Ahmedabad

The sisters from St Mary's took us to a fabulous restaurant in Ahmedabad - we started with watermelon juice and appetizers in a huge lounge with low benches and tables and a spectacular mobile of papier mache figures. We then ate dinner on a rooftop patio with stars shining and bats flitting above our heads. The meal was an authentic Gujurati Thali, complete with instructions. We all ate very very well!

The next day we were taken to The Calico Museum of Textiles to learn more about the rich history of fabric making and decoration in Gujurat state. Set in an ancient mill, the museum could be very informative, but a somewhat speedy compulsory tour, led by a women who seemed knowledgable but who rushed us from room to room and left no time to ask questions, while an army of attendants constantly warned us not to touch the textiles, all of which are encased in heavy plastic. A slightly bizarre experience, but interesting in some ways.

We then paid a brief visit to a Jain temple where the cool marble and shade was a nice relief from the heat, before enjoying a spectacular lunch prepared for us by some of the women at St Mary's.

In the afternoon our sightseeing continued with a bus ride out to an ancient well / bathing complex built for a queen. Sorry to be vague on details, but I don't have time to write much...

We then stopped at Gandhi's ashram which was very meaningful for many of us, and we were disappointed not to have more time to spend in the informative museum.

A late flight brought us back to Delhi for the last couple of days of the tour...

Parveen, Noah's Ark

Parveen is 26 years old and is married with one daughter. He has 2 brothers and one sister.

He is the oldest son and at the age of 11 he quit school in the 5^th grade because he had to start working.He was from a poor family although both his parents worked part time. He has been working for 15 years at first helping his own family and now supporting his wife and daughter.

Noah’s Ark International found him working at his craft displaying ‘Patchwork stitching and Wallhangings' in his little shop in his village of Delhi . It was a new type of craft that they were looking for and thought would sell well. He was very good at it. Parveen is very creative and designs all of his own products.He just see’s a design or pictures a design and then makes it. He has 10 people working for him mostly women who do all the sewing. His wife works for him too.

He doesn’t see himself doing any other job but designing and sewing products out of material. He goes to the local market to buy the raw materials he needs and then designs.Most materials for the patch work are scraps from other projects. He will make things that customers want, that’s not a problem. But no two items will be the same.

He is very thankful for Noah’s Ark International because they help him in anything he needs like micro loans, advice and steady work. He doesn’t envision ever leaving the organization because they help him so much and they have a very good working relationship.

His plans for the future is to be able to send their daughter off to a good school so she can get a good job with a large corporation. Perhaps travel abroad. Of course a BIG dream would be that they move to North America but right now he just wants to work and provide for his family. He loves his work and he wants the stores in Canada just to sell more so he can make more patch work products and wallhangings. He is proud of his designs and wants the world to see them so perhaps they will buy them. He hopes the customers will appreciate the hand made products.

Interview by Anne

Aktari Begum - Ashirwad, Kolkata

Margaret Devadason, former director for MCC India, started the project when she was still working at the MCC office. Once she retired the group decided to meet at her house, one hour out of Kolkata.

Aktari, who is 30 year old, worked with the group since the beginning 13 years ago. Once she got married she could not meet with the group because she had to work at home.

Aktari met her husband, Sahil, at her neighbourhood and she liked him and her mom gave him permission for visiting. After a while they got to know each other and her mother though he was a good option for her. She comes from a poor Muslim family; therefore her family decided who she would marry to. Her father, who worked in construction, died when she was a teenager and she had four sisters and four brothers, one of them died few years ago.

Aktari does not remember how to read or write. She attended to Class 4 (grade 4) but she did not practice the reading and writing so she thinks she forgot it.

Her husband worked for a while but in the last years he just drinks every day. He is drunk most of the time. They live in a tiled house, one bedroom. Their house is 4x3 mts.

They live two hours by bus from Kolkata. Having nothing for feeding her kids, she came back to Margaret’s house for help. Here she received support and now is working again. At this point she is the only provider in her house. She pays 250 rupees (6 dollars) per month for her oldest son, Faisul Rehman, 6 years old, to attend to the school in class 1. The rest of the money is for food. Her sister helps her making more food so she can share with Aktari. But her sister lives ½ hour from her house. Her bothers also have helped her giving clothing for her kids in special occasions, like festivals (Easter, Christmas). When she comes to work on Thursdays her sons stay with the mother in love. This is the only support she receives from her husband family. Her youngest son, Ali Rehman is 3 years old. She had surgery after the last child. She did not want to have more kids. Her health is very poor at this time. Margaret said she has lost many pounds in the last weeks because she does not eat properly. She feed her kids first and there is not much left for her. Her only dream is to educate her kids; she said she does want any thing for her. And she has to accept her situation and continue with this kind of life. The only possibility is that her husband abandons her but in that case nobody of her family will accept her back because that will be a disgrace for them. So no good end here.

Interview by Isabel

St Mary's

An inspiring afternoon visiting St Mary's: a Catholic missionary group that provides employment to 450 Hindu and Muslim women who live in the poorest areas of Ahmedabad. This city has had many difficult times - a devastating earthquake and religious violence in which many slum areas were burned, leading to 6000 people taking shelter in the St Mary's compound. The sisters also provide a low-cost hospital for women to give birth, as well as other medical services.

We saw a number of artisans working on wall hangings, tablecloths and advent calendars, all of which will be arriving in Canada next fall.

We're just cooling off in the hotel for a while before heading out for dinner. A number of us found the heat a bit much this afternoon...

Delhi - Ahmedabad

We had a good afternoon with Noah's Ark yesterday - they brought in 10 producers: men who operate workshops employing anywhere from 8-80 artisans creating many of the shesham wood products, Christmas ornaments, textiles etc that we sell. It was very interesting to meet them and give them chance to show off some of their new products, of which they are rightly very proud.

In the evening some had dinner with Moon Sharma from Tara Projects, while others chose to rest after the early start yesterday, and in preparation for another early one today.

We were out of the hotel at 6am into the pre-dawn. Brightly lit Hindu shrines drew the eye on many street corners. A delayed but uneventful flight brought us to Ahmedabad, where the weather is very hot. From the plane the landscape around the city was parched - bare brown earth and dry riverbeds, punctuated with patches of green where irrigation or pumped water must be available. Just from the brief drive from the airport, the city has a very different feel to Kolkata and Delhi ... much dirtier, much poorer. We're staying in the nicest hotel of the journey, but there are scenes of intense poverty right beside it. It could be a difficult couple of days, but we're soon going to be meeting people from St Mary's who will hopefully provide some hope and show us that the work we do makes a difference.