I am back in London. My mobile number is +44 7547 295 183
During 2010/11 I went on a creative and charitable journey across India for a year, including Kerala, the central plains, the great north way and the mountains near Tibet. I did a little book-writing, worked on a film script, had some spiritual and meditative experiences, and worked for several charities.
Charities
Here are some of the charities / non governmental organisations (NGOs) that I visited or worked with during my India journey:
Doorstep School http://www.doorstepschool.org
Basic literacy for children of construction workersPune, Maharashtra: In January 2011, I met Rajani Paranjape and Jayashree Joglekar, founder and CEO of Doorstep School, and spent a few weeks working with the this well-run organisation that operates 90 make-shift schools on building sites across Pune.
Doorstep school teaches basic literacy to the children of construction workers, providing children who spend all day on the building site with a daytime environment filled with culture, caring and attention. Says Rajani "Education, and a love for education, will have a cross-generational impact. When a parent is literate they will always make sure their children go to school".
The army of teaching staff face some of the most unusual conditions in teaching. Children bring their baby siblings to school as they look after them during the day. In one hot tin classroom, I saw a teacher rocking a baby on a hammock by pulling the string and putting another baby to sleep on her knee while teaching reading to a group of ten children sat around her.
Mountain Cleaners http://www.mountaincleaners.org/
Mobilisation and education for cleaner mountainsDharamshala, Himachal Pradesh: Jodie Underhill is a girl of spirit and resolve. In May, I met Jodie at McLeod Ganj (upper Dharamshala) to learn about the work of the amazing little charity she founded here. Shocked that there was so much litter and waste in a place of such incredible natural beauty, Jodie recruited groups of volunteers to clean mountain paths and educate forest officials, locals, and children.
Today Mountain Cleaners regularly operates clean-up hikes along major trails including the Triund trail, builds publicity for the cause with endorsement from well-known names, and gets school children excited about sorting and recycling waste.
While her heart is in this work, Jodie can only stay for six months at a time due to her foreign passport. Says Jodie "One day, India will recognise my work and want me to stay here". Looking at the passion she puts into this amazing work, it is clear that India could do with more Jodies.
Catalysts for Social Action (CSA) http://csa.org.in/
Improving outcomes for children in adoptionPune, Maharashtra: In January, I met Bharati Dasgupta and Lucy Matthews of CSA in Pune, and saw some of the projects they support. CSA works to ensure that orphans are brought up in healthy, nutritious, safe and caring environments, thus increasing their chances for adoption.
While demand for adoption is high in urban areas, children in rural adoiption homes often go un-noticed. CSA invests in rural adoption homes to improve nutrition, healthcare, sanitation, facilities and quality of care. Then, they introduce children selectively to qualified parents in the city.
Bharati is a dedicated founder and I noticed that Lucy works very closely with her projects, visiting them frequently and ensuring that real changes are taking place on the ground. CSA's work to transform rural adoption centres into model homes is truly inspiring.
Krapavis http://www.krapavis.netne.net/
Conserving and restoring sacred forestsAlwar, Rajasthan: In March, and again in July, I worked with Aman Singh Sisodia and his wife Pratibha to restore the health and biodiversity of traditional 'orans', or comminity forests, in the villages of the remote Arawali hills.
Aman, Pratibha and their small core of staff work with a passion to to explain to villagers the importance of healthy forests and biodiversity for the ecosystem and for sustainable livelihoods. They set-up and monitor forest conservation groups to control logging, manage land use, build 'johads' to retain precious water, and ensure diversity of trees and plants.
I return with delicious memories of this beautiful place - sleeping under the stars amid mountains and the green expanse of the forests; precarious boulder-strewn mud roads; walking for hours amid stunning scenery to reach isolated villages of red mud houses; interacting with micro-finance groups that have brought women out of their shells and turned them into proud managers of their community.
Sevana Bhavan http://www.sevanacharity.com/
A home-spun orphanage for boysKochi, Kerala: In February, and again in August, I visited a small home-spun orhanage run by Dr. Joseph Sabu. He is supported in his work by his wife, parents and no staff. The home is small and unassuming, the facilities basic and cramped, yet here I found a community of happy and well-loved boys who were busy studying for their exams and raised in an enviroment of care and discipline.
Dr. Sabu originally trained as a priest, but they sent him home because he was an only child and the ecclesiastical college said it was his duty to look after his parents instead of ministering to others. Now, he combines both desires by running this home with his parents and providing shelter to destitute boys. The home survives on what little funds they have, but there are grand plans to develop a bigger facility on some new land. While they lack funds, the boys and Dr. Sabu are building their own new accomodation by hand - laying bricks, mixing cement, building their future.
One of my memorable moments here was spending the afternoon laying bricks for the new home, playing football barefoot with the boys and then sitting under a tree to hear some of their moving life-stories.
Lok Biradari Prakalp http://lokbiradariprakalp.org/
Education, healthcare and animal welfare in the tribal junglesHemalkasa, Maharashtra: In April, I stayed with Prakash Amté and his family at their tribal healthcare and animal welfare centre deep in the jungles at the border between Maharashtra and Chattisgad.
In the early seventies, Prakash and his wife Mandakini roamed around this area sleeping under the stars and moving from village to village. Their mission was to provide basic healthcare to the hunter gatherer tribes who live in the jungles. Shocked that the tribals killed all manner of wild animals for food, Prakash began looking after orphaned baby animals eventually hand-raising deer, hyena, monkeys, civet cats, crocodile, bear and leopards. Today, Prakash still plays with the leopards and bears who see him as mother. The centre he established has become a charity hospital and a school for tribal children.
