#vijayagopal

[bailandoporelmundo]

Business Workshops with the Vijayagopal Women Day #1

(two days ago)

Oddly today was one of the best and worst days I have had on this entire trip. It started with such an inspirational dream in which I was giving a motivational speech to the Vijayagopal Women’s Collaborative. I woke up to my not so eloquent speech and I found myself talking to myself, laying in my mosquito net, propped up on my elbow with my face supported by the palm of my hand. In my half awake state of mind I thought I had just hit the jackpot with a brilliant idea for our business workshops that we were conducting the following day. I was so excited by this idea that I had to restrain myself from waking Lexi up and announcing my grand scheme. And then I threw up. Yup. It was a sad reality to wake up to. I ended up being sick for the rest of the night. I woke up in the morning in such a Negative Nancy state of mind where it was me against the world. My group, always so supportive, helped hold me together throughout the long day as I spewed venom at anyone who came close.

I felt so shitty that my “vision” became foggy and I told myself it was dumb. I just did not have the heart to make my dream become a reality (sounds cheesy but I actually mean this literally). I was despondent and shut off to the world. Yes, this is an exaggeration but it is what I felt. And then something happened. I don’t think I can pinpoint exactly what occurred that caused a dramatic shift in my mentality but all of a sudden it was like this cloudy film that had been obscuring my vision, trapping me into my own negativity had been lifted and I saw the room with a different set of eyes.

I think it was a combination of a variety of things that caused this to happen. I looked out at the women and they looked back at me, their eagerness to learn evident in their faces.  I listened as Molly clearly talked about the different business concepts I had taught her, articulating everything with such ease and clarity, cutting straight to the point, framing the concepts in ways that the women could really understand. Molly has such a deliberate way of speaking that I absolutely love. She thinks about everything she says before putting it out in the world which makes for really genuine statements. Sometimes you can almost hear her thinking. It’s fascinating. It is definitely a skill many people (including myself) lack.

Then watching Manasi translate our English into Marati, her gentle explanations saturating the minds of these women with business skills and confidence. Watching the women take it all in, break up into groups and put so much effort into the exercises we created for them. Seeing their brows furrow and then their expressions light up as they realize they have just come up with a great idea on their own. Having the confidence to share their ideas to the rest of the group and receiving the applause and recognition with a big smile on their face. Calling the groups to come together as our workshop was coming to an end and having them respond that they wanted to keep on working because they wanted to explore their ideas further and learn more. Realizing that a true cultural exchange had taken place and affirming that we really can have an impact and we actually can accomplish something. Having the feeling that each piece of the puzzle was being put in place with ease and comfort and getting a better sense of what that final picture ended up being.

Feeling the energy and drive of the women was infectious and there was no way my mood could stay down. It ended with a Google Chrome commercial and Manasi connecting the power of computers and the women as entrepreneurs with the concepts of connections, networking and resourcefulness into one neat bundle. Then the women gave a small, joyful, laughter-filled speech thanking us and explaining their perception of how the workshops went, which was all positive. It warmed my heart to see their smiles (especially Vijaya’s smile because it is less of an occurrence). I can’t wait for Monday. 

[bailandoporelmundo]

First Visit to Vijayagopal

(from a couple weeks ago)

One of our most riveting experiences thus far has been our visit with the Women’s Collaborative. During one of our interviews a woman named Shital told us, “Before joining the group my life was very sad. Now joining this group I am very happy and I want to live. For a while I have struggle with life. My in-laws are very torturous. Now joining this group I am free.” I felt my throat close and the tears form in my eyes as Shital told me her story in Marati. The sorrow in her brown eyes was evident. Her pain tugged at my heart. I had to take a couple of breaths to compose myself before I could continue with the interview.

We were in the village of Vijayagopal talking to the Women’s Collaborative the Bajaj Foundation had helped establish. The collaborative is a self-help group where the women contribute a certain amount of money to the group every month. Members can take out interest-free loans for things they cannot afford such as their children’s school uniforms. They also pool their money for group income-generating activities such as sericulture. However, this group does not only help support them financially. The women found they can also rely on each other for moral support. They have also gained more confidence, self-worth and independence.

These women have faced a lot of challenges. As the translator said, “Their husbands will not permit them to go outside. Some men will take money. Some banks will take back their money. Husband will question why they’re going to meetings. They believe they should work at home only.” Despite the challenges, they speak of hope for their children and for themselves. Primarily they want to not only provide higher education to their children but also make their daughters independent. Each woman had a moving story and by the end of the day of interviews we were all keen to come back to the community to further develop the relationships we had formed that day.