Do good things and talk about it!

It is probably almost everyone's desire to find work where he/she is able to leave own footprints. But how should they look like? What does the impact look like that you want to make?

Working for Maitri offers two distinct ways of working for social causes:
1) Directly with victims, the very poor or underserved communities
2) Improving processes to make projects even more effective

The latter aspect should not be underestimated. Each project and programme needs people being able to oversee everything which is being conducted in the field and it's their responsibility to have the big picture in mind all the time and align the activities accordingly.
By transferring some of things I've learned so far about programme and project management into Maitri's organization, I get the feeling of helping other people on a high scale.

Having the chance to teach some of the students of our programme Maitrigram was an incredible experience. Here you get to see the real impact of all the work that is being done in the field AND in the head quarter. I really like and appreciate the mix of exploring both sides of working for a NGO!

As a refresher, some of us went on a trip to Mussoorie for a few days. In the mountains of the Himalaya, a charity run took place where four of us represented Maitri. 

The October, being the month of our domestic violence campaign, ended on Monday with an incredibly powerful play in the heart of one of largest malls in Delhi. A couple of hundred people could witness the intense demonstration of how prevelant domestic violence still is in this country and what we can do about it.

These events and all the work that is done, has to be spread around the world to multiply all the effect that is already been made!

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Kenneth Alexander Grodotzki, 28
Self-employed / Freelancer from Germany

First steps into the real world

Coming from a country and a profession allowing me to live a decent life with no limitations, I've been carrying around the feeling of having to step into the world characterized by real problems for many years now. Maitri made this possible.
For two weeks now, I've been working voluntarily in Delhi and from the beginning I knew that this was the right step to take.

It is great to see and to work with people being dedicated to a good cause (or many of them). Beside the office-based work which currently focuses on developing consistent approaches to setting up programs and projects and to measure their success, I was already able to visit two of the current projects.
First, I co-interviewed two of the girls being benefitiaries of the Maitrigram programme dedicated to female teenagers and young women who have finished the basic education but still struggling to find a decent job. It was great to see which great success stories can be created "only" by learning English more properly.
Second, the last week finished with a visit of both sites where the Jeevan project is being executed. Two self-built houses where abandoned, destitute and elderly widows find shelter and everything else they need for the everyday life set the frame for tremendously improving the lives of in total around 100 women who would have no other place to go otherwise.

When I told people back in Germany, especially colleagues or other people I've been working with, what I'm about to do, I got a clear proof of what I supposed: "Wow, that is really impressive! While working for this bank (or any other profit-oriented organisation) is quite satisfying, it doesn't fulfill me entirely since there is a huge lack of meaning in it. But it is so hard to really step out of it for a while and work for a good cause. You just get too stuck and don't dare to break out of your comfort zone and daily routine..." was probably the response I've heard the most. However, many employers actually offer the possibility to take some time off in order to spend it for different causes. I therefore propose that each one of us should start and continue encouraging people around us to think about what the real problems are and that slightly delayed flights, a scratch on the expensive car or a missed deal at the favourite store are things people living in the slums would be happy to consider their issues...
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Kenneth Alexander Grodotzki, 28
Self-employed / Freelancer from Germany

Lessons to Last a Lifetime

Ten weeks ago I was sitting on the floor of my bedroom playing Tetris with everything that needed to be stuffed into my suitcase for India, worrying about the bugs, the beggars, the dirt, the danger. I would never have imagined that today I would be returning to the United States with more clarity on the strength of my inner power. Never did I think I would be able to haggle for a better price on a scarf, never did I think I would be able to stand my ground when change was miscounted, never did I think I could endure the sweltering heat of New Delhi in the summer. But not only did I learn about my personal strength, being in India this summer interning for Maitri, I’ve gained a better understanding of my career goals as well. 

