We are off to Ratlam, 140 kilometres from Indore, India, where we landed yesterday. Our new Presbyterian World Service and Development committee member, Rev. Laura Kavanagh from Victoria, joined me for this monitoring visit. The road is long and narrow, but the driver is alert, manoeuvring around goats, pedestrians, cows, and a bus that went into the ditch a few hours ago. I am continually struck by the contrasts around me. An ox cart comes by, loaded with hay, just like I pictured it in the middle ages (thanks to the comic books I read growing up!) We zoom by talking on our cell phones to make sure that all plans are on track. I make a call to our government officer at CIDA in Gatineau, Que., to clarify a few questions regarding the new five-year program proposal we just submitted. We drive by a heard of camels.
To save time, we opted for a packed lunch instead of a restaurant. The car pulls over under a tree along the road, our makeshift picnic area. As crowded as some places are in India, it is amazing how deserted others are. We have lunch in what seems to be the middle of nowhere. Chicken biryani, a classic.
Upon reaching our first destination near Ratlam, villagers are expecting us under a canopy set up for the occasion. They greet us with the flame and fumes of burning camphor, reserved for special guests. It is a rare occurrence here to receive overseas guests.
After introductions with local leaders and the team of community health volunteers, they share with us their stories of change: how their village has progressed since the community health volunteers started their work with the support of PWS&D. Health teachings are happening in schools, and children have acquired better hygiene habits. Vaccination campaigns were carried out. Government officials are paying attention to the area and are helping to provide access to programs that are digging water wells for irrigation, ponds for fish farming, and exposure tours to demonstration farms.
My challenge is to try to absorb the complexities of where I am, what the daily realities and lives of the people in front of me are, and particularly how our project fits into those realities and whether or not it has made a positive difference in the community. We witness the diversification of crops in gardens, with vegetables of all kinds growing next to corn fields: large cucumbers, red hot peppers, ‘lady fingers,’ beans, groundnuts and tomatoes. We are taken to a fish pond where the fish swarm to get a share of some bread thrown in.
It all adds up to shaping healthier communities. The short duration of our visit increases the challenge, but the enthusiasm of the people lead us to believe that, indeed, something good is going on here.
