Thoughts on Kanyakumari - by Martina

Thoughts on Kanyakumari

We have now been in Kanyakumari since Sunday. I think the Indian people are similar to the Irish in that they cannot give you enough food and tea. I had come to India thinking I might lose a few pounds post Christmas but no such luck! On Monday we went to visit some women’s self help groups. These women were remarkable, basically there were about five different groups of about 20 in each group. Each week they met up and put together whatever money they had spare and banked it. This money was then used to give out small loans within the group, they were charged a nominal interest rate but this in turn was given back to the group. They used this interest to set up small businesses such as basket making or buying soap at cost price and selling it on. I had a chance to meet up with one of the groups, I spoke to them all for about half an hour. Even though they had very little English we still managed to communicate. They were some real characters in the group and it was clear that they really got a lot out of the group sessions.
At one stage they even managed to get me to sing a song, which is definitely a rarity considering I can’t really sing!!

One of the women told me that before the self-help groups started she had not been able to leave the house at all. This was a really positive experience and I really feel that these women are being empowered.

I have found in general that Indian women are very strong. They really have the odds stacked against them in that they are second class citizens and through out all this they still manage to be positive and in the case of this group claim independence and something for themselves.

Yesterday we went to visit some families that have been re-housed since the tsunami. Ycare have provided houses for these families. We had the chance in pairs to meet with the families themselves. This gave us a chance to understand the reality of what actually happened in the Tsunami. Of the families I spoke to, luckily none of them had lost anyone. I felt to a certain extent that we weren’t really seeing the real loss and trauma of what happened in the Tsunami. I think this was because it was two years on and a lot of work had been done but at the same time I think there was definitely a lot more beneath the surface that we may not have seen on this particular day. These communities have managed to start again and I got a real sense from the people that I meant that that they were really happy in their new homes. One of the communities we met were involved in Bee-Keeping. A Bee-keeper gives them training over a period of six months, they are then provided with a hive and a colony and basically can be self sufficient from the honey they sell. We managed to get up close and personal with the bees which was a bit scary but we tasted the honey and it was delicious!! Will blog again in another few days!

Martina