Delhi Belly

I am back in Delhi! And unfortunately have a slight case of the Delhi Belly. Not very fun but so far manageable =)

The week I spent in Chandigarh was wonderful. We rotated through various NGOs that worked with SWACH (Society for Women and Children Foundation). It was a week full of new experiences and a tremendous amount of learning.

The Indian country side was a much needed relief from Delhi, although I had only been here a few days. The chaos and insanity here can be quite taxing. Delhi is unlike any other city to which I've been. I am constantly struck by the obvious severe poverty juxtaposed to extreme wealth. The city is under perpetual construction, is extremely smoggy, dusty, and crowded. There are no side walks and people just make do with dirt paths along the side of main roads. Traffic is insane-no regulation and no one follows the rules, lanes are merely a suggestion and honking is excessive, and pedestrians walk risking death. At the train station, there is human feces all along the tracks and the entire place smells of stale urine. Many homeless people live there, I suspect because it is the only available source of free water (Delhi has a water shortage, esp at this time of year). It is not unusual to see people bathing from faucets at the stations. Even stranger and far more disturbing are the people on the out skirts of the city and in the slums who squat and defecate in the open, along train tracks, in ditches, or directly into the open sewers. Poverty makes people do desperate things.

Slums on outskirts of city

Chandigarh, however, was a much more comfortable place. The poor still live out there but their numbers are fewer and they are less desperate. Working with SWACH was an exciting and unbelievable experience. Everyone there took measures to make sure our experience was both educational and enjoyable. Upon our arrival, we were given a very warm, traditional Indian welcome. We were dotted with bindis, given some sweets, had flower petals tossed into our hair, and were given a garland of marigolds.

Emily, the Brit, receiving her bindi Post-welcome and obviously very happy.

During the week, we met with NGOs that worked towards improving maternal and child health. What separates SWACH from other NGOs with which I am familiar is that it is a group started by locals benefit locals. Much of their success comes from utilizing peer group educators to complete grass root level education. The organization is tremendously sensitive to the low literacy rate and has generated many ingenious education materials targeting the illiterate population. So far, their work has increased the rates of condom use among gay homosexual males and female sex workers, maintained the level of HIV infection at a steady rate, increased adolescent awareness of health, and decreased infant mortality. What I found most surprising in Indian culture is that there is little discussion about health in the villages. Most teenaged girls don't know what a normal menses is, what might constitute an infection, and how to use proper sanitation during menses. Also, the adults had many misconceptions about HIV spread, proper birthing practices, and STI infections. For instance, traditional midwives used to use cow dung to wash their hands before delivering the baby and would place a piece of cow dung on the umbilical cord (the cow is considered sacred in India and its dung pure). SWACH provided education to the midwives, gave them kits with soap, sterile string (to tie the cord), and sterile scissors (to cut the cord). In many of the villages we visited, the midwives only used clean delivery technique. And many women now are preferring delivering in a medical facility due to SWACH's efforts. The work of SWACH is terribly important and they are making slow but steady progress.
The village health sub-center. It is served by one ancillary nurse midwife who takes care of 5,000 to 10,000 people. This is all that is available in terms of healthcare at a local level.

Meeting a village leader.

Session with female sex workers. All these women are also mothers, wives, and have second jobs as factory workers, laborers, etc. All of them hide their profession from their families and started in prostitution out of monetary necessity. Most use their earnings to buy food for the family, pay for medical expenses or household expenses.

Interesting side note: Foreigners are somewhat of an unusual finding in the lesser populated areas. People love taking photos with us, which they refer to as "snaps." While sight-seeing, we are often asked to pose for pictures with families. Here I am pictured in a "snap" with some Indian teenagers. They asked to hold hands with me in the picture. Awkward turtle!!!! Trish and Emily, the Brit, found this hilarious. Obviously, I did not.

The guest house in which we stayed while at Chandigarh. My host family, who were very welcoming and friendly, are waving from the balcony.

There is much too much to write about! I will attempt again another day!