A Day to Be Remembered

Today was a day that will be etched in my memory forever. When I am looking back on my life and what experiences I have had, the places I have been, and the people I have met....today will be one of those days I reflect upon.

I visited a shelter for women and girls who have been rescued from sex trafficking located about 70 kms outside of Hyderabad, India. My purpose in going was to bring collaboration between this shelter, an organization I represent that helps victims of sex trafficking, and a jewelry design making school. We are bringing a program to the women of the shelter that will teach them jewelry design making ending in a certificate and job placement. This collaboration between the three parties aims to provide a new livelihood full of dignity, respect, independence, and hope for these amazing and beautiful young women. 

Upon arrival, my colleague and I were immediately welcomed by both the Director and Coordinator of the shelter. We were escorted around the shelter which consisted of a hospital treatment center, a school for the young girls who have been rescued, a day care for the babies and toddlers of the women who have been rescued, a life-skills training center for women, their dining hall, and their living spaces.

As I saw the faces of the young girls and women in the shelter, I did my best to impress upon my memory every detail possible. Each of these individuals had such unique stories to tell: stories of tragedy, stories of survival, stories of triumph, and stories of hope. I was eager to hear from each of them. I could feel the strength emanating from these women and see it in their eyes. The young girls in the school greeted me with songs of welcome, handmade paper flowers, and specially made early Christmas and Happy New Years cards. After that, the women in the life skills training center greeted me with a beautiful bracelet they had made for me. They showed me the crafts they were making including hand painted cloths, embroidered saris, and beaded bracelets. As we walked around the complex we also got to meet much of the staff who are also survivors.

I am thrilled to have gotten to meet these young women and in awe of each one of them. The founder of the organization who has built the shelter is truly what I call a Saint. I  look forward to assisting in the jewelry design making program and job placement collaboration between the three organizations. 

As I was writing this, I received a call from the gentleman who accompanied me from the jewelry design school. He wanted to let me know this day will be with him for the rest of his life.

People often wonder why I do what I do and why I am so passionate about it. This is why.

They say....

There is a saying that if you come to India with patience, you lose it and if you come without it, you gain it. I am beginning to agree wholeheartedly but yet once gained or lost it just continues to come back. There is no choice but to be patient :)

I arrived in India almost two weeks back now. My first week was spent in Delhi, mostly doing orientation with many amazing speakers, exercises to get to know our other colleagues, and attempting to introduce us to working in India. As of Tuesday evening, I landed in Hyderabad. The first evening was lovely with a friend of a friend picking my colleague and I up from the airport and treating us to a lovely dinner followed by hookah. We started the apartment hunt Wed. and were amazed at how fast we found a lovely two bedroom/bath! We met the owner, (so we thought), and put down the deposit. Thrilled as we were, we set off to start working with our organizations as soon as possible. Here is where more patience comes in.... today upon my first day at the office I receive a call from the man who rented to us that he has to inform me that his parents do not approve of renting to foreigners. Alas, meeting tonight to get our deposit back and start searching again tomorrow! This is only one of the points of patience so far since landing. Myriads of Foreign Registration complications, bank accounts hacked back in the States, and of course, how could I forget the auto driver throwing rupees at me ;) I'm such a New Yorker...!

Oh Mother India! You arouse our senses from the moment we land with sights and smells, some glorious and some overwhelming. I have already started wearing the traditional kurta, (so beautiful and comfortable!), and am eager to begin learning Hindi. I am so privileged and honored to be a part of your country for the coming year, to learn and develop as well as contribute. Serve, Learn, Lead.

Sunday afternoon......

It is Sunday afternoon here, about 2pm. I am sitting in the computer room in the back of the house with the tin roof. Usually, it is too hot to sit back here. However, the storm started about an hour ago so it is nice and cool. They don't really have down pours in the States like they do here. The locals say that there are normally about four big rains a year. This year is different though. This is the third or fourth already and the rainy season started early. I actually like it quite a lot. It cools things off and gives quite a different ambiance then the normal hot and sticky here in Dakar. When the rain started I had to go around the house and close all the windows because it rains so hard here that the water comes into the house if you don't. Also, there are of course no drainage systems here so the water gets pretty deep outside.

