Sponsored Child and his Parents in the Scheduled Caste Colony

This article will appear in Hearts’ Cry’s May newsletter. To receive the e-newsletter sign up HERE.

In Mattampally, I witnessed the trials that our beneficiaries face on a daily basis. In the village open sewers abound, and dehydration caused by diarrhea is still the number one killer of children, yet preventable disease and lack of infrastructure are only the most visible signs of a village struggling to keep up with a developing nation that threatens to leave the landless poor behind. Farmer suicides, rampant alcoholism, depression, and abuse are the less obvious symptoms of cyclical poverty. But the cycle can be broken, and even in the most hopeless of situations, the subtle suggestions of hope linger just beneath the surface. Our goal at Hearts’ Cry’s goal is to provide opportunities and hope to the people of Mattampally, and there are many signs that Hearts’ Cry’s programs in the hands of Wilfred, Father George and the JJCT staff are successfully transforming Mattampally into a more hopeful place.

Father George in the the Village

Hope materializes in many forms in the lives of Mattampally villagers from young to old. At the elementary level, there are noticeably more females in the classes that have Hearts’ Cry sponsored children, suggesting that sponsorship allows more young girls to stay in school. They stay on, in hopes that they can continue through college, and these days, many young women do. Two of our female sponsored students will graduate with nursing degrees next year, and another female student just received a government scholarship to attend Engineering school. For many parents in Mattampally, their dreams of educating their children are finally becoming reality.

Krishnavini

For the young women in Mattampally who are unable to continue their education past 9^th or 10th grade there is an alternative: They may join the sewing training at the Community Center. Krishnavini, a young, unmarried woman recently dropped out of a university program because she could not afford the tuition. As a sewing trainee, she now has the opportunity to do creative, rewarding work despite not earning a degree. After graduating she, like several trainees before her, may join the women’s microenterprise group where she can choose to take a low-interest loan to purchase an embroidery machine and expand her tailoring businesses.

Microfinance Groups Vote to Double their Monthly Savings this Year

In the today’s global economy, owning a small business is scary, but Mattampally’s microenterprise groups are thriving. The groups celebrated their 3rd anniversary on March 10th, 2009, and, in three years of granting low-interest loans, they have not had a single default! The entrepreneurs are not only paying off their loans, but they are expanding their businesses. One woman who originally had a small petty shop now has a successful gift, soda, and bangle shop. Her success story is only one of many within the current 160 co-op members, and pending funding, the women’s groups hope to expand to 200 member-entrepreneurs this year.

Elders Tending the Community Center Garden

As the micro-enterprise coordinator, I may be partial to the women’s group members, but the elders were some of my favorite people in the village. They are so sweet, genuine and truly thankful for our support. They excitedly told me that they are feeling stronger and healthier and can walk longer distances since they began receiving hot meals and medical care at the Community Center. They also feel loved, and mentioned how Wilfred gives them their medicines and asks after their health in a way that no one has ever done for them. Though these elderly men and women have lived very difficult lives and are now alone, they feel comfortable knowing that they’ll have support in their final years.

International Women's Day Rally

Hearts’ Cry’s work in Mattampally is recognizable in the life changes for individual elders, children, and families and even village-wide. The two schools that our sponsored children attend are growing and expanding. St Ann’s now offers high school classes, and both schools have new computer labs. Additionally, village ideas of women’s rights and roles are changing, in part due to the women’s microfinance groups. On March 8th, more than 200 women and children marched through Mattampally’s streets for International Women’s Day. Their signs and chants were clear: “Women’s work is not only in the kitchen,” they said, and “Women are Equal to Men.” They marched boldly through the streets shouting their demands and engaging the attention of the entire village. Their boldness can be attributed to their new-found financial independence and entrepreneurial confidence.

