First Impression, May 2009
Ms. Hajin Jun


Whether good or bad, I came to India without set expectations of what I will experience here, the people I will meet, the work that I will be doing. My thoughts? Anxiety? Excitement? Perhaps more aptly, a sense of wonder and disbelief that I am actually in India.

Two things have made a great impression on me during my first few days here in India: meeting the girls at Sambhali Trust, and a late-night conversation with Govind when I was still jet-lagged. Govind had brought me to meet the girls almost immediately after I arrived at the Durag Niwas Guesthouse. The girls were incredibly welcoming and sweet, and my only regret is that I don’t speak any Hindi, even despite my rather desperate attempts to learn using a Hindi phrasebook. They seem very eager to learn, and brimmed with pride as each told me her name and age in English. There is such beauty and potential in each of the girls.

Later, I was also able to have a very interesting conversation with Govind about Indian society, the caste system and the work that Sambhali does and hopes to do in the future. I’m starting to learn that despite the polished international image India projects of rapid economic growth and development, it still confronts many challenges that are especially acute here. Perhaps even more than the immensity of the issues that need to be addressed, I see the kind of passion that drives Sambhali Trust as well as other NGOs working for social justice in India.

Upon discussion with Govind, I have decided that during my stay here I will teach an introductory art class and write a proposal for a microfinance project for women in Setrawa.