So my lovely roomie and new found buddy, Bronwen left for New York last night. It was actually quite sad. You see, Bronwen grew up here in Senegal. She has so many friends here and they are all amazing, fun, and nice. It's been wonderful to see what it is like to be young here living in Dakar. It truly amazing that this place is in West Africa. There are clubs (or discotheques), billards, beaches to chillax on-ya know? the normal things kids do. People in the States tend to think how bizzare it must be to live over here. It's really not all that different in someways and in fact quite cool as your world becomes inmeshed with all different cultures. You learn franglais, different music from all over the world, different slang, different food, and to chillax in a whole different way. So, back to Bronwen. She left for the States as I said, but this time for good. Her family is moving back to the States next year so this was her final goodbye. I couldn't imagine what she was feeling! Imagine leaving the place you grew up behind and it being so, so far away. Now I am here for another three weeks house-sitting. It's so nice to have this place to stay but I really do miss her already. I am glad it is raining though. It fits the vibe and mood I feel today. I have a good feeling about continuing to see her friends though. As short as the time has been that I have spent with some of them and attempting to speak my intermediate French with an American accent, I will miss them. One of the amazing things is I never feel left out as they always include me.

Well until next time-

Inshallah

Gabrielle

Ponderings

Ok-so I haven't written in awhile. I have been quite sick for while. You see I got parasites somehow. Alas-I went to see the doctor but the medicine he put me on for a week was not strong enough. I remembered Friday that my supervisor is an MD and used to work in the field as one. I asked him what I should do. He was kind enough to pick up the drugs for me and bring them to my neighborhood. After taking them I don't think I've ever been so nauseous in my entire life! Alas, I am feeling a bit better today but we shall see.

Somedays, such as last Thursday, I have started to think of the things I will miss when I get back to the States. I honestly cannot believe that my time here is almost up. However, I feel like I have been here for an eternity at times. One of the main things I will miss is the baguettes. I will miss everyone speaking French around me and my learning of the launguage continually growing. I will also truely miss the boabab trees that are truely magnificent not only in their beauty but in the coolness and shade they provide. In some ways I will miss the lack of stress here. If I'm in a mess or in a jam, there is not a whole lot I can do to get myself out of it. In a weird way that takes the pressure off. I will not miss the electricity or water cuts, however it creates an atmosphere once again of there not being a whole lot you can do. It forces you to learn to cook in candlelight, to read by candlelight, to play boardgames like you were kids as Bromwen and I did last Friday with Monopoly. We laughed as we remembered tournaments our families used to have that would go on for days and even weeks sometimes. Here there isn't the pressure as there is in NYC and at school to always be on top and pressure to succeed beyond measure. The sheer frustration of the mindset here where no one thinks beyond today tends to lend itself towards a whole lot less stress and anxiety. I can now see the immense appeal to this. Imagine a world where you never stressed about tomorrow. Unfortunately, for me this is not quite possible. I was able to get into the mindset for a bit when I didn't feel I was ever leaving here. However, now as I start to feel my time coming to an end, my identity of being American creeps back slowly but surely, starting to worry about finances, school, what will I do when I graduate in a year, etc, etc.

I slept in again today as it is Sunday and you dread the heat you will feel from the intense African sun. As I was drinking my Lipton, I turned to BBC World. They were showing a documentary called "Escape from Luanda". Watching this documentary was just what I needed. You see I have not left the house in two and a half days due to my illness. I was writing in my journal last night how I feel I have lost my passion, my inspiration. I have been on the journey since August of 2000 to make an impact, to help others, to serve. Here I do not feel I have been able to do this at all. Perhaps something I have learned while working here is that I desire and thrive more in a hands-on basis atmosphere. This documentary is about a music school in the capital of Angola. Angola is a country ravaged my war for many years. A woman in the community decided to start this school and has given hope and opportunity to many.

I find myself now at a point I feel I have never been at. I am almost 28 and halfway through my graduate school career. I am now not sure that I have chosen the right field, the right degree to get. You see, I have always been the person who knew what she wanted and went after it with nothing stopping her. Now, I am not sure what that is anymore.

Gabrielle

Things I am most thankful for today.

• aircon in the office
• the good doctor I saw yesterday
• clean water and running water
• the ground beef I had for dinner last night-protein! yay
• electricity
• friends
• Bromwen
• opportunities

La Plage

Today I am loving Senegal. Just chillin' with my cool new roomie and her hot friends at the beach. It is not so humid or hot today. We are going over to watch the new Sex and the City movie! It's kinda like having a beach house today :)

Things you can buy from a taxi in Dakar....

• Cookies
• Shoes
• radio
• phone credit
• flashlight
• batteries
• mangoes
• banannas
• water
• underwear
• cornflakes
• shoe holder that hangs over your door
• jewlrey
• face cream
• soap
• kleenex
• fans
• cd's
• cassettes
• dvd's