DELHI 2012

We arrive again in Delhi, met by Momraj, one of Sam’s drivers, after a 14 hr flight from Newark. We recognize each other as we make eye contact across the vast line of other drivers holding signs for the river of arrivals.  Few words are exchanged as we greet each other and head to the garage, where the car awaits us.

Every encounter offers an opportunity to better understand India, one glimpse at a time. This presented itself even before our arrival during a conversation with an elderly Indian women, in the seat on the plane next to us, she returning to visit family during the Dawali holiday, from California.  We tell her we are traveling to India to launch a health center at a school for girls in rural Uttar Pradesh. The discussion leads to fundraising. She offers the insight that many Indians are reluctant to donate monies to charities because of the known corruption that pervades both government and non-governmental organizations there. The monies the Rothschild’s, we read in India Times during the same flight, who have been supporting an orphanage in India for years, discovered the management was pocketing most of the funds for personal use. The courts were of no help in recovering any of it, nor in punishing the thieves. Those of us supporting the school have all encountered this reluctance to giving and now we have some understanding.  This is by no means the rule, as the Pardada Pardadi school has many Indian donors, both individual, corporate and foundations. We can insure proper use of funds, as we will maintain control over all donations to the Health Center.

The next day, over lunch at a posh Asian restaurant in Delhi between meetings, Renuka Gupta, Pardada’s CEO, offered an additional explanation, as we brainstorm on how to accelerate donations and what markets to target. For many wealthy Indians, she explains, are newly wealthy, first generation, and therefore, assign a high personal value to their holdings.  Americans and other Westerns have enjoyed wealth for several generations, and therefore, its value is less important, relative to helping others in need.

Delhi, with its new cities of Gurgaon and Noida, is now the 2nd largest metropolitan  in the world. The population is forecasted to reach 28 million souls by 2025. We arrive at Sam’s apartment in the heart of Gurgaon with modern high rise office buildings, multi-storied mega malls and the newly built Metro, as far as the eye can make out, through the ever present haze of pollution and humidity.

The city seems cleaner this time, calmer than past visits.  Are we getting used to it, or is it really changing?  The tent city encircling the airport is gone.  No cows are to be found wandering the new expressway. The mountains of garbage are missing.  Yes, we noticed this change after the cleanup leading up to the Commonwealth Game in 2011, but now it appears to be entirely permanent.  Questions swell.  Where have the street dwellers gone? What about the cows?  We learn of a man in Gurgaon who started an organization that rescue cows and care for them at a pasture on the fringe of the city. 3000 cows and counting we hear.  Still, Delhi retains its Indian charm of honking horns, dust, chaos, beggar children and mothers.

Yes, we are here to change the world, one little girl at a time.  First stop on day one is at Renuka’s home to discuss the progress in hiring a nurse for the school and getting the health center established. Finding a nurse may present a challenge. We plan to offer a Delhi level salary of 25000 rupees ($5000) per year to attract a qualified nurse,  plus room and board.  This is 5 times more than the highest paid teacher at the school.  No takers so far.  Nurses are in very high demand and would much rather work in a modern new hospital with the latest equipment, in a dynamic city, rather than come to our poor, remote village in Nowhere Ville, UP.  The search continues and ideas emerge. Nursing schools are contacted.  Further posting are made, suggestions made. Perhaps we can find an intern, resident, older doctor of nurse who could be enticed to come out.  We still hope to have a nurse or doctor in place before we leave in November.

The new health center at the school we learn is nearing completion.  We are anxious to see it and equip it with the 150 lbs of medical supplies we have brought, along with a laptop computer, for managing medical records.

Before leaving for our next meeting, this with the President of the Pardada Board, we learn that Renuka’s 11 year old daughter, Prayga, has become somewhat of a civic activist.   A park behind their city home at one time had an entrance that has since been bricked in.  Now, to get into the park and its swings, Prayga and her friends must walk to a single entrance on the far side.  Inspired, likely by her father, Indu, Prayga has gathered signatures from friends, written numerous letters to government officials, and had a article written about her cause to make city parks more kid friendly in a major Delhi newspaper.  Indu is familiar with such undertakings, as he is a champion of the homeless across India, and has established 120 homeless shelters in Delhi alone.  After a year and a half of no action by the authorities, Prayga’s cause is reaching a crescendo, as she is threatened to knock out one brick in the wall each day, starting tomorrow, to create a passage into the park. We, along with the local press, are invited to see the first brick smashed tomorrow at 4pm. We gladly accept, delighted to see a young girl speak out in this country. .

