messages. There were songs, plays, games, chants. I guess if you make it fun for the kids, they'll want to particpate and are more likely to remember it.
The kids take these messages home to their parents and teach their parents what they have learnt such as; handwashing, washing veg, covering pots, keeping flies off food etc.
The school has 3 committees that are made up of the children. One each for water, sanitation and hygiene. The commitees meet weekly with the headmaster and the sanitation support workers and have responsibilities such as cleaning the water filter, filling the water tank and educating their peers.
These kids were so enthusiastic about what they had learnt. We really were seeing the next generation of India. A generation with a future. It had obviously meant so much to the children and teachers we were asked to commemorate the event by planting trees near the hand pump which had been installed by WaterAid. What an honour.
Access to clean water and toilets has obviously made such a difference to the school. Enrolment was up by one third and the number of girls attending school had significantly increased.
At the end of the day the kids sang us a song....
"Twinkle twinkle little star, WaterAid is superstar!"
Need I say any more?
The kids take these messages home to their parents and teach their parents what they have learnt such as; handwashing, washing veg, covering pots, keeping flies off food etc.
The school has 3 committees that are made up of the children. One each for water, sanitation and hygiene. The commitees meet weekly with the headmaster and the sanitation support workers and have responsibilities such as cleaning the water filter, filling the water tank and educating their peers.
These kids were so enthusiastic about what they had learnt. We really were seeing the next generation of India. A generation with a future. It had obviously meant so much to the children and teachers we were asked to commemorate the event by planting trees near the hand pump which had been installed by WaterAid. What an honour.
Access to clean water and toilets has obviously made such a difference to the school. Enrolment was up by one third and the number of girls attending school had significantly increased.
At the end of the day the kids sang us a song....
"Twinkle twinkle little star, WaterAid is superstar!"
Need I say any more?
01/03/2007 - Building latrines
Today we visited R.G. Patna, a village in the process of bulding latrines. We joined the family of Minalata Das who is having an offset latrine built in her garden. To start with the masons were reluctant to let us help but after a while we managed to convince them and got stuck in. Cement mixing is bloody hard work in thirty degree heat!! Finally we reached a turning point when the mason began to trust us and by the end of the day the tables had turned and he was our helper!
It was great to see the work in action. The money raised is used to provide loans to the villagers so they can afford to install a toilet and pay the money back in their own time.
The mood in this village was different again. It was somewhere in between the previous two. They were more upbeat than the Gaonpada but there wasn't the euphoria of Balipatna. At the end of the day the whole village gathered together and swore an oath to always use the toilets and not defecate in the open. I think this is a very powerful thing to do. I hope this is the start of a new beginning for them.
It was great to see the work in action. The money raised is used to provide loans to the villagers so they can afford to install a toilet and pay the money back in their own time.
The mood in this village was different again. It was somewhere in between the previous two. They were more upbeat than the Gaonpada but there wasn't the euphoria of Balipatna. At the end of the day the whole village gathered together and swore an oath to always use the toilets and not defecate in the open. I think this is a very powerful thing to do. I hope this is the start of a new beginning for them.
28/02/2007 - "An ODF village"
Balipatna is an open defecation free (ODF) village. We were greeted with an amazing welcome. Similar to yesterday but you could see a difference in the people. At Gaonpada, although the villagers semmed happy enough the morale was very flat. This village felt far more upbeat, vibrant and proud. A real community feeling. You could see the difference in people's faces. This is a village that is going somewhere.
I actually found today more upsetting than yesterday, because it really put the first day into context. The visit to gaonpada was my first impression of rural India, so I (wrongly) assumed that all the villages would be the same, just with access to water and toilets. I was so wrong! Today we saw how it could be - how it should be.
People had more money, the kids were in school, people were well dressed and there was a real sense of pride and community. The villagers were so proud to show us their toilets and they couldn't remember the last case of diarrhoea.
The difference was so marked. People had a concept of the future, the next generation and how life will improve for the next generation and that was just overwhelming. It shows that WaterAid really does make a difference to real people with real lives - just like me and you.
The pond that used to be used for drinking water
I actually found today more upsetting than yesterday, because it really put the first day into context. The visit to gaonpada was my first impression of rural India, so I (wrongly) assumed that all the villages would be the same, just with access to water and toilets. I was so wrong! Today we saw how it could be - how it should be.
People had more money, the kids were in school, people were well dressed and there was a real sense of pride and community. The villagers were so proud to show us their toilets and they couldn't remember the last case of diarrhoea.
The difference was so marked. People had a concept of the future, the next generation and how life will improve for the next generation and that was just overwhelming. It shows that WaterAid really does make a difference to real people with real lives - just like me and you.
The pond that used to be used for drinking water
The newly installed hand pump
The kids showing me how they wash their hands
But this is what I had seen in the first village I had visited only yesterday, and they will have been doing this today and tomorrow, and next week, and next month and right up until WaterAid starts working there. I cried on the way back to the hotel.
I hope the people of Gaonpada will be in a similar position in 2 years time.