Sponsored Child (pictured above in SC colony) Performing at the Community Center

From young to old, Hearts’ Cry offers a hand up to the people of Mattampally through educational, emotional, and physical support, and though Mattampally is not free from the darkness of poverty, there is an end in sight. For many of our beneficiaries, your support and the Life’s Light Community Center (JJCT) is the flicker of hope that they need to struggle for better lives. Hope may be hard to quantify, but our success in Mattampally is evident from the smiles and laughter of the children, the proud mothers and business-owners and the joyful singing of Mattampally’s elders. I am so proud of the work that Hearts’ Cry and JJCT do in Mattampally, and I am so thankful to our donors and friends for making this work possible. I feel blessed to be a part of such a thoughtful, and effective aid organization, and to be serving such a grateful and welcoming community as Mattampally. On behalf of the people of Mattampally, I would like to share their warmest greetings, wishes for your health and happiness and the sincerest thanks for your generosity and love. Thank you.

Megan with JJCT Staff

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The best international travel advice that you will ever get: Laugh at yourself!

Yeah, that’s it.  If you’ve ever traveled abroad, especially from the ‘West’ to the ‘East’ you already know; our cultures are very different, and as a foreigner you are bound to screw something up. And not just something, many things! When I traveled in Rajasthan with SIT, I had about 15 other Americans with me to laugh about our cultural faux pas and uncontrollable bodily functions. But, when you travel alone, that luxury is lost. So, on this trip to India, I was responsible for laughing myself out of my own embarrassment, and here’s what I learned:

Was it worth it?

1. If it looks like a toilet, it IS a toilet! This applies to all flat surfaces, any shallow holes and particularly all square-ish 3-walled areas. But, surprisingly it took me 2 incidents to learn this lesson. Without the first incident I would not have gotten the lovely picture above, but was it really worth flip-flopping through human feces to get closer to the edge? Probably not. And had I known what I was standing in before Wilfred explained, I would have found another way.

2. This is worth repeating: If it looks like a toilet, it is a toilet! And, yes, this does apply to 700 year old Mughal forts. And, please take a lesson from me, the smell doesn’t improve over 700 years.

Trying to fit in.

3. Tie your drawstrings tight and bring extra pins. If you, like me, wear little other than jeans and t-shirts, than local clothing such as the churidar and saris of India, can be difficult to manage. My tailored-to-fit churidar were beautiful, but not without their difficulties. The loose, cotton pajama pants have a drawstring waist, and before I realized the value of the double knot, I had to excuse myself a few times as my pants were quickly heading south.  And, while bending to weed the garden with the elders, I caught my waistband just before it hit my ankles. I have never been more thankful for knee-length blouses.

Chili peppers!

4. If they say it’s spicy, it is spicy! Westerners are weak when it comes to spicy food, so when an Indian tells you something is spicy, believe them. I was warned before I tried the elders’ hot meal, but I went ahead and put a nice big, juicy handful of their hot green curry into my mouth.  Within seconds, my mouth, throat and chest were on fire. I tried to tough it out as the tears rolled down my face, but despite my efforts Wilfred had to run inside to get my water bottle. The elders may have missed the near-mooning incident, but they definitely got a chuckle out of this. Apparently 70+ years of chili-eating dulls your sensitivity, and the elders like their food HOT.

5. Learn to flush the toilets ahead of time. I won’t go in to much detail (or provide a picture), but when your staying in your hosts’ small apartment and the water stops working, you’d better have a back-up plan. It can get ugly.

6. You will wreck the language. I was the laughing stock of the village with my poorly-accented bagunara? (how are you), wandanalu (thanks), and williwastanu (goodbye) , but they loved that I tried.

7. Don’t resent the help that’s given. When your pants are falling off, your bhutu (bindi) is crooked and you have an eggplant stuck in your scarf, you need help! So, when your host tells you, ‘that looks bad,’ it’s best to  just agree, laugh it off and make it look better. The only way to learn a new language and culture is to observe, try it out and often, fail. Thankfully, you will often be rewarded not only with laughter, but also respect and gratitude for your efforts.

