Today was heaven. Well, heaven if you're a weirdo like me.
Today I traveled to a village just outside Pune (my first village! woot!) to visit an organization called Manavya. The in-laws were in tow, as this was just not something I could do on my own. For one, because no way in hell can I drive a car here, and two, they seriously would never let me handle something like this by myself. Anyway, having them with me added its own dynamic of entertainment.
Manavya was created as a shelter for children with HIV/AIDS. There is very little awareness about HIV, and even fewer opportunities for treatment, so children contract the virus from their mothers. Because of the stigma attached to the disease, those who are afflicted are shunned by their communities and often cast from their homes. When children are orphaned by AIDS, relatives do not want to care for a sick child. They are afraid they will get sick too. That is how children come to live at Manavya Gokul.
In the beginning, there was no money for treatment, so the shelter was simply a place where children could get food, shelter, education, and enjoy the few years they had to live. Now the shelter has a guardian angel, so to speak, who sees to it that antiretroviral drugs are available to the children for life. Manavya still provides food, shelter and education, but now they also provide job training and prepare the children to re-enter society once they reach adulthood.
For someone like me, who dreams of working with populations that have no voice of their own and giving them opportunities they would not traditionally have, visiting Manavya was like letting a 5 year old loose in a candy store.
For my in-laws, who secretly wish I were an engineer or lawyer, it was more like being stabbed in the eye.
Not only do I want to give my time for free when I could be earning money or relaxing around the house all day, but I want to schlep out to a village full of poor people and spend my time with children who are sick? Clearly, something is wrong with me.
On the way home, my mother-in-law asked what type of job I think this experience will help me get when I return home. When I explained that this is exactly the kind of work I want to do (ok, not specifically HIV, but I think you can get the gist), she just looked at me blankly. You would think I had just said I wanted to join the circus. Of course, she also asked what HIV is, at which point I lost complete control over my facial expressions, so I guess the whole concept is still very very new to her. My father-in-law at least seems to have resigned himself to the situation, although he does think that if I want to work at an NGO here I should work for a friend of his at the equivalent of a Hospice. So there is still a ways to go there as well.
Today I traveled to a village just outside Pune (my first village! woot!) to visit an organization called Manavya. The in-laws were in tow, as this was just not something I could do on my own. For one, because no way in hell can I drive a car here, and two, they seriously would never let me handle something like this by myself. Anyway, having them with me added its own dynamic of entertainment.
Manavya was created as a shelter for children with HIV/AIDS. There is very little awareness about HIV, and even fewer opportunities for treatment, so children contract the virus from their mothers. Because of the stigma attached to the disease, those who are afflicted are shunned by their communities and often cast from their homes. When children are orphaned by AIDS, relatives do not want to care for a sick child. They are afraid they will get sick too. That is how children come to live at Manavya Gokul.
In the beginning, there was no money for treatment, so the shelter was simply a place where children could get food, shelter, education, and enjoy the few years they had to live. Now the shelter has a guardian angel, so to speak, who sees to it that antiretroviral drugs are available to the children for life. Manavya still provides food, shelter and education, but now they also provide job training and prepare the children to re-enter society once they reach adulthood.
For someone like me, who dreams of working with populations that have no voice of their own and giving them opportunities they would not traditionally have, visiting Manavya was like letting a 5 year old loose in a candy store.
For my in-laws, who secretly wish I were an engineer or lawyer, it was more like being stabbed in the eye.
Not only do I want to give my time for free when I could be earning money or relaxing around the house all day, but I want to schlep out to a village full of poor people and spend my time with children who are sick? Clearly, something is wrong with me.
On the way home, my mother-in-law asked what type of job I think this experience will help me get when I return home. When I explained that this is exactly the kind of work I want to do (ok, not specifically HIV, but I think you can get the gist), she just looked at me blankly. You would think I had just said I wanted to join the circus. Of course, she also asked what HIV is, at which point I lost complete control over my facial expressions, so I guess the whole concept is still very very new to her. My father-in-law at least seems to have resigned himself to the situation, although he does think that if I want to work at an NGO here I should work for a friend of his at the equivalent of a Hospice. So there is still a ways to go there as well.
I am really enjoying your blog! Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor!
ReplyDeleteAND I didn't know that this is what you wanted to do. I knew you wanted to work for a NPO(here), but I didn't know this was the kind of work you wanted to do. I am SO proud of you I'm about to cry! I'm so glad you're my little sister!! Love you!!!!