Working towards Katie G

Kemcho (Hello in Gujarati) Friends!
I know it hasn’t been very long since I wrote last, but I have so much so say about my experience so far! My culture shock is mostly gone and I am fast being accustomed to rural village life. I am almost embarrassed about my initial reactions seeing how easily so many people live a life I thought was too “rough” for me. The cupcake city-girl seems to be mostly at bay, or at least I thought it was until yesterday morning I went to get choqu pani (filtered water) and I was run off by four LARGE monkeys who were enjoying the water for themselves. I am going to have to get used to hissing, jumping monkeys from a far distance!

The worst part remains to be the heat. Yesterday it was a miserable 111˚ and my whole body showed it! I am surrounded all day by people who don’t look the least bit sweaty. Not only do I stand out by being white (and significantly taller than everyone), but now I am also the sweaty one! Indian women look flawlessly manicured and wonderfully colorful always and to beat that, they seem to be void of sweat glands! Some things just aren’t fair!

I am staying at a young adult boarding school that offers vocational training to Dalits. DSK (Dalit Strength Center) is run by Navsarjan Trust. Almost everyone lives on the campus, including all of the staff and teachers and all 140 students. Currently all of the students are young girls who range in age from 13 to 23. I could write a book about how fond I have become of them. They all call me Katie Ben, which means Sister Katie and whenever I approach the main part of the campus where they all stay and study, they run out to greet me. Most of them don’t speak any English, but smiles and hugs cross the communication boundaries very well. At first they were afraid to approach me. They assumed because I was white, that I would think they were dirty, untouchable and would not want to get near them. A few brave girls approached me after lunch yesterday and I gave them hugs and within minutes I was surround by probably 50 girls all wanting the same affection. For the first time in my life I felt like a celebrity. Since that initial breakdown of their fear towards me, they hardly leave my side. The past two days have been spent embracing smiling faces and learning Gujarati as quickly as possible so that I can talk to them. During the week, from 8am to 5pm, they take classes of their choosing. DSK offers everything from tailoring and seamstress training to basic computer skills. They also offer a spoken English class and the students who study in that class are so excited to talk to me. Today I visited each class and observed their work. The hope is that after leaving DSK, these children will have the training they need to get a job in a field that has never been available to them because of their caste standing. Job placement is not guaranteed, but it is much more likely when the girls have skills training. Besides the classes, the over-all theme of DSK is empowerment. All around the campus there are signs about believing in oneself and human value. These children have never before heard this language or been treated in this manner, but they seem to have all embraced an empowered spirit. Yesterday, I attended a public speaking competition that was truly inspiring. These young girls spoke for 7 to 10 minutes about their experience with caste discrimination. Although I could not understand their words (except for a friend generally translating after each speech), I was very moved by their emotion. Many of the girls cried during their speech.

The entire Navsarjan Trust organization is run by a woman named Manjula Pardeep. She is amazing. When I first arrived here scared and overwhelmed, she opened her arms to me and thanked me for coming. She also spent an hour trying to help me fix my internet connection so that I wouldn’t feel so isolated. Her kind face is backed by an inspiring resume, including a Master’s in Social Work and a Law Degree. Listening to her stories makes time fly by, even in the extreme heat. She will be helping me get my research started regarding Dalit discrimination in the compulsory school system.

From the ample amount of lizards, to taking my shoes off every time I enter a room, I am slowly being to understand and appreciate life in Gujarat. Indians are very diverse by region and so the majority of their alliance lies with their state. Gujarati people (from the state of Gujarat) are very proud. They speak a completely different dialect of Hindi, have a different written text, and even say they have more Gods than other Indians. I made the mistake early on by broadly referring to them as Indians, which was offensive. Manjula said it best when she told me, “People here are Gujarti. There are one billion Indians, but only few Gujarati.” Gandhi was born and was educated in Gujarat and so was Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (the man who really started the Dalit Rights Campaign, often referred to as the Indian MLK Jr.). Yesterday I was interviewing a man and he mentioned “Gandhi G,” so I asked him what the “G” meant after the name. He told me it was a sign of respect, and then he paused, clearly trying to think of how to tell me more accurately with his limited English. He said, “G at the end of a name means that your life is good for my life.” I love this explanation. I decided then that if my life is ever described in this way, it will have been a success. I have never met people as warm and welcoming as my new DSK friends. Thinking of and missing you all everyday!