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Weekly Reports: Sambhali Trust, July 2008
Miss Chloe Scott
Week One
The first days in any new place are daunting, especially when you are the only newcomer and everyone else knows each other. At Sambhali Trust, however, this passed quickly thanks to help from various fronts. Govind and his family were very welcoming, Casey, an intern at the project was amazing, answering every question I had, however stupid, patiently and comprehensively. The girls were perhaps the best at making me feel at home because they completely accepted me. They were not shy or quiet, making interaction easy. They were patient, repeating their names for me countless times, and they were funny and easy to get on with, despite the language barrier.
My first week at the projects was spent settling in. I learnt a few names, assessed their English levels, and looked at their sewing work. I also had conversations with some of the older girls whose English was better, it was then that I discovered that despite their happy demeanors and easy going attitudes, some of them had quite difficult backgrounds. While all the girls are from the Dalit, or Untouchable Caste, some of them had faced more challenges than others. They never complained, however, and if you didn't know some of their stories, you would never have guessed the problems that some of them have had to overcome.
Week Two
After an easy orientation in Week One, my second week at Sambhali threw me in at the deep end. On Sunday Govind and I visited his ancestral village, Setrawa, about 110km from Jodhpur, in order to meet a young woman called Dakhu Devi. Govind and Casey had met her previously, and on this return visit our aim was to remove her from the horrible situation that they had found her in. Dakhu is a twenty one year old woman who has spent the last four years or so tied to a tree. There is a more detailed report about Dakhu available on the Sambhali Trust website (Cronicle). Suffice to say seeing someone tied to a tree is about as bad as it sounds. It was certainly unlike anything that I had seen before, or expected to encounter in India, but the purpose of our visit was to arrange suitable care for Dakhu and my job was to gather information from her family and find organisations that could help. Unfortunately the two mental health charities we were dealing with ultimately failed to deliver any assistance, and we had to improvise, not wanting to let Dakhu down.
With Dakhu in hospital and receiving medical treatment, things at Sambhali continued as normal. I started my English classes with the girls, and I began to get to know them better. Although language was still a barrier, the individual personalities of the girls began to really come through. Sunita, for example, is the joker of the group, always the centre of any laughter, while Deepika is more serious and extremely earnest. What was really obvious was how much the girls respect Tammanah, the sewing teacher and only full time employee at the Sambhali Trust. She is the one who holds the girls together, disciplines them, praises them, and teaches them the skills that will help them develop some independence. Having no skill with a needle and thread myself I am still amazed at the complexity of Tammanah's designs, the speed at which she composes them, and the ease in which she teaches the girls.
Week Three
Week Three began with Govind's birthday and the girls were eager to throw him a party. I assumed that this was because they were so grateful for everything that he had done for them that they wanted to give something back. While this was certainly true, I soon discovered that the girls would exploit any excuse for a party, however small. A successful birthday party was followed by not one, but two Anniversary parties for Govind and Mukta. These in turn were followed by a sustained party atmosphere for the rest of the week. In terms of English teaching not much was achieved, but I did manage to get a deeper insight into some of the girls' lives. Inspired by the recent festivities and trying to get the girls to return to their normal routine, I tried to do an exercise where we discussed birthdays. The first couples of girls asked responded in basic English, but the next girl I asked simply shook her head. I assumed that she didn't know how to say the month in which she was born in English, but that was not the case. She didn't know when her birthday was, and neither did many of the other girls. They had never celebrated their birthdays, or even been told when they were, no wonder, I realised that they enjoy parties so much, when they have never had any themselves.
Week Three was also my first week without Casey, as she had finished her internship the week before. Without her there to question about the mundane things I needed to know, I had to work them out for myself. The girls said a nice goodbye, and it was obvious how close they had become to her. After she left they kept asking when she would return.
Week Four
A the beginning of my fourth week at the Sambhali Trust the new Academic year started, and some of the girls were lucky enough to be enrolled in local schools. Getting them to go, however, was another matter. Being at Sambhali with their friends was a much more exciting prospect than school work for many of them. Monica was especially reluctant to return to school, and tried to dodge the issue whenever I brought it up with her. Eventually I discovered that her unwillingness to return to school was due to the fact that although she would be 19 at the end of July, she was only in the XII Standard (usually ages 11 to 12) at her school. She felt that she was above this level, but despite being top of her class the previous year, the school did not agree. At this point Monica's confidence was replaced by her stubborn streak, but she was eventually convinced to return to her school by Govind. While Monica's school is regarded as the best Hindi Middle school in Jodhpur, the other Sambhali girls who are lucky enough to receive a formal education are enrolled in a less prestigious, and cheaper, school. Both Govind and I were keen to ensure that Monica did not waste such an opportunity, especially as it was a chance that many of the other girls at Sambhali would really appreciate.
Due to the exodus of Sambhali in favour of schools, the number of girls who attended everyday decreased. With fewer girls to teach, the classes became easier and closer. It was sad to see that some of the most determined and clever girls at Sambhali were unable to go to school, especially Deepika and Sarika, both desperate to practice their English reading any opportunity. In cases like theirs, however, education sponsorship is not the answer. Deepika, for example, had to stop going to school after her father died, as her mother needed to work in order to support the family. A wider programme of family support is perhaps the only way to ensure girls in Deepika’s situation are able to continue their education.
Week Five
In my penultimate week at Sambhali I had the opportunity to visit Monica’s school and interview her principal about the education of girls in Jodhpur and Rajasthan. The results were interesting, and the contrast with the style of education in England was striking. The girls were very well behaved, very well turned out, and keen to learn. My attempts to question the principal about the possibility of subsidised fees for some of the Sambhali girls unfortunately fell on deaf ears. I was disappointed that we could not come to an arrangement, because I am sure that many of the girls would have really appreciated a place at the school. Unfortunately the school’s fees, virtually nothing to a westerner, are far out of reach for many families in Jodhpur. For the one pupil’s yearly fees at this school Sambhali would be able to fund three children at another local school. A full report on my school visits can be found on the Sambhali website.
The Sambhali girls received many visitors this week, mainly French, although a couple American and Mexican. The French visitors were touring India in groups of 15 or so, and were all aged 16-17. As they were the same age as many of the girls they were interested in meeting them and seeing some of their work. The girls, in their usual party spirit, used this as an opportunity to show off their dancing, and to learn some new moves. It was great to see the girls getting on so well with the visitors, especially considering the double language barrier. None of the girls speak French, and none of the French spoke Hindi, the result was a stilted pidgin English that seemed to work quite well! It certainly didn’t get in the way of the fun that they all had.
Week Six
My final week at Sambhali began with me telling the girls that I would be leaving them on Friday, they did not take this very well, and asked why I was not staying longer. I found myself asking the same question and regretted that I was unable to stay longer. Having only just mastered all the names, and still with some slips, I feel like I will be leaving just as I have really got to know the girls. On a positive note there will be many volunteers in the coming months and so the girls will not be short of other guinea pigs to practice their threading, dress up, and drag into dancing circles. My penultimate day was spent dancing and just sitting and talking with the girls. I had several offers of eyebrow threading, and numerous friendship bracelets were tied to my wrists. When I thanked one girl who gave me a bracelet, she turned to me and said “No, Chloe. We are friends! Friends don't need to say 'Thank you!'”
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