Phir Milenge!

Sadly, my time at Maitri is coming to an end.  However, I couldn't leave India without learning how to wear a sari!  Anita was kind enough to show me how to wrap it, although I'm still not sure how I would walk without tripping.  It will definitely take some practice.

I'm so grateful for the things that I've learned, the people I've met, the experiences I've had, and the memories I'll carry with me forever.  Maitri has such a great team dedicated to making the world a better place.  But, I won't say goodbye because I expect to return to India to finish what I started and to see the wonderful places that are yet to be explored.  So, for now I will only say "Phir milenge!"

Golfournament 2012

Maitri's annual golf tournament (dubbed Golfournament) was held at Qutub Golf Course on December 1st.  It was a beautiful day, the golfers were in good spirits, there was plenty of delicious food, and we raised a lot of  funds for the ashram for the widows in Vrindavan.  I've played a few rounds of golf in my day, but never in December.  One of the benefits of living in India, I suppose.  I was impressed by the skill and also the generosity of the players and I could feel the commitment of the community as they came together to support a very worthy cause.  Another successful year!

Travels

We've have had the opportunity to do a lot of traveling while India.  It's one of the perks of interning with such a great organization!  The more that I experience India, the more I have come to love its culture, heritage, and its people.  Not to mention the colors, foods, and sights!  Here are a few highlights from our travels - and we're not done yet!

Vrindavan at night

Turban wrapping in Rajasthan

Jaipur

Varanasi - the Holy City of India

Getting ready for Diwali in Mumbai

A different view of the Taj Mahal

Amazing Rangoli in Mumbai

Beautiful Beaches of Goa

River Rafting in Rishikesh

And of course, good Old Delhi

View of Chowpatty Beach, Mumbai

They are the future . . . .

How could I not post something about the Children's Tutorial Centre?!  I think that most Maitri interns would agree that it is one of the highlights of the internship experience because the children are so wonderful, so eager to learn, and so much fun to teach.  My heart goes out to them and the challenges that they will face.  My experiences with these bright and beautiful children reinforces my belief that education is crucial for overcoming some of life's most difficult trials.  Maitri provides such a wonderful tutorial centre for these children and allows them to have an opportunity to overcome their situations by learning math, English, science, and the skills necessary to be healthy, independent, and participatory members in their worlds.  My greatest hope for these children is that they will continue with their education and realize their innate potential. However, I can honestly say that I have learned far more from them in the few short months that I have been here than they would have ever learned from me.  What an amazing opportunity it has been to interact with these children on a daily basis!

The Widows of Vrindavan

We finally took our turn visiting the ashram in Vrindavan and I was not disappointed. This is one of Maitri's signature projects and many of this year's fundraisers are dedicated to helping to build an ashram for the widows in Radha Kund.  We spent a day touring the facility and listening to around 20 widows share their life histories.  Those cute, frail little women were so welcoming, so kind, and so humble.  They have very few worldly possessions and many of them have faced terrible challenges in their lives.  Yet they were still happy!


The widows spend much of their day in devotion to Lord Krishna and they are each so grateful for the warm, dry place to sleep and to receive a nutritious meal each day.  We even toured the facility that prepares the meal for the widows and I was impressed with the cleanliness and efficiency of the facility.  We also brought soap and detergent with us to distribute to the widows and they hugged me and kissed me in appreciation for such a small gift.  How could you not love them!  The new ashram in Radha Kund will provide another 150 or so widows with the same kind of shelter that the widows in Vrindavan currently enjoy.  It will be such a blessing for them to get out off of the streets so that they will not have to beg to pay for shelter.  No woman should have to do such a thing at that age.  I thought of my own grandmother and how devastated I would be to find her in such conditions at a time of life when she should be surrounded by family and respected for her role and influence in our lives.  I'm glad that we had the opportunity to visit these women, to hear about their challenges, and to see how Maitri has helped them to finally have dignity in their old age.

Reaching Out To The Homeless

Today we had the opportunity to visit a few of the programs that Maitri provides for some of the more vulnerable populations in Delhi.  Multiple times a month, Maitri holds a health camp at various locations in the city for rickshaw pullers.  These men often find themselves in situations where their health is greatly compromised and they not only need health care (medicine), but they also need to be tested for HIV or other blood-borne diseases.  What a great service Maitri provides! It brings healthcare to these people right where they work and live so that they can get the care they need right away.

We also visited several homeless shelters and met with some very grateful residents of the shelters.  Although there is still much to be done to improve the process for getting government assistance to these people, Maitri is making a lot of progress and really helping people that just need a little help to get them back on their feet and, once again, able to provide for their families.  I was really impressed with the dedication of the staff and program managers at each of these sites.  They are obviously passionate about what they do and willing to sacrifice a great deal to help others.

It is obvious that it is a great undertaking to address the homeless problem in Delhi, but I’m glad to see that there is some help available to these people. If only we could do more….

Health Camp at temporary homeless shelter

The bus in the background is a mobile health unit where HIV/Aids testing is done at remote locations.  The clients find out before they leave if they have HIV.

This is one of the shelters that Maitri has recently been assigned to manage.

This woman was at one of the health camps.  She was standing by the tree, watching the crowd.  I asked if I could take her picture and she was a little shy, but agreed.  One of the other women helped her pose and I think she liked the outcome.  I did too.

Diwali Mela

My time in India, working for Maitri, has been peppered with fantastic opportunities, including the chance to blend work with play. The month of October marked the celebration of Diwali or the 'Festival of Lights.' I knew there was a holiday coming up and was so flattered when on the Friday before the Mela everyone in the office, including us interns was presented with a gift. Each of us girls was given a sari and the most decadent treats! 

The gifts were presented on Friday as we would be working the week of the holiday at the Diwali Mela fair. I wanted to wear my sari but don't have a sari skirt. Wanting to try it on anyway, Laxmi, our housekeeper helped me put mine on.

'Sassy Social Worker'!

At Maitri's booth we sold, Diwali decorations, candle holders, scented oils and pickled vegetables, made in the, Maitri kitchen (Winnie ma'am is a fantastic chef!) The decorations are very similar to Christmas decor in color and luxury but instead of pine trees and Santa Claus- elephants and peacocks!

Check out these Maitri cuties! Anita and Shikha.

Our booth was dedicated to the Widows of Vrindavan as their continued care in Maitri's ashrams' is a top priority.

 It takes Rs. 6000 to feed one widow for 1 month and the money earned at Diwali was specifically allocated to their care and nutrition. The package of services consists of a daily nutritious mid-day meal which includes rice, chappatis, dal and vegetable with additional nutritional supplements such as calcium, iron and folic acid, health care support, visit by a social worker to ensure their safety and well being, and advocacy with stakeholders to ensure that the women get their entitlements as senior citizens of this country.

I am humbled by the work Maitri does with the widows and couldn't be more grateful for my time here. Please check out the following Maitri video to understand a little more about one of the populations we serve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=654szfpzHME