Mike first day in Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari – Pogol Festival and Self Help Groups

We arrived at the YMCA guesthouse in Kanyakumari last night. Just. The drive here was, shall we say, exhilarating. With at least one of our nine lives still in tact we were greeted by a full ceremonial welcome with garlands, drums and all the works by our new friends from Tamil Nadu.

The journey to Kanyakumari was a pleasant detour from the rigorous schedule of the previous few days. Following the emotional intensity of the HIV groups in Nagpur even a delayed flight was much welcomed following a stop-over in the palatial central YMCA of Mumbai (Bombay). Taking time to stop off for a very English lunch of sandwiches, chips and beer we spent several relaxing hours at a beach in Kerla. The only drawback here was the persistency of a group of tribal drum salesmen who were willing to take anything, even a towel, as currency. That mild irritation aside, this little window of free time allowed for some care-free thoughts, even if they were heavily seasoned with the crashing of the salt water waves. I wish I were a little bit taller…

Anyway, the hospitality we have been shown here so far as been nothing short of overwhelming. The food here is incredible and tastes almost Thai, with its milder Dahls and emphasis on cream and coconut – a stark contrast with the blander food of the North. The fresh fruit and variety of flavours all add up to quite the easting experience. Along with the standard of accommodation and transportation, it is clear that our experience in Kanyakumari is likely to be a little more than comfortable. That said I think everyone is concerned of being paraded around like Y-Care trustees, or worse still, western funding inspectors. Following our immersive stay in Nagpur it would be a shame to only be able to see a superlative façade down south. I believe we are the first people to visit the area since the Tsunami who haven’t been contributing funding in some way, so it may be difficult to get this message across. Still, with our friend John from Delhi now safely arrived, I am hopeful that real interaction will be on the agenda.

If today’s experience is anything to go by, interaction with the locals here will no be an issue. In the space on five minutes of arriving to celebrate today’s Pogol festival all eight of us were readying ourselves for a round of musical chairs and swarmed by what felt like hundreds of young people, all eager to be photographed, greeted and introduced to. Following this fun and games (at which I would like to stress, Theresa cheated), the afternoon became a little more serious as we got the opportunity to meet with a number of Women’s Self Help Groups.

Set up just over a year ago, these groups have their roots in the cooperative philosophy of a weekly savings group through which members can club together to combine their credit ratings and be able to receive bigger and better loans from the bank. To say the impact of this has been big would be an understatement. The SHG consists of five individual groups, each with names (much like the “house” system many will recall from primary school?) like Jasmine, Cumin, Lotus, etc… These groups are autonomous and engage in a savings plan so that they may take out bank loans to purchase goods or raw materials that they can sell or manufacture for sale at the local market. This seems to be quite the money spinner, with groups selling anything from soap to hats or bags made from palm leaves or banana skin. Quite the little entrepreneurs!

All this adds up to much more equality among the sexes. A little over a year ago these women would not have ventured out of doors yet now they week on a weekly basis, empowered by the profits of their good fortunes and sound investments, their cause bountiful and their spirits high thanks to the fruits of their labours. One can only imagine the longer-term impact of such empowerment for the peoples of this satellite of Kanayakumari but I can hope with reasonable expectation that these women will have a prosperous future.

Mike