Namascara, friends!
Wow. This past week in Koppal has been a whirlwind. I feel as though I've lived years - in the best sense possible. I'll start with the basics: In Koppal (a more rural area) we stayed at Bandhavi, which is a home/school for girls at risk of being sex trafficked, that houses 106 children of varying ages. It's run by Visthar, the NGO that is hosting us. And along with the young girls' program, there is the Visthar Community College which teaches various students from the community.
We left Bangalore on Saturday night, and took an overnight train. It was always my childhood dream to ride on a sleeper train (the one overnight Amtrak that I rode from Fargo to Wisconsin, I slept in a seat because it was much cheaper) and it was just as wonderful as I'd imagined. We were supplied pillows and a blanket, and slept in berths of six (two bunkbeds of three bunks each). The train really did rock me to sleep, and it felt like a dream. Although I will say, you haven't lived til you've tried an Indian style (squatter) toilet on a moving train. That was an...interesting experience.
In the morning, I went exploring a bit, and found that you could open the train doors and watch the world go by as you journeyed. It was exhilarating and one of the best experiences I've ever had. We got off the train at Koppal, and rode a bus to Bandhavi. There, we were greeted by a mob of small children, all asking our names and wanting to play handclapping games. After being shown to our room (a single space where we all had mats and blankets; it was quite cozy actually) we played with the children. I've never been a child person, so this was something to get used to. 106 (we later divided into groups of 20 kids and 3 of us) children all wanting to touch you and play with you. It was mildly terrifying.
Our group did SO MANY things this past week. We listened to panels of former child laborers, the VCC students, and a childs' rights group - composed of children. We toured a wig factory (that was hard, conditions there weren't great and it reminded me that every product I own was made with other peoples' suffering) and saw a movie called Chennai Express in an Indian movie theater (the audience interacts way more than in the US - there were constant cheers and whistles). We toured a few different villages, visited a Hindu temple, and learned about cotton farming and the ways that big corporations force bad conditions on farmers.
And we collaborated on a photoesssay with the VCC students - my partner took me to his village to take photos, and we had tea with his very gracious mother and grandmother.Several of the Bandhavi girls and I became really quite close - there was one girl called Venilla who was extremely bright and often helped translate for the other children, and another called Shivu who adopted me as a mother and was adorably possessive of me.
We took the train back Friday night, arriving in Bangalore early Saturday morning. I've been resting and recharging, and looking forward to wonderful weeks to come!
Peace and love,
Malyn
Wow. This past week in Koppal has been a whirlwind. I feel as though I've lived years - in the best sense possible. I'll start with the basics: In Koppal (a more rural area) we stayed at Bandhavi, which is a home/school for girls at risk of being sex trafficked, that houses 106 children of varying ages. It's run by Visthar, the NGO that is hosting us. And along with the young girls' program, there is the Visthar Community College which teaches various students from the community.
We left Bangalore on Saturday night, and took an overnight train. It was always my childhood dream to ride on a sleeper train (the one overnight Amtrak that I rode from Fargo to Wisconsin, I slept in a seat because it was much cheaper) and it was just as wonderful as I'd imagined. We were supplied pillows and a blanket, and slept in berths of six (two bunkbeds of three bunks each). The train really did rock me to sleep, and it felt like a dream. Although I will say, you haven't lived til you've tried an Indian style (squatter) toilet on a moving train. That was an...interesting experience.
In the morning, I went exploring a bit, and found that you could open the train doors and watch the world go by as you journeyed. It was exhilarating and one of the best experiences I've ever had. We got off the train at Koppal, and rode a bus to Bandhavi. There, we were greeted by a mob of small children, all asking our names and wanting to play handclapping games. After being shown to our room (a single space where we all had mats and blankets; it was quite cozy actually) we played with the children. I've never been a child person, so this was something to get used to. 106 (we later divided into groups of 20 kids and 3 of us) children all wanting to touch you and play with you. It was mildly terrifying.
Our group did SO MANY things this past week. We listened to panels of former child laborers, the VCC students, and a childs' rights group - composed of children. We toured a wig factory (that was hard, conditions there weren't great and it reminded me that every product I own was made with other peoples' suffering) and saw a movie called Chennai Express in an Indian movie theater (the audience interacts way more than in the US - there were constant cheers and whistles). We toured a few different villages, visited a Hindu temple, and learned about cotton farming and the ways that big corporations force bad conditions on farmers.
And we collaborated on a photoesssay with the VCC students - my partner took me to his village to take photos, and we had tea with his very gracious mother and grandmother.Several of the Bandhavi girls and I became really quite close - there was one girl called Venilla who was extremely bright and often helped translate for the other children, and another called Shivu who adopted me as a mother and was adorably possessive of me.
We took the train back Friday night, arriving in Bangalore early Saturday morning. I've been resting and recharging, and looking forward to wonderful weeks to come!
Peace and love,
Malyn
You should come speak with IJM when we get back if you're interested... :) It would be really great to hear about your firsthand experiences dealing with an area where sex-trafficking is especially prominent.
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