I wanted to work for a nonprofit humanitarian organization that served the needs of survivors of domestic and sexual violence. I hoped to one day establish my own such agency that not only served physical and legal needs but also mental health through esteem-building workshops. To better understand the needs of women, I needed to understand their plight and therefore understand their lives, understand their position in society, in their homes. Thus came about my project to better understand the perspectives of married men towards sexual violence and their opinions of marriage. I learned a lot about men's perceptions of a woman's role in the family. Maitri has helped me get one step closer to my goal of becoming a resource for women in need and understanding what it takes to address sensitive issues like domestic and sexual violence. 

Not only that, I am most grateful to Maitri for giving me perspective on the inner workings of a nonprofit organization, the central crux being a passion for your work. I’ve met some of the strongest women at Maitri; women who live to challenge the ingrained beliefs of patriarchy, women who have a piercing voice against the notion that a woman should be silent. But what I’ve found to be most touching at Maitri is that it is truly a family. Whether it is eating lunch together or catching the newest Bollywood movie in theaters, Maitri is held together by a thread of love and support. And I feel honored to be able to say that I too am connected by this thread, forever connected to some of the greatest people who are working everyday to provide all with identity, dignity, and respect.   

Rebecca Miah
MPH Candidate 2016
Hubert Department of Global Health
Rollins School of Public Health | Emory University
rebecca.miah@emory.edu

Airtel Delhi Half Marathon – Run with Maitri, Run for Kids, Run for Education!

Delhi’s poorest children often fall through the cracks in a competitive education system that expects students to study and learn beyond school hours. But families living in poverty can’t afford after-school programmes like tutoring and tuitions. Poor children face pressure to excel in school, while experiencing chronic financial stress at home. Some children may even miss school to help sustain their families. As a result of these issues, low-income children sometimes fall behind in academics and struggle to catch up as the school year progresses.

The income gap perpetuates lower educational achievement and lower earning potential for poor youth.  But Maitri believes these youth have the potential to excel.

Project Maitrigram seeks to end this cycle of poverty by filling the educational gap. Project Maitrigram provides underserved children and young women with no-cost after-school programmes, supplemental instruction, English classes and vocational courses that help India’s most vulnerable youth achieve their highest potential.

In order to sustain these critical educational programmes and launch new initiatives, (like a children’s library and reading resource centre), Maitri relies on supporters who share our vision.

Do you believe that education is an essential right? Help Maitri make this right a reality for underserved children in Delhi!

On November 29^th 2015, Maitri is taking part in the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. Maitri is seeking passionate individual and corporate sponsors to run in support of Project Maitrigram! Corporations can improve their visibility and brand image by participating in Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives like ADHM, which give back to communities in need.

Please contact anjali.thakur@maitri.org.in or call  011-24122692  for more information on how your company can run alongside Maitri for the cause of children’s education! Join the Maitri team and start training for the half marathon today!

 If you don’t wish to participate in the marathon run, please visit Maitri’s ADHM fundraising page to donate directly to the cause.

Thank you!

Sona Jani, MPH Candidate 

Summer 2015 Intern
Health Behavior and Health Education 

An Experience for the Books

When I begin to look back at these past three months, I have changed and learned so much. I remember the night before moving to India I was lying in bed debating whether or not I made a good decision to move to India. I now feel like this country is my second home and Maitri is my second family. From my very first day at the office I was welcomed with open hands and warm hearts. I have made lifelong friends with individuals that I would have never met if I had decided against coming.

I was given the opportunity to help conduct research at Aashirwad, a senior home, as a representative for Maitri twice a week. Through this experience I met many influential people that I would have never come across. I also met other students that are my same age that were the facilitators for the research study. I never planned on seeing myself in a senior home in New Delhi, India, but the experience was absolutely worth it.

I was also able to help teach at Maitri’s project, Maitrigram, where I helped with teaching English to under served women and children. I am so glad that I was able to help with something that will better the lives of these individuals. All the students were so dedicated, even coming to class during the heat of the day in summer and paying close attention to the lessons prepared. I helped teach the conversational English class. These students surprised me with their knowledge and ability to read, write, and speak English very well. This project site seemed to amaze me every day that I was present due to the commitment and intelligence of these individuals.

