Dirty Wall Project

[View with PicLens]

March 28th, Mumbai, India

Zubeda, (see ‘surgery’ post) has been released from St. George’s Hospital and is recovering well. Her arm is in a cast and she will be in some pain and discomfort for awhile, but she is expected to recover fully with time.

Although it is wonderful that Dirty Wall Project was able to help this young family, it has also served to highlight the plight of so many extremely poor Indian families.

A few days before I had met Zubeda and her family, and found out about Zubeda’s condition, the family had reached an ultimatum.They had sold some of their meager belongings to finance their trip to Mumbai. After 5 weeks in Mumbai, they had still not received treatment, they were completely out of money and their only option was to head back to their village in northern India.Without surgery, Zubeda would lose her arm, or worse, her life, leaving her young family in jeopardy. Her condition was very treatable, but her family didn’t have the money to pay for her treatment. Millions of families in India go without help and many lives are lost from preventable diseases and illnesses.

Last week while standing in the hospital corridor, waiting to collect Zubeda’s file from the doctor, a middle-aged woman in a hospital gown, approached me, pointing to her kidneys, and speaking in Marati. Andrew (Janvi) translated as she told us that one of her kidneys had failed and the other kidney was also failing. Her medical bills were staggering, even when counted in rupees. The waiting lists are endless with patients waiting for months and even years. If a suitable donor is found and her turn on the wait list comes up, the transplant and post treatment would cost thousands of rupees. She was standing before me, frail, desperate and asking for help to save her life. This surgery requires more money than either Janvi Charitable Trust or DWP can manage. This woman will likely die at St. George’s Hospital, pending a miracle.

This is just one story among thousands that echo through the halls of public hospitals throughout Mumbai, and across India.

Zubeda’s life, however, has changed for the better. DWP has helped this family by paying for Zubeda’s surgery, her post-surgery medicine, and for train tickets back to their village, for Zubeda, Ismail, and their son, Moshan. Every day for the past month, Asha and Andrew, (Janvi Charitable Trust), have fed and clothed Ismail and Moshan while Zubeda has been in hospital. I had lunch with Zubeda’s family today at Janvi’s office. Zubeda sat on the floor, her arm in a cast and sling, a multicolored burka wrapped around her face and draped over her lap. Her husband, Ismail, stood up quickly when he saw me, shook my hand and patted my back. Their young son Moshan sat oblivious to his mother’s situation, eating a biscuit and smiling.

After lunch, Andrew and I walked to the Crawford Market, a busy market area in Mumbai, teaming with vendors selling shoes and clothing. Hawkers yelled, horns honked and children ran between the tables piled with merchandise. The sound of a mosque calling people to prayer echoed through the streets. Andrew purchased a new bag for Ismail to carry the their modest possessions home. He also purchased Moshan three new sets of clothes and he bought new dresses for the daughters that Zubeda and Ismail had left at home. I watched as Andrew haggled with the shop keepers, excited to buy necessary things for the family. Andrew explained to me how nice it is, how we were able to help this family and that you never know who will be brought into your life and why.

I purchased their train tickets home.Their journey home is a long one. They will take a train from Mumbai to Lucknow in the north, which will take 24 hours. From Lucknow, they will board a bus for 8 hours to a small town, where they will take another local commuter bus 4 hours to their village. Zubeda and her family made this journey in reverse one month ago, with a few ruppees, an infected, serious injury, and a young child, hoping to find treatment. The journey home will be easier.

This afternoon, Asha, Ashley and I met Zubeda’s family at the train station to say good-bye and to help them get on the train. We all sat for 2 hours, waiting and talking in the mid-afternoon heat. Moshan ran circles around us as Ismail and I took turns watching him. Zubeda sat quietly while Ismail spoke to us. He hopes to start working again when they return home. He was a vegetable vendor before Zubeda’s accident, making just enough money for the family.

When their train pulled into the station emotions ran high.We all gathered their things and walked with them to their compartment on the train. Asha, who has become the surrogate grandmother, began reciting her list of worries, giving Ismail a list of things to watch out for, and how to care for his injured wife. When their few bags were stowed and there was nothing more to say, I shook Ismail’s hand, our eyes met, and although we never had a proper conversation because of the differences in culture and language, we had formed a kinship. Fearing tears, I tousled Moshan’s hair and said good-bye to Zubeda. Zubeda has been very stoic throughout her stay in hospital, but as we were leaving I noticed tears in her eyes. Ashley, Asha and I got off the train, stood on the platform by their window, and waved one last time as the train slowly moved out of the station. I doubt I will ever see this young family again which saddens me, but I am very grateful that I had a chance to help.

I also received some sad news today. In the past two weeks, in the Sangarsh Nagar community, I have worked with a young boy named Preshan. Two nights ago Preshan had helped me put up over 100 posters around the slum area to help promote our upcoming health camp near his home. He had taken to calling me “Kane brother”. I witnessed a smart young boy with a ready smile and a healthy laugh. I recieved a call this afternoon that Preshan’s sister, who is 16, committed suicide in their home last night. I don’t know the particulars yet, but I am in contact with friends of his family to see if there is something DWP can do to help his family in this tragic time. Out of respect for his family, we have postponed the blood-donor camp for one week. The funeral will be this afternoon. I will know in the next few days whether DWP can help Preshan’s family in any way.

