Meeting with NGOs

In the midst of all the traveling I have managed to meet with three NGOs about their work. Each meeting was more formal. The first was a nice dinner conversation with a woman working for a large NGO in Delhi, the second was over a beautiful lunch at the house of Manesha, a friend of my friend Arif's mom, and the last a formal meeting Tricia and I went to in Mysore to speak to an organization focused on human trafficking issues. These meetings have given me a sense of what is happening with organizations doing anti-trafficking in India - a sense.

It has become clear that trafficking and perhaps more evidently, slavery, is a big issue in the country. It is commonplace for people to state that the kids begging for money on the street are slaves working for their master. CNN India had a footer running that said - Efforts to End Slavery Continue. Still, the nexus between slavery and international trafficking is less evident, but people are aware of it when it comes to rural-to-urban trafficking.

Overall there are very few organizations in India that focus solely on trafficking issues. One source said only a handful of them exist. There are several groups - women's organizations and children's rights groups - that are more and more actively taking on the issue since it has become so evident that this is a worldwide problem worthy of a great deal of attention at the service, advocacy, policy and other levels. Still, these, like SAVE the CHILDREN India, do anti trafficking as a project in their overall work.

THE THREE ORGANIZATIONS:

To be honest I have forgotten the name of the first organization since the coversation happened over a social dinner, but what was memorable was the fact that the organization is currently dealing with the US' draconian policy on prostitution. As many of you many know, about a year (is that right?) ago the US passed a law that said that passing out contraceptives (condoms, etc) as part of work addressing prostitution, human trafficking and slavery for sex, and other like issues is the same as SUPPORTING AND ENCOURAGING these activities. So, the solution, per the Bush Administration was to defund groups passing out condoms, thus causing a higher spread of AIDS among young teenage girls who are enslaved and otherwise forced to be in the sex industry since condoms are no longer available.

Consequently, today, countries like Brasil, and now India (and I am sure others) are fighting this policy since they know its basically coookkkoooo. Brasil has taken a strong stance against it and has rejected monies it received from the US and is now getting money for such activities from the Brazilian government. This is the current struggle in India. This large NGO is fighting this policy and trying to do so by intersecting Indian/US laws to see if it is legal for the US to have such pre-historic requirements. India, as was explained to me, sees Brasil as a model of how to do prostitution and other sex-related work. Brasil's work is especially noterworthy in its dealings with US power and its effects on Brazilian citizens.

Mahila Sarvangeen Utkrash Mandal (MUSAM)

This organization was formed by Arif's mother's friend Manesha and her husband. It has been around for nearly 15 years and focuses on a variety of women's issues, as well as children's programs. All programs are designed for people in rural areas. For instance, the children's program has a project where children are taught about peace, equality and justice values, and teachers also work in severely depressed areas to ensure children are getting an education. The organization also has a Women's Self-employment Program where young girls are taught useful skills to build their self-confidence. The skills range from self-defense techniques to computer repair. MASUM also designs and carries out tribal empowerment programs and has helped build a vilage library so that folks have access to education and resources.

At the heart of this organization are Manesha and her partner, two souls who simply regenerate any energy you may have depleted in your way to meet them. Manesha eminates passion for her work, and her husband has a committed calm that makes you feel like the world is definitely going to be a better place after he and Manesha are done with it.

To top it all off they invited me there for lunch, and I had the pleasure of meeting their son and daugther, two magnificent young adults who have certainly been impacted by the magic of their parent's life long commitment to social justice.

CHECK THEM OUT AT: www.masum-india.org

ODANADI SEVA SAMSTHE

I learned about Odanadi from Mr. and Mrs. Partasarathy. Tricia and I were talking to them about HT issues and they said...oh, you should contact this organization. We got on the phone and easily made an appointment with Stanley, the founder. I was surprised we got the meeting, and ever so thankful that he could make the time for us.

