Understanding where this is going...

It has been a crazy week bouncing back into Bombay- It feels good to know my way around and have a network of friends in this city. I've been traveling around the city to each college and community HMS works with and it is amazing to see how our program has panned out. As I mentioned in the last post I couldn't help but feel out of place working in a country that is not my own on issues in poverty stricken areas. After seeing the effects of the work our team has put in- it is an empowering feeling to be a part of this program.
The importance of Haath Mein Sehat is for one, that we reach out to communities to we have worked with to spread the message of water storage and hygienic practices. The combination of these can potentially lead to a better quality of life, better access to an education, and less days of work missed due to preventable illnesses. The second important outcome of this project is that it empowers all the members who participate in the program. After talking to some of the college volunteers, it has been very inspirational to hear their feedback about participating with this program. Many of them are deeply involved with community service and youth development. Hearing what they've learned through this process and what they plan to do in the future to motivate more people on these issues.
So... I regained my understanding for way I need to be a part of such organizations.. to be a part of the whole system and to help outreach messages to others and the importance of youth development. I've learned more from this program than any class I've taken in the past and know that I will continue this work in the future. I've learned so much about the effects of lack of access to basic human rights and also gained insights to the politics that are involved in such processes.

1)Talking with the Students about their experiences with HMS
2) Presenting Certificates of Completion to the students and professors of SNDT college

Back to Bombay

After traveling for 3 days, I arrived in Mumbai- it's a strange feeling to be back. On the flight here I got stuck in Kuwait for a day. We were sitting on the place on the runway for an hour and a half when the engine turned off. We were stuck in the airport for 6 hours and then they finally gave us a hotel room and we all got visas to enter into Kuwait and waited for them to stamp our passports. I spent the day roaming around the downtown portion of the city and couldn't help but notice the large south and south east Asian population living here amongst the Kuwaitis. The buildings were all very modern in the downtown area but as you looked out into the horizon you quickly saw how the desert hugged the city. I went back to the hotel and washed the dry dust off my clothes and grabbed a meal that was all olives, hummus, pita, and feta- it was great, and all payed for by Kuwait airlines.
On the plane back I met up with my GSI from Berkeley, Aditya- we knew that we were both going to be in Bombay over the break but didn't expect to be on the same flight, let alone sitting behind each other. I was glad I met up with him to have someone to ring in the new year with. We landed in Mumbai at 5 am on New Year's Eve and immediately all my senses were bombarded and every memory from last summer came back to me. I smelled the paan, the masalas, and the pollution and saw all the vibrant colors that I forgot India projects.
My first day, like most other peoples first was pretty memorable- it felt great to know my way around the city- hoping on trains, picking up passes, recharching my phone. It was a comfortable feeling, especially since I am here alone, whereas I was with 10 other students last summer. I cannot explain enough what a change I just went through by coming to Bombay. I spent the previous 2 weeks in Cleveland, Ohio visiting my family and left the snow for the heat of Bombay. Two completely different worlds.
My objective for this trip is to keep Haath Mein Sehat's (HMS) contacts with all the colleges we work with and conduct focus groups with the students. This will help us to gain a better understanding of how our education programs are fitting into their curriculum and determining the efficacy of our education and outreach programs. Although I feel quite comfortable here there is still the feeling lingering that I am an outsider coming to work on Water and sanitation issues in urban slum areas. When I meet knew people here and explain what I am doing here I can't help but feel as if I am just some colonizer trying to fix certain situations. I try to remain humbled and make sure that the program I am working with is working in a way that is sustainable in India without my presence once I leave.