July 24, 2013
Today we visited a rural school in the State of Tamil Nadu where Madurai is a major city. We careened down the roads for an hour and a half to the village and my bus photos leave a lot to be desired The villages along the way were primarily huts or small homes interspersed in and among palm and banana plantations. The temperature in the last two days has been in the mid-nineties and though this is a lush region, it should be more so. They are experiencing a serious drought and river beds are dry. The living was basic, very basic. Men shower in communal open showers. It looked like women and children had similar showers a bit more enclosed. Sometimes it is days between public water availability. Families must fill containers when the water is available.
The school visit was wonderful, but I am not going to kid you, it was tough. Most of the children come barefoot and they are so small and thin. I immediately started to tear up when I saw them. The smiles and joy for living were still there and they were so proud to share their work with us. If or as India continues to grow their economy and put efforts into their education system positive changes will come. It may be in the next generation. They had a restroom I guess, but little girls would come out and go into the brush in small groups and then squat and go potty. The bathrooms are often locked or so unclean the children will not use them. The student's exercise books have activities about water and environment and in them and later in the day we learned they studied human rights too. It will take time.....the children were so proud and hopeful. Teenage girls stop coming to school because they do not have privacy or a clean restroom.
This was a school that is experimental. It is run half by an NGO(non-profit) and half by the government. The mission is teaching virtue and active learning. Some classrooms had seventy students in them and mixed age groups. http://www.gdrc.org/ICBM/as sea.html
At lunch also experienced "brain food" which is from ancient practices. We were at a Gandhi center. We enjoyed the demonstration and the food, particularly since most of us haven't eaten fresh vegetables since we arrived. Knock on wood, no repercussions yet. (Dr. Harishankar, CESCI)
After lunch four of us went to a speaker who runs an NGO for human Rights called People's Watch (Mr. Vasu, Vallabhai Road). That was a sad presentation and it dealt with the virtual voicelessness of so many in this society and infanticide, human bondage, rape, caning, torture, discrimination of untouchables, corruption of police and political leaders, desire by government to cover up the level of human rights violation and child labor in order to keep up positive relations with countries like ours. We would like to have more data, and know a bit more about the organization, but we know the human rights issues are immense. The positive was the human rights information and work books that are going to the children and teachers. We did feel glum after the presentation, but in a way we appreciated. We don't want a glossy experience. We are seeking truth.
Tomorrow we are starting at 6:00 a.m. And finishing at 9:00 p.m. with no breaks. Intense. I will blog the next day. Thanks by the way for following me. Yesterday I saw that I have had 2000 visits to my blog. That is humbling and a bit embarrassing as the time I take putting it together is brief. I hope you feel a bit like you are in India. It's an amazing journey, but I'd never recommend it unless you are on a very good program or tour. A lot of support is needed for safety. There are just things we as Americans don't know bout the undercurrents in this society. In Madurai we have had someone with us from the USIEF at all times. They won't let us take cabs or rickshaws or go anywhere on our own. We enjoy our experiences every day, and that is because we are so well supported.
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