Reflecting Back

“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

The above quote is the core philosophy of Urban Health Resource Centre, a non-governmental organization. The organization strives to support women living in urban slums to become self-reliant and independent. The Center’s efforts have been consistent and structured in empowering various communities of Indore, Agra and some parts of Delhi. Despite challenges, the outcomes have been positive. The living condition of these communities has improved considerably.

Recently, in January 2017, I had the opportunity to spend some time with the group of slum women and children in Indore. They are called the members of UHRC. I was impressed by their confidence, their will to progress and their overall positive attitude. Their admiration and respect for UHRC team members and constant reference to Dr. Siddharth, the founder and Director UHRC, in his absence was the evidence of their trust and bond between him, other UHRC team members and the community.

The UHRC has been implementing a number of skills-development programs training women and children in various crafts such as tailoring, basket making, and gardening. My task was to train them in Jewellery and Greeting card making.

I arrived on the morning of 8^th Feb 2017 and headed to a basti called Pushp Nagar. I was to meet my future students who were at the time of my visit, attending a session on nutrition conducted by Neeraj and Shabnam, experienced coordinators of the UHRC Indore team. When I arrived, the women were being taught through photos the benefits of healthy eating, how to gain the most from local food, how to prepare low-cost sprouts and also how to grow their own vegetables. They recognized that their main challenge was prioritizing nutrition while still making the food tasty. It was a delight to see them identify simple lifestyle changes and to see them so engrossed in nutritional discussions in general. A few members even volunteered to make sprouts for the forthcoming session.

During the training, there was a pause, where I was briefly introduced and was met with fleeting glances. To my joy, those initial curious glances turned into smiles over the course of the next few days. Needless to say, I fell in love with the group. I was excitedly quizzed about my background and the amazement filled reactions to my responses made the attention delightfully memorable!

Day two was my first Jewellery making session in Pushp Nagar. It did not take very long for the group to learn the ways of basic jewelry making.  Soon enough, they were ready to explore their own ideas. They created beautiful pieces and were delighted to adorn them. I was impressed by their improvisations, competitive spirit and most of all their energy level. 

Ms. Deeksha Kushwaha, a local politician, also stopped by to address the group on how the craft could be potentially turned into a livelihood. She shared information on the upcoming craft fair and offered to help the women and children set up their own stall, free of cost.  This was added encouragement for some and it definitely helped the group realize the relevance of the overall exercise.

            Above: Jewellery made displayed on a piece of cloth after the session.

The Jewellery making workshop continued in Jagdish Nagar and Govind Dham bastis for the next three days. Here too, the participants were immensely energetic and curious. Their curiosity however was not confined to jewelry. They wanted to know so much about Egypt (my current home town) and the pyramids in particular. It made me wish I had prepared a slide show to familiarize them with the world beyond. This is something I will remember for my next visit.

                            Above: Children engrossed in learning jewellery making

With regards to card making, I had the understanding that this would be of interest mainly to the children. I thought the women, after a few hours of jewelry making would want to return to their daily chores. To my delight, the children joined and most women stayed as well. This truly spoke to their eager attitudes and their desire to make the most of every opportunity provided to them.

                              Above: One child keenly learning making a greeting card.

 The Centre’s approach has been to learn from the community, find solutions, and adapt those solutions with the community’s inputs. For example, even with card making, we used waste materials such as threads, fabric pieces and paper. I taught them a few basic rules of Warliart and how to do so using just three colors. I left the rest to their imagination. Given their creativity and more importantly their focus during the workshop, I was not the least bit surprised to see so many beautifully designed cards based on the limited materials and just 2 sample designs. 

 Overall, my brief interaction with the community was immensely gratifying and a wonderful learning experience. I was humbled by the diligence and dedication of UHRC team members Neeraj, Shabnam, Amrit and Kailash. After my visit, I promised to always remember the following:

 1)    That one must take pride in whatever one does:

In view of numerous difficulties overcome by the community even to receive basic services, it was not a surprise to see them taking pride in their efforts. For instance, getting a proper road constructed in their slum was not an easy task. These women persevered by making many visits to the Government authorities. They shared the details of their struggle with a glow of victory. Similarly a few girls spoke about their skills and displayed their artistic creations to me with unmatchable confidence.

 2)    That one must share what one has:

 The UHRC Community Groups help families to send their children to school by collecting uniforms and books. They try and help each other in whatever ways possible. Young children have often come forward on their own to help their friends continue school education by collecting small amounts per children’s group member.

Two women brought my attention to the plants in each household. One of the occupants, a gardener helped each household to grow their plants and saplings. This inspired them to grow their own vegetables and maintain little kitchen garden around on within the walls of their houses.

 3)    To be unafraid to adapt to changes:

 One of the remarkable features of the group that I admired was the openness of women and children to learn. They even make extensive use of technology, be it for communication, searching for new designs online, or to be updated about the developments taking place around them.

The creation of a UHRC WhatsApp group called ‘Team UHRC’ is one more step ahead in that direction. It is proving to be a very effective tool for sharing relevant information about govt. ID, voter card, social schemes for women like Vidhwa (widow) pension, Vriddha (old-age) pensions and more.

The WhatApp group has been instrumental in strengthening social cohesion, spreading innovative ideas like selling homemade products in local fairs and providing timely support whenever needed.

 In the end, I share the same view as Dr. Siddharth, the UHRC Executive Director, that nature has endowed all human beings with similar mental faculties and potential. It is just that some of us are more fortunate to be born in families where we do not have to struggle for shelter, clothing, education, and basic welfare.

I wish all the very best to UHRC team members and a bright future to slum communities!!

Deepti Rana

August, 2017