We arrived at ODINADI and I instantly felt at home. Stanley was in the yard talking to a group of people, others were moving about busily and the energy was definitely non-profit - WE HAVE LITTLE, BUT WE DO A LOT. He asked us to wait as he took care of a few things and later joined us. We sat in a rooms with lots of partly done windows. This was the current state of the ODANADI house which is in the process of being built to care for 96 children who have been trafficked for one reason or another. As we say, it was social justice in the making.

Stanley and a partner decided 15 years ago to address the issue of prostitution in their community. Realizing the patterns of patriarchy (his word) and the few options available to women, they decided to take the issue on. In the very beginning Stanley went to the market (Mysore has an amazing fruit and vegetable market) and asked for donated food. He then cooked and cleaned for the children of prostitutes. He took care of them, their health, their needs, and anything else he could do. At the same time he worked with the women - jobs, advocacy, services - all very low-budget. This work developed throughout the years bringing it to today.

ONEIDA is squarely focused on human trafficking - strategically. I add strategically to say that they start their analysis and their work with trafficking issues at the center, but smartly branch out to include all the community needs that make it so trafficking grows - poverty, lack of education, health care, etc. In the first 10 minutes Stanley described the work of ONEIDA, and in doing so, the international strategy currently being used by the UN and others to combat trafficking. He went through the strategy step by step -

PREVENTION: Education of community, families, children at schools.
PERSECUTION: Working with the police and following the traces of where children are being taken to all over India. This work also includes rescue operations where Stanley himself follows the chain of the trafficking mafia to find a child who may be as far as Delhi (north india) but who is from a village in south India.
REHABILITATION: Working with individual children, their families and sometimes the entire local community who now reject the girl who is no longer virgin and seen as a prostitute and not worthy of marriage.

The details of his story, and the story of ONEIDA were both amazing as I think about the type of work I want to be involved in, in the future, and the work that US foundations need to be paying attention to. The experience of being there was also great.

Some moments to give you a picture:
-We are talking and Stanley is asked about what languages have to be used to write the sign that will be in front of the house. India uses Hindi and English, but many states (especially in the South) have their own language, and in many cases small communities have their own dialect.
-We are talking and a girl comes to ask him about the bumps on her body. Apparently she has a skin rash that no one can figure out that came about when she was trafficked. She is a dancer and really wants to be in the performance to happen a few days after out departure. Stanley tells her they are working with the doctor and that he wants to make sure she will dance, and he will try his best. She leaves, he gets on the cellular to the Dr. He explains the situation and asks for the Dr. to come back.
-We are talking and chais/teas are served to us. No matter the context, Indians (like many other cultures) are hosts.

In all cases, all interruptions Stanley excuses himself and says, "I'm sorry for the interruption but these kids are the reason I am here, they are the reason all of this exists. If I don't put them first than there is no point." Tricia and I nod in vehement agreement.

PLEASE, CHECK THEM OUT AT: www.odanadi.org

Needless to say I had one hundred thousand emotions in this meeting. What does this all mean to me? What do I want to do with my life? I wish I were a Dr. so that I could tell this beautiful girl she will be ok. I got teary eyed as Stanley described the work, the experiences of the children and as everything I have read about in the last two years came out of the mouth of this man who has lived it with the children. I was so happy to be able to converse with him due to my own knowledge and to be able to show that I came prepared and respectfully to his presence. Every 15 minutes we asked if he needed to go, and every 15 minutes he told us he too wanted people to know that this issue is happening in India and that more people need to be aware of it, and that he would go when it was time.

Stanley asked me what I was going to do next and I shared a bit of my thoughts. I was surprised by his validation when he said, "Whatever you decide to do it will be great. Your passion for this work is clear in you eyes." It's yet another moment in life where perfect strangers have a way of telling you what's important to you, something you feel, but question.

Also of course, I donated money to ODANADI. After all, I believe in philanthropy. After many years of wondering where my US donations have gone to I felt that my donation here was going to exactly where I wanted it to go. After about 1.15 hours Tricia and I left, both in silenceknowing that this world is a very, very complex place, that what ONEIDA is doing in magical, and I think individually trying to figure out what role we each need to play to make it better.

"Into the Woods to Find the Giant..."
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