At Hemalkasa, I spent memorable time with patients, went hunting for frogs and snakes (catching a lethally poisonous banded crait), witnessed a python eating a live rabbit, went searching for crocodiles and celebrated Easter at a missionary outpost with tribal drumming and mutton curry.
Nature Protection Council
Protecting elephant corridorsParambikulam, Kerala: In August, I met the energetic N Sasindrababu,ecotourism asistant in the lush inland mountains of Kerala. Together with a couple of friends, Sasi has mounted a vigorous campaign to restore traditional elephant corridors across the Western Ghats.
"Elephants have been walking traditional migration routes for hundreds of years. But, when these corridors are encroached and blocked by farming and settlements the scene is set for man-animal conflict", says Sasi. Using their own money and with the help of a lawyer, the friends have fought 27 cases against corrupt politicians and the land mafia in Kerala's courts, winning back key pieces of land as protected forest.
Most memorable at Parambikulam was an afternoon spent on the verandah of a jungle hut with Sasi explaining the life of elephants, the gestation of tigers, the plight of the Nilgiri Tahr and why wild boar are critical to the health of the forest.
i-India http://www.i-indiaonline.com/
Support and education for street childrenJaipur, Rajasthan: In March, I met Charu Goswami, son of founder Prabhakar Goswami, at his home in Jaipur. I also visited several of i-India's projects in the city.
Tens of thousands of children run away from home or from difficult situations across India every year. They often travel for free across India's vast rail network, ending up on the streets of any city in the country. i-India does many things to help them, operating a helpline, working with police to identify and take care of street children, and running schools and food runs for children on the street.
During my time here I saw an i-India orphanage, interacted with several volunteers, spent time at a school for children from the snake-charmer community and visited 'Ladli', a daycare support centre where girls learn life-skills.
Barefoot College http://www.barefootcollege.org/
Skills and training for the rural illiterateTilonia, Rajasthan: In March, I spent memorable weeks on the hand-built campus of Barefoot College in rural Rajasthan. Here Bunker and Aruna Roy have set up a centre that teaches engineering and life-skills to people that have never been to school and cannot read or write.
The rural uneducated posess incredible practical skills that should be fully utilised. Barefoot is inspired by the philosophy that villages should harness intermediate technologies which local people can understand, install and maintain by themselves without expensive intervention from professionals. The campus has flourished and now teaches handpump repair, tractor and vehicle maintenance, solar electrification, toy-making, recycling and puppetry, among other things.
At Barefoot College, I relished the tremendous freedom of being in a rural hinterland yet in a place so civilised, spending languid summer days interacting with the amazing people who teach and learn here.
Freedom Firm: http://www.freedom.firm.in/
Rescue, restoration and justice for minors trapped in prostitutionNagpur, Maharashtra: In October, I met with Evan Henck and spoke with Rodney Green of Freedom Firm, a charity that identifies and rescues minors trapped in prostitution.
With a strong legal focus, Freedom Firm works with government, police and social services to carry out raids, rescue and rehabilitate girls and to pursue cases through the courts until brothel owners are succesfully convicted.
When I met the charity, they had identified a number of minors in operating in the area and were about to conduct raids with the help of the Nagpur police.
Girls Observation Home
Care and welfare for girls in difficult circumstancesPune, Maharashtra: In February, I met Mrs. Dhende and vsiited her CSA supported government observation home for girls. The home houses and educates young girls in conflict with the law, abandoned by their parents, committed by police or found operating as minors in a red-light area.
My time here was heart-warming and moving. The home houses a volatile mix of girl with difficult backgrounds, many who are not allowed to leave the premises by law. Such a place might be full of troubled souls ringed by iron fisted discipline, but instead I found an open community where girls re-enforced their own cleanliness and discipline, where issues and problems were openly discussed with the staff and the air was sweet with kindness and care.
One enduring moment came while watching their preparations for an upcoming festival. The girls entreated us to stay for just one more dance and one more dance, until we were completely absorbed in the energy and spirit of the moment.
Takshashila Bahuuddeshiya Shikshan Sanstha
Rural adoption agencyWardha, Maharashtra: In April, I met B R Gawande at orphanage and adoption agency in rural Maharashtra. Mr. Gawande faces his considerable daily challenges with a joyful countenance, running this agency on a limited budget in an area where children born out of wedlock, as well as unwanted girls, are often abandoned.
CSA has supported this orphanage in building a new light and airy room, sanitary facilities, water purification and better record keeping - helping to increase the chances that children get adopted.
While I was here, staff were helping to look after a young village girl who became pregnant out of wedlock, ensuring that her child is born with adequate nutrition and care. When the baby is a few weeks old it will be donated to the orphanage and the girl will return to her village with neighbours being none the wiser. .
Vimlashram http://www.navindesai.org/about/
Support for the rights of sex workers and their childrenNagpur, Maharastra: In September, I met the remarkable Rambhau Ingole, who built a union to fight for the rights of sex workers in Nagpur's ancient red-light district. Subject to the vagaries of profit-gouging pimps, abusive customers and corrupt policement, sex workers often end up being used in every way for the profit of others.
Rambhau's union won respect and trust when they supported sex workers during a difficult time of battles betwen the local community and brothel owners. While pimps fled the area when locals attacked the workers, the union was the one that stood by them - fishing them out of jail, caring for them in hospital and housing them in homes.
Rambhau was instrumental in reducing the power of pimps, preventing minors from working in the trade, and giving women the independence they sought. Now his reign as union boss is over, Rambhau looks after 38 children of sex workers, providing food, education and a family environment.
Journey End
