BOARD MEMBERS SHARE THEIR SAMBHALI EXPERIENCES 

Earlier this year, Sambhali Board members Esther Rodriguez and Sarah Abedin made separate visits to Sambhali Trust. We asked them to share their experiences and photos…

Esther

Saturday? Sunday? What day is it??

Arriving at Sambhali in Jodhpur was a great experience. They "dotted" me on my forehead and hung garland of marigold flowers around my neck. I met some of the volunteers who teach classes and soon we were off to the desert village of Setrawa where we met Govind Rathore, founder and director of Sambhali Trust, and discussed business ideas for Sambhali. Our trip in the dunes was nice and we enjoyed chai with the sunset.  

January 27, 2020

We visited the Fatima Women’s Empowerment Center. There, I met Neha who has a learning disability.  Her teacher explained how badly she is treated at home. Sometimes she arrives at the center crying because of a beating she received just because she is slower than her siblings.  She is very sweet and she wrote in my journal some Hindi words like ‘bus” and “mango.” 

There are no computers at this school, the only machines are the continuing cracking of the sewing machines in the adjacent room. Everything is taught by the erase-board while sitting on the floor. The books are not new, and there are no copies of the same book. I would like to see computers, even tablets, and enough copies of books so that everyone can read the same material.

The ages of the attendees range from the teens to 30s, all girls and women from Jodhpur.  This is their safe environment. They are eager to learn, and they will keep you on schedule regarding the next class. 

I later met Wilthoma at the sewing class. She is 30 years old and has two boys, 4 and 11 years old.  She comes to the center in the morning and returns to her home in the afternoon for her chores.

Some of the girls are very advanced, and willing to be open and share. Others are timid about their English and look to the others for help with words.  I see myself in their faces.  Coming from Cuba, I remember when I couldn’t find the English word (it still happens) and I looked to others nearby for help. 

We continued to the No Bad Touch program at a government school, and although this program is not supported by Sambhali U.S., it is the sister program of Aardash, a program for teens on puberty, which is. With the help of a video and a pair of puppets we kept a whole class of kindergarteners/first graders interested in the difference between good and bad touch, ensuring they will likely report it if confronted.

After the visit to the government school, we went back to Fatima, where the women in the morning were replaced by kids in the afternoon at a Primary Education Center with the same instructors from the morning. The classes are the same: English, math and Hindi. Younger kids come here to either learn the skills to be able to start school for the first time or to reinforce what they learn in the morning in government schools. When that little light goes on, one can easily see it. The kids were very excited that we were there, and everyone got a cookie at the end of the day.

January 28, 2020

After a morning free to roam around, I went to meet the girls at the Sheerni Boarding home. These are girls from the village of Setrawa whose families have agreed for them to come to Jodhpur to go to schools that are far superior to those in the village. These girls have grown up surrounded by other girls, and they are very expressive in their talking and well as physically hugging - signs of inner security and well-being.  We made bracelets with them, and they knew how to make them better than we did. We had a great time and had to fly out in a hurry as the van kept honking at us. 

January 29, 2020

Today was my last day at Sambhali Trust, with a limited amount of time, since I was leaving mid-day. I went with Conce, a volunteer from Spain, to the Graduate Sewing Center. This is where top graduates of the Sambhali Trust Empowerment Centers are employed to create products that are sold online and in the two Sambhali Boutiques in Jodhpur. I met the girls and women and they were very outgoing and talkative.  We danced and they showed me their moves while I showed them mine.  

Sarah

February 23, 2020

I woke up very early. Jet lag was partly to blame but more importantly I wanted to soak in the morning bliss and enjoy the sunrise, the beautiful fort and the palace in the distance, and the listen to the birds. It was so tranquil.

Along with Shereen Arent and two other volunteers, we visited the Sheerni Boarding Home to watch the girls taking their weekly self-defense (martial arts) class. They did their forms, kicks, punches, and other martial arts tricks. After the class was over, they had free time to play with strings, sing, and dance. They showed us their Marwari and Bollywood dance, and told me about their aspirations and what they want to do when they grow up. I had the privilege of meeting a future lawyer, a police officer, an entrepreneur, and an artist.