Day 4: A Higher Education

On this lovely, Friday morning I was going to meet some of the first Hearts’ Cry sponsored children. The highest education available in Mattampally is 10th class, so we were on our way to the nearby city of Kodad. The real test of a sponsorship program is to see how the children’s lives are affected in the long term. And, not to spoil the story, but I was pleasantly surprised by the students’ progress. Several of the higher ed. students have been sponsored for nearly 10 years, and have grown from the thin, malnourished children in their first photos into strong, healthy and dedicated young men and women. Most have several years more education than their parents and they will all be the first in the family to hold undergraduate degrees. They will be respected engineers, nurses, doctors and bio-technicians.

Podala and friends at nursing college

We went to several Colleges that day and met many of our sponsored students.  But, the one interview that stuck with me the most was with Rajashwari. I interviewed her outside of her hostel (dorm), and even met her father.  Rajeshwari is finishing her 12th class and then will move on to engineering college. She is the third daughter in her family, and has the highest level of education.

Rajeshwari and her father

Her father also came to meet me. Although his primary residence is in Mattampally, and though he suffers from acute arthritis, he does daily construction work in Kodad to help support his daughter and family. It was easy to see that education is a priority for this family. But, what impressed me the most was not Rajeshwari’s father’s dedication to his daughter’s education, but her opinion of Hearts’ Cry. Rajeshwari was the first  student to mention the values that she has learned from being a Hearts’ Cry sponsored child. She told me that ’social work’ for the poor will always be a priority for her. She mentioned that with the money that she earns as an engineer, she’ll first take care of her parents and then help the poor.

Father George and Wilfred not only offer these children support for their education, they also help to instill in them the value of service. These children know to ‘pay it forward,’ and realize that because their American sponsors have been so generous to help them out of poverty, they ought to do the same. Rajeshwari was only one of many students who mentioned the desire to help others. Sponsorship not only helps these children but also improves all the lives that they will touch. As Rajeshwari moves through her life she will remember the generosity and the care of her sponsors and share that with the less-fortunate. Her renewed sense of hope and desire to give others hope will live on.

Swathi

Check out the Community Center labeled  ‘Father Allam George’s Old Age Home’ (by another wikimapia user). You’ll notice the statue of Mother Theresa in the front lawn.

Click on the labeled boxes to tour the village, including St Ann’s School and VV High School. Enjoy the tour!

Wilfred enrolling a new child for sponsorship

1. We are an entirely volunteer organization (including me). All of the work done on this side of the ocean is done entirely by volunteers. We do this work because we love it, and we save our sponsors some hard-earned money in the process.

2. Transparency: The current administration and I agree on this point. Transparency is key to any organization or economy. And, Hearts Cry is the most transparent international sponsorship organization that I’ve seen. For example, if you would like to know EXACTLY where your child’s sponsorship money goes, penny for penny, we can tell you! Other organizations offer vague categories of how the money will be used, but we list specifically how each rupee is used to benefit your child.

3. Size matters! And, it’s our small size and our commitment to focus on and serve one community (Mattampally) that ensures maximum impact in the lives of the children and families we work with.

4. Community Stability. Mattampally is a poor, disconnected and undeveloped village, but it’s not as bad as it gets. Many countries and villages in Africa have it far worse, and many of the situations there make it harder to reach the population and to have an impact. AIDS, war and famine keep people on the move in many of the poorest nations of the world. Which means its hard to meet even the most basic needs for the individual.  Other organizations focus on the absolute, most needy communities.

AIDS, war and famine need to be addressed, of course, but I imagine it’s hard to even keep the children and families in the program. We have the luxury (if you can call it that) of being able to work with a relatively stable community. And, this means that our sponsorship dollars and donations can be used most effectively to change individual lives. Some of our first sponsored children, though from very poor, struggling families, will graduate from nursing college next year. Our sponsors know that their donations will have a lasting effect.

Evening Tutoring at the Community Center

5. Relationship building. Each of our sponsored children, the sewing trainees, and the women’s coop members visit and use the Community Center on a regular basis. The centralized Community Center gives JJCT and Hearts’ Cry the ability to facilitate a connection between our donors and program participants. The children write regular letters to their sponsors and each loan or gift recipient poses for a picture to be shared with the donor. Sponsorship is most rewarding when you can see your donations at work, and I think that Wilfred and Father George in Mattampally do an excellent job of allowing sponsors to see that work.