The workers and volunteers at Maitri are making a difference daily to many lives, and I would really like to thank them for the experience I have had while in India. I have seen these individuals stay late tutoring students one on one who needed help with a particular subject to workers volunteering their own personal time on their day off to help promote the NGO and raise awareness about a particular project site.

Maitri has help prepare me for my life ahead. I have learned how to do many different types of office work and field work. This will help me why I prepare to enter the University of Utah’s College of Social Work in the spring of 2016. It will also help me when I graduate and enter the social work field and begin my career. I have also learned life lessons while being in India and as a part of Maitri. I have learned things here in India that I truly do not believe I could have found anywhere else in the world. This country has shaped me into what I believe is a better person. Though there were days that I wanted to be back in Utah, but I would definitely never take back this experience I have had over the past three months.

I would personally like to thank Maitri for all the things they are doing for the Indian people and the world. I would also like to thank them for letting me be a part of their family and supporting me in the work I was able to help with while I was here. I am going to miss this organization and all the friends I made.

 

Brok Dixon

University of Utah

Help End Open Defecation in Ranchi, India

According to the United Nations, 47% of India openly defecates on a daily basis.

Maitri would like to help stop open defecation by constructing forty toilet facilities in ten different areas in Jharkand, India. This would help by providing clean facilities to the rickshaw pullers of Maitri’s Ranchi project. On a larger scale this will improve sanitation for rickshaw pullers while also promoting hygienic public health practices to India as a nation.

The importance of this project for India and the world:

• Globally about 600 million people openly defecate, making this a very large public health concern

• India has more than twice the number of people who openly defecate than the next 18 countries combined together

• India accounts for 90 percent of the people in South Asia who practice open defecation

• India also accounts for 59 percent of the population in the entire world who openly defecate

 

Most rickshaw pullers are migrant workers from rural villages who have come to try to generate income for their families. With open defecation, every individual’s health is at jeopardy as they are exposed to hazardous wastes and disease prone environments. This marginalized population is in dire need of relief as they suffer each day from poor working and living conditions. With something as simple as a toilet, these individuals’ lives would be changed drastically and possibly even saved.

Project Ranchi would provide and create solutions to this major public health issue in Jharkand. By working to reduce the rate of open defecation, the lives and hygiene of many migrant workers will significantly improve. Maitri will construct functional latrine units, provide access to clean water and regularly maintain facilities free of cost to rickshaw pullers who are already struggling daily.

Maitri could greatly use your help in ending open defecation. Beginning at 6:30pm and lasting only twenty-four hours, Global Giving will be matching all donations at thirty percent. If you are able to, please visit our Global Giving page to find out more about this initiative and to donate.

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/build-40-toilets-for-migrant-workers-in-india/

Thank you for your donations or consideration. Have a wonderful day! 

Sincerely,

Maitri India

Brok Dixon

University of Utah, USA

 

Dignified Widows

Visiting Project Jeevan’s site was an unexpected experience. I had been working at Maitri for a month prior to the visit and all I had known about the widows were that they were victims of their culture and society. I knew that they were untouchables that had been abandoned, abused, and forgotten. So when I finally met them I had certain expectations about the sadness and heartbreak they were experiencing. What I actually found were grateful and spiritual women who had found a community they called home. They greeted me with a special call they make to honor guests. Vrindavan, being the holiest city to Lord Krishna of the Hindu religion, is where these women spend their lives in his worship. Each day they play instruments and chant mantras while they dance for their spirituality. On my visit a particularly lively widow invited me to dance with her in front of the group. Watching the widows dance and sing exemplified the identity, dignity, and respect that Maitri seeks to restore to its beneficiaries. The backgrounds of these women did not stop them from dancing and Maitri gave them a place to do so.

Please visit Maitri’s Indiegogo platform for elderly widows’. This initiative benefits one of India’s most destitute and marginalized populations who is greatly in need of relief. Prior to Maitri’s efforts these women had no alternative to their suffering, abandonment, stigmatization, and poverty. Currently the old age homes and nutritional support offered provide a better quality of life to those in need. 

Indiegogo Platform

-Lauren Holman

Photo taken by Brok Dixon