In the rooftop kitchen, the older girls made maggi noodles for snacks. I love that Indian hospitality: Never let your guests leave without feeding them. They knew I was born and raised in Bangladesh and I could endure hot and spicy food – and they did not disappoint me. With a full stomach and a fuller heart, it was time to bid farewell to the girls. I never do goodbyes well, my eyes welled up, but thanks to my sunglasses, I was able to hide the tears.

Then we drove a short distance to Laadli Boarding Home. A group of beautiful and vibrant girls wearing pink uniforms were waiting for our arrival. Shereen asked if they would like to learn a Jewish dance, which they were very excited about. They were fast learners! When it was time to leave, I hugged them goodbye, shed more silent tears, and left pieces of my heart with them. I could not make myself talk in the car, the goodbyes were too profound and made me pensive.

February 24, 2020

I could barely internalize the experiences and interactions with the girls I had met at Sheerni and Laadli Boarding Houses before it was time for me to meet other inspiring women in Setrawa, about 100 km (60 miles) from Jodhpur. As soon as we passed the Jodhpur City limit, there was almost nothing but desert and very little vegetation. The road was very nice, and I saw Indian Airforce installations. Our driver, Bunty Singh, told me that we were close to the Pakistan border and the area is very well protected.  The hour and a half car ride was my chance to brush up on my Hindi with Bunty.

We stopped at a couple of government run schools where Sambhali Trust volunteers teach.  I have seen rural schools, but the poverty of the region was unprecedented. The students did not have desks or chairs, and the school supplies were minimal to almost nothing – but what was abundant was the genuine eagerness to learn and the attitude of welcoming strangers in their midst. Bunty took us to a school compound where students were taking the national exam in the middle of the day under the hot Rajasthani sun with no shade. They sat on the ground in rows, totally engrossed in their work.

Finally, we arrived at the Setrawa Women’s Empowerment and Primary Education Center. The center is open for women to learn the art of making Rajasthani clothes. After completing the program successfully, each graduate earns a sewing machine and their passage to becoming independent entrepreneurs. The women all dressed in vibrant Rajasthani dress with bright dupatta covering their head and subtly hiding their faces. They congregated in a small three-room house that is the empowerment center. All of them finished taking care of their families before coming to the center and their eagerness to learn and excel was evident. They were focused and appreciative of their opportunities.  

I tried to converse with them in Hindi but most of them spoke the local language, Marwari, so we were not very successful – yet I understood that it was wedding season and they were all in a festive mood.

We visited a family whose son was getting married (his sisters are students at Sheerni Boarding House). We were welcomed as honored guests in pure Rajasthani style and were joined by the immediate and extended families and neighbors. 

We then walked back to the Sambhali Center, stopping at a little village store.  The owner is a participant in Sambhali Trust’s microfinance loan program. With pride, she showed us around the store and told us that she had even been able to hire her son to work with her.

In the afternoon, the Sambhali Center buzzed with school children as it transformed into a Primary Education Center. The children came for classes in the afternoon after finishing their morning school. They were at different stages of their academic life from kindergarten to middle school. They proudly showed us what they learned from their teachers about the upcoming International Women’s Day on March 8th. We all made an equal sign with our hands - a sign of solidarity that transcended gender, age, culture, and geography.

As I am sitting at home today, two continents away from them, I think often of the vibrant girls of Sheerni and Laadli Boarding Homes and the women and children of Setrawa. They came to my life like an inspiration and I cannot wait to be with them again. They gave me more than what I ever bargained for in my whirlwind tour of Sambhali Trust.

The day was long but not long enough to fully appreciate and experience the enterprising people I met in rural Setrawa. The warmth of the people and beautiful desert landscape was complete when I saw camels and peacocks casually roaming around. It was just one day of my life but it was an experience of a lifetime. I have never been good at saying goodbye, so I said so long until I can come back. Setrawa is calling me… Jai Ho Sambhali Trust! (Let victory be yours!)