goodbye Jamkhed.

What a whilrwind of a week so far! We've been running around doing village visits with the Mobile Health Team and the Village Health Workers, having class 6-7 hours a day, going to the market, and watching movies and playing games with friends we have met here at Jamkhed. It's very wierd that tomorrow we'll be leaving the place we've called home for the past two weeks. Here there are familiar faces, familiar beds, and a community of health care providers and social workers all working to increase the health of the impoverished in the area. I'm beginning to piece together all that I've learned so far, but I doubt I'll ever be able to fully put it into words.

The Aroles are two of the most magnificent and amazing people I've ever met. Their vision to provide health to all people, regardless of caste, gender, or any other factors, is chaning the world. People are trying out the Jamkhed approach to rural and community health in Africa, China, and also in other countries. The most stunning aspect of all of this (if I could choose one) is how humble and gentle the Aroles are. It's not about them. It's all about the people that they serve, their main goal being to show God's love to others first and foremost. 

Yesterday we spent time in class learning about appropriate technology. We learned that technology is when we use tools to assist us in our daily skills. Appropriate technology is using tools made out of available resoures in a way that make sense to the people in a community. For example, the main health problem that leads to death in developing countries is not AIDS, not TB or malaria, it's diarrhea, mostly due to poor sanitation and unclean drinking water. Oral rehydration kits that Western countries often send do not make sense to the people - they don't understand ratios, or the chemicals included in these kits.  Instead, an appropriate technology solution for this area is something called limbu panne. It's 1L water combined with a lemon (for potassium), 2 handfuls of sugar (for glucose restoration), and salt (sodium is necessary to restore fluid balance in the body).  We tasted this, which was a pretty good drink. Things like limbu panee are necessary to reach a community's overall health - they correct problems and ailments in ways that make sense to the people, using ingredients/items that they'd likey have available. It's a practical and ingenious concept.

We've also spent a lot of time learning about the caste system and about the awful ways that women are treated in this country. The caste system is rooted in India's history and will likely be imprinted here forever. But CRHP has made strides in working in communities to reduce the caste system, and to empower women, allowing them to have confidence and increase their rights.  Girls typically get married when they are 14 years old to a stranger that their parents have arranged. The girl moves in with the boy's family. where she usually receives the poorest treatment and little food because she is a woman, and because she is the newest, lowest member of the family. While she is married, the husband can choose to beat her or kick her out if she does not produce a son (funny, because the man decides the sex of the baby, genetically...).  65% of women are physically abused in this country, for various reasons. The wife is also blamed if anything happens to the husband. The treatment of women in India breaks my heart, and there is progress being made especially in the urban ares of the country.  But in the rural areas of India, what can be done?

CRHP has been working through the village health workers, who lead women's self-help groups in each village. These groups stand together, refusing to marry their daughters at young ages, working to make the birth of a female child a celebration (rather than the perceived curse it usually is), and teaching each other health skills that improve their indivdual and family health.  CRHP also has also helped to create inter-loans within these groups, so that women can lend each other money for their own self-generating income projects, so that women are not completely dependent on their husbands - especially if they would be kicked out of their homes in the future. Every aspect of CRHP is incredible. It is well-thought through, and it is fully comprehensive.  There's so much more that occurs here that I can't even begin to describe.

Ok. Done with the meaty stuff. I want to share some pics now! We went to some villages in the area. In one village, we were welcomed into the village health worker's house, and even though her family had very little money, she made us tea and bought us some chick peas. The hospitality that we have been shown here is unmatched. Here is a pic:

Today, being our last day in Jamkhed, we had a graduation ceremony. Those of us who bought saris got dressed up in them (with the help of some experienced women here! - pics of this process not appropriate for this blog, haha), and many people that we've met and talked to came to the ceremony. Here we are, roomies, roasting in the hot afternoon sun before our graduation:

  And one pic of me, haha:

And all the sari women:

At the graduation, Dr. Arole presented us with these gifts, shown in the picture below. The shawl is a symbol of scholarship. He wished us well in our future studies, and hoped that we never stop thirsting for more knowledge. He also said that knowldge without value is nothing, so to be strong in our character wherever we go. The garland of flowers are made from India-native flowers, and they are very fragrant. The garland is a symbol of service and sacrifce - that as we work in God's world, we would be servants, and that our sacrifice would be a fragrance that rises and points to God. Here is a picture of our room, and of the boys who have been our nieghbors for these past two weeks:

My brain is spinning with all kinds of facts, thoughts about social injustice and ways to create change, health care information, ways to better agriculture and generate clean drinking water, and with the stories of women and other villagers that we have heard. And I thank God for every bit of it, praying that He would lead me in a path of where to go and what to do with all of this information. My heart, worldview, and mind have all been changed, and I'm so grateful for that.

Tonight we have dinner and a party on Dr. Shoba's roof. Should be a great time! Tomorrow we leave for Pune and will stay there until we leave on Monday the 24th. I hope to have internet there, but if not, please pray for our safe return, and I'll see you back in Michigan!

Love from India,
Carolyn