Thursday 1 March 2007
27/02/2007 - "A day in the life"
27/02/2007
Todat we travelled to the village of Gaonpada in Puri district. We got out of the 4x4s next to a dirty irrigation canal. The water on the left of the bridge looked foul and stagnant and I later found out that the villagers defecate on this side of the bridge and use it to wash soiled nappies. In the water on the right hand side of the bridge were women and children washing, collecting water and brushing their teeth. The bridge acted as a divide between the two areas but the river ran under it.
Then we were hit with the welcome committee. There was singing, dancing and gifts of flowers. We were shown into a marquee followed by the whole village and then taken to meet the families.
I'd like to introduce you to Suraj. Suraj is 35 years old and has 4 children. She gets up at 4am to go to the river to defecate, wash and collect water before the men wake up. Then she cooks for the day and looks after her animals.
The children get up at 7am, although only the eldest girl goes to school. Muna has dropped out and Kuna is not interested in his studies. Only Sabi attends.
When there is work available Suraj works in the nearby fields as a labourer and earns approx 20 rupees a day (24 pence) to feed her family.
Suraj collects water three times a day for washing, cooking and drinking. There are hand pumps available but they are contaminated with fluoride and iron and so the women use the river or the pond. The thing that strikes me is that it is not access to water that is the problem here rather the quality of the water that is the issue.
I asked Suraj if the water makes her ill and she told me that Muna had recently had diarrhoea for more than one month. When I asked her if she had any hopes for the future the translator explained that she has no hopes for the future because she expects nothing. I guess that when life is that hard each day is a constant struggle for survival. I hope that when WaterAid starts work in April she will be able to see beyond the present day, and start living - not just existing.
Todat we travelled to the village of Gaonpada in Puri district. We got out of the 4x4s next to a dirty irrigation canal. The water on the left of the bridge looked foul and stagnant and I later found out that the villagers defecate on this side of the bridge and use it to wash soiled nappies. In the water on the right hand side of the bridge were women and children washing, collecting water and brushing their teeth. The bridge acted as a divide between the two areas but the river ran under it.
Then we were hit with the welcome committee. There was singing, dancing and gifts of flowers. We were shown into a marquee followed by the whole village and then taken to meet the families.
I'd like to introduce you to Suraj. Suraj is 35 years old and has 4 children. She gets up at 4am to go to the river to defecate, wash and collect water before the men wake up. Then she cooks for the day and looks after her animals.
The children get up at 7am, although only the eldest girl goes to school. Muna has dropped out and Kuna is not interested in his studies. Only Sabi attends.
When there is work available Suraj works in the nearby fields as a labourer and earns approx 20 rupees a day (24 pence) to feed her family.
Suraj collects water three times a day for washing, cooking and drinking. There are hand pumps available but they are contaminated with fluoride and iron and so the women use the river or the pond. The thing that strikes me is that it is not access to water that is the problem here rather the quality of the water that is the issue.
I asked Suraj if the water makes her ill and she told me that Muna had recently had diarrhoea for more than one month. When I asked her if she had any hopes for the future the translator explained that she has no hopes for the future because she expects nothing. I guess that when life is that hard each day is a constant struggle for survival. I hope that when WaterAid starts work in April she will be able to see beyond the present day, and start living - not just existing.
Monday 26 February 2007
Namaste!
Namaste!
We have arrived in Bhubaneswar after a brief overnight stop in Delhi and a very, very bumpy 2 hour flight. The first thing that strikes you about India (apart from the heat) is the cacophony of noise! Cars beeping, children playing, and even women singing.
We have been given the most amazing welcome by the WaterAid India staff, both in New Delhi and Bhubaneswar.
Tomorrow is the first visit to a village where WaterAid haven't yet started work. There is no safe water or sanitation and open defecation is the norm. I am a little apprehensive about what I may see. Hopefully I'll be able to write again tomorrow share my experiences with you.
Christina
We have arrived in Bhubaneswar after a brief overnight stop in Delhi and a very, very bumpy 2 hour flight. The first thing that strikes you about India (apart from the heat) is the cacophony of noise! Cars beeping, children playing, and even women singing.
We have been given the most amazing welcome by the WaterAid India staff, both in New Delhi and Bhubaneswar.
Tomorrow is the first visit to a village where WaterAid haven't yet started work. There is no safe water or sanitation and open defecation is the norm. I am a little apprehensive about what I may see. Hopefully I'll be able to write again tomorrow share my experiences with you.
Christina
Tuesday 20 February 2007
Hello
Hello and thanks for looking at my blog.
If you don't already know, I have been incredibly lucky to be nominated as Yorkshire Water's representative for the 2007 WaterAid supporters' visit to India. I hope (technology permitting) to use this blog to keep a diary of my experiences and my feelings while I am in India.
I am very excited to have this opportunity to really see how WaterAid works on the front line, and how the tremendous fund raising effort back here in the UK really makes a difference to people's lives.
I fly from Heathrow to New Delhi on Saturday 24th Feb and will be travelling to the region of Orissa and its capital Bhubaneswar next Monday where we will see WaterAid projects in various stages, from the villages and slums where there is no safe water supply or toilets; to the places where WaterAid have been able to make a difference to people's lives and well-being.... will write again soon - hopefully from sunnier climes!
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