Chandigarh. Public health rotation + indian wedding

Our fourth week was spent in Punjab, a different state, on a public health rotation. We were the first group from our program to do this rotation and it was... well let me just start with our first day. We meet in the morning and are given a brief presentation of the program we are going to see- Target Intervention (TI). Their overarching goal is to eliminate the spread HIV/AIDS and their objective is get FSM- Female Sex Workers to use condoms 100% of the time. This is a tough population to break into, but starting in 2007, TI has made contact with FSW in the community and have actually developed a trusting relationship with a lot of the local workers. The FSW come at least once a week for support groups and are learning about the importance of condom use. It is hard to get the men to agree, but the women are learning techniques and persuasive ways to get them to comply. We spent the afternoon talking to these women, through a translator. It was pretty shocking- we all sit down and the translator looks at us and says- “okay, what do you want to ask.” It was a completely open forum and we were given free reign to ask these women any questions. Their stories were amazing- most were married but completely unsupported by their husbands and got into the business because they needed to provide for their children. Monday's were the busiest days- seeing that most laborers had the day off. They usually saw between 3-4 clients a day (while their children were at school) and charged ~500 Rs/client (~ $10 US). The program is really making a difference for these women- giving them the power of knowledge and someone to listen to their stories. Change won't happen overnight, but TI is starting somewhere and hopefully can slowly educate and improve the lives of these women and their children.
Tuesday was spent with the NGO Reproductive and Child Health (RCH). Their goal is to reduce maternal and infant mortality rate and their target group are under served areas- rural and urban slums. When we toured the slums, I couldn't believe how many little kids there were. Naked, dark legs sticking out under filthy shirts running through the small alley like streets, playing in the dirt, on the roof tops. We gathered in a small room, chairs of all shapes and sizes were being brought it from what I assume were people's homes. We sat in the room while brightly clothed women flooded in. A newborn is brought in wrapped in a colorful blanket and put in my arms. Whose child is it? I have no idea. All I want to do it give the baby a bath and a clean outfit. I think about this child's future. I ask the program coordinator- if this child does well in the public schooling offered in the slums and has dreams of leaving and lets say becoming a doctor or teacher herself, could she? “Oh no- it's too hard” So I am holding this child, looking out at it's future and it's bleak.
The rest of the week was spent with other NGO's- hearing a presentation and then going out into the field and directly interacting with the people. One was an adolescent group educating youth on the many changes that occur during this time, the importance of utilizing health services and staying healthy. Another was reaching out to urban slum mothers and encouraging them to deliver in an institution opposed to home birth. The whole week was so interesting. India has far to go, but it was incredible to see so openly what is being done.
Currently, I am in Patiala- another city for an Indian wedding! I am so excited to see the event- they are quite different than back at home with four days of celebration and... well soon I'll know what else! We are staying in a hotel- $12/night split between 3 people. I am honestly scared to come home- I am not going to want to spend half of what normal prices are! We ordered lunch and it came out to be 70 Rs each- which is ~$1.50 USD. It's all relative. But I find myself upset and bartering if the price of a shawl is more than $5 US or if a meal is more than $3-4 US. Looks like I'll have a rude awakening when I come home! As for now, I'll enjoy it while I can!