I truly love doing work in India and creating projects for DWP, but it is not without heartache. I am granted permission to enter people’s lives and with that permission, I share their joys and their tragedies. Although I feel that DWP is making progress and helping, there are days that I feel the amount of help that I can give is not enough.

Tomorrow is a new day with new challenges, and hopefully I can make a difference for someone’s family that may help avoid tragedies like Preshan’s sister’s death.

Sincerly,

Kane Ryan

Share on Facebook

A short promotional video shot for Janvi Charitable Trust to help them promote the amazing work they do everyday. Truly an inspiring group of people…

Share on Facebook

[View with PicLens]

March 23rd, Mumbai.

The wheels of change move slowly and with my lack of patience this can become very frustrating. I have been working with Janvi Trust (see previous posts) since returning to India three weeks ago. I split my time between the Saki Naka slum and Janvi’s head office in southern Mumbai. Together, we are working hard on several ambitious joint projects which will bear fruit in the coming weeks.

The first project is a blood donation camp that we are holding in the Sargash Nagar slum area this coming Sunday. For the past ten days, Ashley( Janvi’s Project Manager) and I have been working together visiting blood banks and doctors, trying to get everything organized so that our blood donor camp can help as many people as possible in one day. This can be a time consuming process dealing with traffic and congestion within the massive, chaotic, sweltering city of Mumbai. Besides navigating a route through the traffic clogged streets, there are numerous setbacks with Indian bureaucracy that occur when planning such projects.

The one thing that hasn’t taken a long time is my acceptance by the locals of the Saki Naka slum. I have spent almost every day at the Balwadi (community center/school) working primarily with the children. They have taught me many Indian games and we laugh and play until I tire from the heat and their never-ending energy. When I collapse against a tree in the garden, too tired to chase or to play, the girls gather around me and take turns teaching me the Hindi and Marati languages. My pronunciation of their dialects is a constant source of amusement, and usually draws a crowd of curious adults. I have also taught the children how to use my camera. Some of the them take their time and set up shots. The look on their faces when they see the image that they took, appear on the camera screen, is priceless. Smiles stretch from ear to ear. I decided to print out the photos the children had taken as most of the them have never owned a photograph of themselves. I printed out 60 photos. The kids were amazed by the images and couldn’t contain their joy. They went tearing off in various directions to show the photos to their parents and friends. It wasn’t long before the adults started coming forward with the children in tow, asking for their pictures to be taken. I have since printed out another batch of 60 photos and distributed them out to the families. Now, every time I come to the slum, mothers comb their hair, clean their children and come to me asking to have their photo taken. I have become the unofficial, official family portrait photographer for the entire area. The days that I spend in Saki Naka, I am asked in to homes for breakfast, tea and lunch. We all sit on the floors of their modest one room homes and the women prepare curries and rotis. The children sit on my lap and the men and I drink chai. The language barrier is difficult, but there is a mutual delight in being in each others company. This is where culture and language knows no barriers. Often, my photos of their families or children are displayed in their homes which always brings a smile to my face. I find it humbling that when sitting in the homes of some of the worlds’ poorest people, I find gracious hosts willing to give me such immense hospitality. I will never go hungry here. The people of the Saki Naka slum make sure my “cup is full”.

This welcome has also been extended to me by the group of people who run the Janvi Charitable Trust. Working together everyday, we have become a family, sharing laughter and frustrations openly.

On the mornings when I don’t go to the Saki Naka slum, I head to Janvi’s head office which is a room in the head office of Mayan International. This company is headed and founded by Sashi Gupta, who is also a trustee for Janvi. He allows Asha and Andrew (founders of Janvi) to split their time working for him and to run Janvi out of his office. In the mornings we sit down to breakfast curries prepared by Asha, discuss our lives and brainstorn about new projects.The entire staff at Mayan International has welcomed me and made me feel at home. The connections I have made here in Mumbai in the past three weeks are exciting, and the projects we have planned together here show tremendous potential to reach hundreds of needy families. The Dirty Wall Project is only 7 months old, but what I have learned has been life-changing for me. I have been a traveller for the past 10 years working my way around the world, and these last few years I felt that I was missing something. I wanted to do something more productive with my travels. Photography is a new passion that works well with my love of the road, and I have finally found a way to combine my passion for photography, travel and interacting with different cultures, with the creation of the Dirty Wall Project. The possibilities for DWP are endless in developing countries such as India, and this excites me in a way I can’t describe. I get to give back. India is a country that gets under your skin wether you like it or not. For me, it’s an enchanting place fraught with frustrations because of the poverty and corruption, but the endearing, humble nature of the Indian people and their culture allow me wake up every morning with excitment for what the day will bring. These daily adventures and the people’s lives DWP touches, are all made possible by the helping hands of our supporters.

Over the last 2 weeks DWP has printed over 120 photos for the families of Saki Naka and has also purchased 4 sets of teaching DVD’s and CD roms for the Balwadi to help aid the teachers and children.

This cost 1600 Indian Rupees or $37 Cdn.

Thank you!

Kane Ryan

Share on Facebook