Rain Rain Go Away...

Today, it was raining, a lot. Maybe not by Mumbai standards but, by my standards it was. Luckily I planned ahead and was able to get to my internship right on time. As soon as I got there, Jaya and I started talking about violence against women, empowerment, and what factors lead to empowerment. One of my favorite aspects of my internship is the exchange of ideas that happens. I think I’m being challenged to think more actively about different issues than I have been in a while and that is good for me to experience. For example, I spent a lot of my time today thinking more actively than usual about how when a woman, or a group of women, is empowered in one aspect of their life it leads to empowerment in other aspects. Conversely, when a woman is disempowered or disenfranchised in one aspect of life they are disempowered in all aspects of life. Even though I have always been aware of this, I think I am developing a deeper understanding of this idea and applying it to a greater extent. I think that the best visual I can think of to represent this is a baby mobile.
Today I also got to go the Sunmitra Trust. The trip was kind of spur of the moment. The director of the program, Prabha Desai, came by the Legal Services office, and offered to take me to her site. I was not entirely sure what the site was, but I ended up primarily going to the Swayambhoo Udyan part of the site, where people who are HIV positive work in simple labor tasks, such as basic box assembly and putting factory parts in the boxes. Prabha explained to me that while factories were not willing to have the people who are HIV positive in their factory, they are willing to outsource their labor to the hospital where the site is. I thought this idea was pretty brilliant. It provides the individuals working there with not only a source of income, but also a greater connection to other people, so they are not isolated at home. I was really blown away at how a simple idea like this resulted in the employment of so many people. The mission statement of Sunmitra Trust includes the belief that they should provide empowerment, not charity. I think this is exactly what happens here, as the women who work their often go on to other sites after some time working. What a wonderful way to develop a community. I’m really glad I got to see this site and be exposed to the wonderful work that they do.
After checking out the Sunmitra Trust, I headed back to the Center for Legal Services. Jaya decided that due to this nasty weather, we could go home early today! I had decided this morning that I wanted to take a rickshaw home. The idea of getting into a hot, crowded, rainy train was just too unappealing to even consider. This made me think of the certain privileges that I have here financially. If I was
really don't want to, or if I feel unsafe (which I never have, don't worry parental, family, and friend types), I don't have to take the train and bus home.
Before leaving, I had messaged one of my friends just to get an idea of how much I should spend, so I would know if something went wrong on the way home, or if I felt like we were going in the wrong direction. I was able to get a rickshaw as soon as I left my site, which I was relieved about. The roads were flooded in some parts but we made it home safe and sound. I was glad to see the route I needed to take in order to get home. It turns out that we go through parts of the city that I have been to before, and just never realized it. When I got home, the rickshaw ride ended up being about half of what I had been told it would be, so I was really excited about that!
Peace, Love, Elephant Kisses- Emmy