Mother of a sponsored child with a picture of her sponsors (and Hearts' Cry founders) Ellen and Mark Wheeler

In a world of poverty and pain, there’s no room for competition with other organizations who are doing equally admirable work. But, if you do sponsor a Hearts’ Cry child or donate to our organization, you can be assured that your donations are being used to their fullest affect to improve the lives of the people of Mattampally in a lasting way. Your donations make a huge difference in this community, and we hope you’re proud!

Not the best photo, but these were the first women that I met!

Many of the village women go to the chili fields at dawn for daily work, so we headed out at 5:30 am to meet them at their homes and shops.  Thanks to the enormous, and slightly intimidating turkey living right outside my window, 5 AM seemed like a fine time to wake up. (Pictures to come!) But, even without his morning serenade, I would have eagerly woken up to visit these women. I was on my way to meet many of the 200+ women who make up our Women’s Self-Help or Women’s Cooperative groups, and I was excited.

For the past three years these women have been pooling their savings and loan donations to lend within their groups (10-12 women each). They meet monthly to collect interest, loan payments and savings and to distribute new loans. Remarkably, we have not had a single default on a loan! Every single one of the small business loans given by Hearts’ Cry and the cooperatives in the past 3 years has been paid back in full plus interest (1.5% to 5%). And imagine, most of these women have little more than a 3rd or 4th grade education and they are running their own businesses and doing their own accounting!

It was remarkable to see how hard each of these women have worked to maintain their businesses while working in the fields, raising children and sometimes even caring for sick or injured husbands. I knew there was a reason that we work with women! You can see their  strength and hear their pride and new-found self respect when they tell their life stories and speak of their businesses. It was very empowering to witness the change that something so small as a herd of goats, a small soda shop, or a water buffalo has brought these women.

As Wilfred explained; in the past 3 years, the changes in the village are visible and obvious. The women have greater self-respect and a greater understanding of long-term consequences. They are learning the value of education and the skills to better their financial situations. They take better care of their homes and are more watchful of their children. So many of the changes in the village and in the lives (and personalities) of the women arise out of being self-reliant business or livestock owners and from having fulfilling work and responsibility.

Ramana milking. Water buffalo milk makes the best tea!

This is micro-finance in action, and, in a sense, the key word is micro. The businesses and loans are small, but the lasting affect on the lives and personalities of the entrepreneurs is huge! Water buffaloes, for example, are highly sought after livestock. It really takes 2-3 buffalo to have a consistently profitable business, but one buffalo at least ensures that the family gets calcium for the 5-7 months of milking time per calf. (I had assumed the milking time was longer, but apparently my FFA knowledge doesn’t apply to water buffalo.)

Some women have just one buffalo; which they buy pregnant or with a new calf, milk as long as they are able, then either sell the calf and buy a new milking cow or breed the cow again. Water buffaloes are expensive and require a substantial amount of fodder, but the calcium they provide and the profit from the sale of the milk is well worth it. Additionally, the women can continue to work (and earn) in the fields during the day. Buffaloes are a hot commodity, and I saw about 100 that day! So, as the hours passed, I was ready for a change.

And change would come. As the morning went on, I met several of our sponsored students and began to hear their stories and to see the lives of struggle that their families lead. I met little Aasma who has seizures, and though they are controlled by medicine, she struggles to keep up at school. I met 2 children with hunchbacks, two who are unable to speak, several with brain injuries, one blind little girl who never went to school, one deaf child, and the list goes on. The disabilities are too many to name. It seemed as if every other home we visited had been affected by disability, disease and premature death. It was really devastating, and as the morning went on and I really got to know the lives of the people in Mattampally, my heart sunk. The reality of poverty and of the ever-presence of disease and lingering death became too much.

After a few short hours I was mentally exhausted, slightly heartbroken and much in need of some quiet time to process my new found understanding (a luxury, I know). I had honestly thought that I had seen poverty in Rajasthan, but for whatever reason, I have never understood poverty in the way that I do now.

