Wednesday 10 January 2007

Whirlwind Day!

Namaste!

Wow what a day we have had today! Full of beeping horns, whirlwind introductions and lots and lots of superb projects.

Our day started in earnest at 9 with a quick breakfast which was followed by a full welcome by all of the staff and project coordinators. Marked with a traditional Indian spot on the forehead and in receipt of a floer each (the first of many), we sat to listen eagerly to the various project members to hear details of their work. The range and depth of the work that goes on across Nagpur truly is amazing and is also quite humbling considering the dearth of resources.

Through the afternoon we had the opportunity to visit each of these projects in person. We saw the work of "Sarathi" (safety), at which the infamous satellite helpline telephone was the subject of much attention but not as much as one staff member who had spent 5 years living in Cork- I don't think Martina could believe the coincidence.

We also saw the work of the HIV/AIDS drop-in-centre. Situated underneath our hostel, this is a valuable resource which mixes drop-in advice with home visits.

The distribution of Anti-Retroviral (ART) drugs was the focus of another project. I will be able to elaborate on it's work further after I "shadow" one of its workers tomorrow, but needless to say that such work is so vital to people in need to ART drugs.

We also headed out to see the work of the Truckers programme. The setting was one of hustle and bustle but the work going on here was far from disorganised. The sheer amount of people that the staff here have educated in basic condom use is phenomenal considering it has only been in existence for a year. Combined with innovative outreach work in Kapri village (it's amazing how a game of coits to win a small prize can turn into an information service), this team is experimenting at the pioneering end of HIV/AIDS prevention.

Finally a word must be mentioned about the comedic genius of the folks at the Nagpur youth forum. Not only are they among the most committed and intelligent people I have encountered in charity work but they have certainly mastered the art of comedy. A real pleasure interacting with Blossomde, Yuri, Victor, Daniel, et al (see how I remember the easy names :S) and I think we are looking forward to more craziness from them all tomorrow night when they have threatened to invade 'uncle' J.P.s hostel for the evening!!

*forgets Hindi for 'goodbye'*

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