We then meet with the head of Ernst & Young in Delhi, a huge supporter of Pardada, and President of the Board. He endorses both our health center and an opportunity to organize a medical relief mission to the school and community in June 2013, with the International Medical Relief organization, out of Loveland, Colorado. We hope to have 40 health practitioners from the US come to the school for a 6 day clinic. We are very excited about this prospect and are working hard to make it happen.

We then meet with the Stanford educated husband of another board member at his home.  His remarkable home is packed with India artifacts. They have a temple room, Navita Festival display and a huge roof top potted plant garden.  Ideas abound on the health center, hygiene project, finding a nurse, immunizations, school management and more. An invitation to the upcoming Women’s Self-help Group meeting on November 4th was extended.  1200 local women will come to the school to start a school sponsored women’s owned diary.  More on that later.

Final meeting of the day was with Sanjeev, a school board member and avid supporter, followed by dinner at the US Embassy.  Sanjeev quickly picked up our medical program cause and started calling doctors while we wove through the Delhi rush hour traffic.  He spoke with 2 doctors who were interested to set up a 2 day immunization camp at the school during our visit!  Plans are made to meet with them tomorrow.

A full first day on top of major jet lag! Ah, to life in India!

DAY TWO - DELHI

The festival of Navaratri, is this week supporting the common notion that India does always seem to have a festival going on.  And like most, this is about good triumphing over evil, complete with processions, eating and in this particular case, fireworks and burning effigies of the bad guy on the last day know as Dussehra.

For those interested:
Dussehra celebrates the Hindu god Rama's victory over the demon king, Ravana, and the triumph of good over evil. The epic Ramayana tells the mythical story of the Lord Rama who wins the lovely Sita for his wife, only to have her carried off by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka.

Ravana plays an important role in the Ramayana. Ravana had a sister known as Shoorpanakha. She fell in love with the brothers Rama and Lakshamana and wanted to marry one of them. Lakshamana refused to marry her and Rama could not as he was already married to Sita.

Shoorpanakha threatened to kill Sita, so that she could marry Rama. This angered Lakshamana who cut off Shoorpanakha's nose and ears. Ravana then kidnapped Sita to avenge his sister's injuries. Rama and Lakshamana later fought a battle to rescue Sita. The monkey god, Hanuman, and a huge army of monkeys helped them.

Following the ‘Smashing of the Wall” event we saw a local procession pass on Renuka and Indu’s street.  Locals provided food to people less fortunate, who came from nearby neighborhoods.  We were the only Westerners there…as is the usual case for us!

After this street party we went to Sanjeev’s neighborhood park to watch a spectacular display of fireworks and effigy burning of Ravana, his son and his brother.  Not only were the giant effigies burned, but they were packed with fireworks!


Wall Smashing:
4 o’clock arrives at Renuka’s house. Mary, Renuka, Prayga, Indu, Sam and myself are there. The reporter from the newspaper arrives. 11 year old Prayga starts looking a little nervous and fidgets in her chair.  She is expecting some friends to arrive but after some time it’s apparent no one is coming. Indu suggests she start, so we all walk to the park.  Here, at the meter high wall, topped with a wrought iron fence is an outline Prayga has drawn of the entrance that use to be there. Earlier, Indu offered her a hammer to strike it, but she protested and wanted something larger, more powerful. Now, she wields a sledge hammer worthy of any burly construction worker or demolition team on a house make-over show. She strikes the wall….again and again.    Afterwards, the reporter asks to talk to the association president, apparently to get another side of the story.  We learn several entrances were blocked off to the park after a child was kidnapped there.   Apparently there is some bad blood with the manager and he inappropriately admonishes Prayga. Indu encourages her not to cry as we now see that this is a real life lesson Indu is passing on to his daughter, to stand tall in the face of opposition.

Dinner at Sanjeev’s house.  Specific plans are laid to organize a 2 day immunization clinic at the school in the next 12 days.  Will it happen?….  We are hopeful and very thankful for Sanjeev’s enthusiastic support.

Notable social/cultural experience during our dinner - While Sanjeev is a very forward looking, well educated, successful business man, well traveled and a big supporter of Pardada’s mission to educate and empower girls, he like many Asian men retain customs that separate the role of men and women.  After arriving for dinner and enjoying drinks we meet Sanjeev and his servants, but not family until Mary asks about his wife and daughter..  Only then does he call them out from the kitchen for a short introduction.  They do not join our conversation, nor have dinner with us.

Tomorrow we leave for Anupshahr and the school.