Poverty is waking up every morning and making the decision to take your children to the fields to work instead of sending them to school. Poverty is killing the laying hen for dinner, instead of waiting for the eggs to come. Poverty is hoping for sons and abandoning your daughters. Poverty is filling your belly with rice and a pinch of something spicy, and calling breakfast (and lunch). Poverty is Father George’s phrase, ‘the factories bring life and take life,’ (referring to the 10 cement factories surrounding the village that provide jobs but pump toxins into the water and dust into the air.) Poverty in Mattampally so much more real and terrible than anything that I’ve seen before.

I went back to the Community Center feeling hopeless, and as if the reality of the situation was just too large and too painful to even comprehend, let alone work to change. My mind raced. I felt miniscule, helpless, unqualified and unequipped to take on such dire poverty and pain. And, maybe I am. But, now, several days and many experiences later, I’ve realized a few things: 1. Poverty can be worse. And it is worse in the SC (scheduled/untouchable caste) colony (Day 8). 2. The people of Mattampally have hope, so my pity and self-loathing was unnecessary. And, 3. So much of the hope and the struggle towards a brighter life lies in the women of Mattampally who work day and night for their children and families. These women are the heart, soul and hope of their communities and are passing on a new legacy of pride, self-confidence, and self-improvement to their children. I feel blessed to have met them.

Hope.

'thank you'

I wish that I could show you the first moment that the elders laid eyes one me. They had stayed after their meal to await my arrival, and the second I stepped out of the door they rushed to greet me, hands together in thanks. (Although ‘rushed’ may be the wrong word: many of these folks are handicapped with arthritis, leg injuries, and the cloudy-blue eyes of glaucoma and cataracts. Rushing isn’t something they do often, but the desire was there.)

There are about 22 elders that come for meals and each and everyone one of them came to me to express their thanks and praise to Hearts’ Cry and our sponsors. It was a heartbreaking and beautiful moment, as individuals and groups of elders held my hands and told me their stories. ‘I have no children to care for me’ one woman said. ‘My children have all died,’ spoke another. But a third responded, ‘Who cares if you have no children. We have children and they do nothing for us!’ One told me of a cataract surgery gone wrong that left her without one eye. Another broke her leg months ago, but it refuses to heal. She arrives by pedal rickshaw driven by an elderly man. ‘We have nowhere to live,’ they told me. One has a home but her daughter-in-law beats her. Others live with distant relatives too busy and too poor to care. They have lived long, painful lives laboring on farms they don’t own for meager wages and now, in their final days, they have no one to care for them.

But, they said, now someone does care. Now they eat hot meals. And they have a place to rest and to meet with friends. Now Wilfred gives them their medicine. A woman showed me her belly, its dark, wrinkled skin exposed under her saree, to prove that she’s become fat! She said that she’s stronger now and that she can walk faster. She told me ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’ until another woman shooed her away as if she’d gone too far. The women tugged at the corners of their donated sarees and showed me their washed and oiled hair, their clean skin. They mimicked the cots that they sleep on to express thanks for the bedsheets that Hearts’ Cry provided. In turn, they all gave their thanks and praise and sent their wishes to their donors. Finally, they lingered for a few more moments and headed to the places that they call home; whether it be a cot in a distant relative’s home or a thatched roof shack in an alley, they ambled on.

I have never seen such heartfelt thanks and appreciation. These wise old men and women whose lives have been so hard really know what it means to live without, and they know what it means to give. Many have given their lives, their youth and their health to their families and have received little in return.  The elders’ stories were so amazingly touching, and after this first day with them I tried to spend as much time as I could just listening (even without a translator- they didn’t seem to mind) and recording their stories. You’ll see and hear them in my upcoming mini-documentary.

Weeding the Community Center garden.

strong and silent

Singing her praise.

keeping his distance

aging gracefully

Day 1 - March 3, 2009

Mattampally, Andhra Pradesh, India

After 36+ hours of travel time, including a 5 hour delay in Dubai and 2 hours of sleep in an overpriced, undersized motel, Father George and Wilfred cheerfully greeted me and we began our journey to Mattampally.

At this point, exhaustion had not yet set in, and I sat wide-eyed and eager in the back seat for the first part of our 4.5 hour journey from Hyderabad. I quickly realized, that although India seemed strangely familiar and oddly comfortable, the sheer contrast was enough to keep me entertained and excited. If you’ve never been to India, it may be hard to comprehend the visual and aural experience of driving through your average Indian city. But, I can try. The first thing you’d notice, of course, is the heat. But the intense heat is the last thing on your mind once you hit the streets.

Your mind and eyes dart back and forth from the ever-so-visible Indian culture and what feels like an ongoing game of chicken in front of your small vehicle. (Set to the tune of a hundred car horns and the occasional scream of bus brakes.) To the left: Shacks in gray and dusty white. Small children running in dust-colored clothing along-side mothers in brilliantly-colored saris. To the right: Family of 5 on a small scooter. To the left: Road-side cart selling luscious looking bananas. To the right: Mangy dog rests in a pile of trash. Again the the left: Drawn to another beautiful sari, a near-accident with a passing car, or simply a rag-seller looking in the window.  If the picture you are getting is beautiful, desperate and absolute mayhem, you got it. (One thing that always surprises me about India is the lack of privacy for the average Indian. I don’t know if its the heat, the over-population, poverty or what, but everything is visible to the passerby: from the morning bowel movement to the leprous wound, nothing goes unseen. ) Needless to say, self-inflicted whiplash and mental exhaustion are eminent.

Inside the car, the air-conditioning was cool and the conversation (though broken by my wandering eyes) was good. We discussed Hearts’ Cry, the Jeevana Jyothi Charitable Trust (Indian partner) and the basics of the programs that Wilfred and Father George administer; as well as Catholicism in India (450 years old), and the average marrying age for women in the village (15-17 years old). Father George and Wilfred, my gracious hosts, were warm, welcoming and eager to share their hard work and many successes with me. I listened, and asked a number of silly questions until, (despite the frequent brake-slamming and pot-hole hitting) I passed out.

Welcome, Madam.

I was quickly awoken with, “Megan, we’re here,” and looked out through the darkness of the village night to see the 200+ smiling faces in the picture above. I stepped out of the car while rubbing my eyes, and was welcomed with garlands of bright orange flowers and the rhythmic clapping of  two rows of children ushering me up the driveway. Still groggy, I was asked to stop and break a fresh coconut over the doorstep as a sign of prosperity and good luck.  After a couple of good hits on the cement step, the coconut broke and again our Hearts’ Cry sponsored children (all 200) joyously applauded. We all entered the large, pillared community center hall, and the children surrounded me as I lit the ceremonial oil lamp. At the instant Wilfred lit the match, all 200 children fell absolutely silent. Absolutely, utterly and hauntingly silent. Silent in a way that is only reserved for the holy. (And, I think, impossible for American children.) It was incredible.

Once all 3 wicks were lit, the soft sounds of children’s movement returned and Father George and Wilfred welcomed me, the first Hearts’ Cry representative, to the Community Center and to Mattampally. After 10s of quiet,  ‘good evening, Madam’s, the children hurried home, and Father, Wilfred and I headed into the residential part of the center. I was shown to my lovely, (gloriously) air-conditioned room, and left to rest. Within minutes I was asleep. Fully-clothed and fully disgusting.  Showers, tooth-brushing, racing thoughts and everything else were laid aside for my first decent night of sleep in 2 days.

Personal Note: Although I am, at times critical of Indian society, I have nothing but love for the culture and people of India. My criticism is equally matched with wonder at this country’s ongoing development, and my love for the vibrancy, generosity and hospitality of the Indian people.

Cultural Note: Candlelight, as in many religions, plays an important role in both Hinduism and Christianity, and has a special significance for the Jeevana Jyothi (Life’s Light) Charitable Trust.

Hearts' Cry Sponsored Children 2009