Week Four- Our Last Week

Playing Cricket at Lunch at SEC

 As we said our goodbyes there were tears in our eyes, but a silver lining was the excitement to get home to our families for Christmas. It seams strange that we are to go back and slip back into our daily routine and ‘normal’ lives but somehow I think that we will go about our days in a different way, we may think more about why we do what we do, or next time when we walk into a hospital be a bit more thankful of the resources and treatment that is available or we may find ourselves crossing unsafe roads or wearing no seat belts out of the habits were have had to form in the last weeks. We may instead of being apathetic think about how our actions don’t only affect ourselves but others too from the things we buy to how we use our time. The time in India has surely has opened our eyes to a new way of thinking and a new way of doing.

This week has been the most packed out week in the world we literally haven’t sat still. From returning to Colaba Markets on Monday, eating us much Indian food before returning to our bland Australian meals, making a documentary about female feticide, Christmas shopping and making truffles saying goodbye to the people we have been working with in India.

Visiting Sion Hospital

On Wednesday we were invited to revisit Sion Hospital by Associate Professor Manta Mangali to observe how the wards run and learn more about the hospital system in Mumbai. After greeting the Professor we were introduced to a Resident who guided us around the hospital.

Observing the Wards

Looking upon the oncology ward there was open cots with family members around them, no curtains just a big room of sickly children. There were isolation rooms at the back (4-6 room I think) that are used for the very severe cases. Being confronted with children with illnesses is never easy, but it was good to see that these children where being provided health care no matter how the room looked.

As we walked to the following clinics we see a lady wailing in distress on the floor; you can only imagine what news she has heard.

HIV clinic

Arriving at the HIV clinic I was expecting to see children who were overly underweight, with sunken eyes and pain in their faces. Instead I saw smiley, playful patients with curious eyes. As we smiled they showed there glimmering white teeth in a grin. After a time of staring and smiling we hear the ‘hi’ from various children.

The Resident took us into a room and explained about HIV clinic, the high prevalence in India (It is now thought that around 2.39 million people in India are living with HIV, or  0.55% (that’s more than one in every two hundred) in the state of Maharashtra ), stigmatization of people with HIV and the issues that the hospital and the families face. We all very much enjoyed learning from the resident, he explained about the current treatment for HIV and the side affects which in turn can affect the compliance of the patient with their medication. There is a window of time where patients with HIV can be put on antiretroviral medicines for the rest of their lives. Furthermore he explained that many families are cannot afford the costs of the antiretroviral medicines and some are given this medication through donations. However in recent times the donors have stopped donating meaning that there is a lack of funds and entails that some clients are unable to remain on the drugs. This has devastating consequences. Antiretroviral medicines are not a cure, despite the side affects patients are able to live a relatively ‘normal’ life having a life expectancy near those without HIV.  Some mother’s come to the clinic not only to find out their child has HIV but there partner and other siblings do too.

Thalassemia Clinic

The resident explained that Thalassemia is a blood disorder passed down through families in which the body makes an abnormal form of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. The disorder results in excessive destruction of red blood cells, which leads to severe anemia. Without blood transfusions someone with thalassemia would die, so blood transfusions are given every 21 days- however even with this they only have a life expectancy of between 30-40 years. Symptoms of thalassemia include bone deformities in the face (as hemoglobin is vastly produced in the bones), fatigue, growth failure, shortness of breath and yellow skin. People with thalassemia often have enlarged liver and spleens (as hemoglobin can be produced in these areas). During our visit we had the chance to palate a spleen of a boy who had thalassemia and it was harder than we imagined. We watched various thalassemia clients get blood transfusions I was amazed how we saw no patient cry and most didn’t even squirm.

Learning Disability Clinic

We visited the Learning Disability Center, where those with intellectual disabilities can come be tested and interventions are given. This is a very OT (Occupational Therapy) area with the Professor of the clinic describing many similar OT screens and tools being used at the center with collaboration from other professions such a psychologist in IQ testing. OT, psychology and many other disciplines combine to provide care and improve function for those with intellectual disabilities and learning disorders.

Our week at SEC

Lizzy and Laura in their Speech Therapy session

Our last week at SEC! I cannot believe it! Although we haven’t been limited with time and resources; I feel that we have accomplished so much. First of all we have seen growth in each other and ourselves. Coming to a better understanding of Indian culture, the languages, the issues facing Mumbai and how we can help and aide in improvements in the lives of our clients. Secondly we have seen a some change in the how our clients are able to participate at school. From an improvement in their English, to being able to manipulate a pencil more effectively whilst writing, to students using strategies to improve attention within the classroom.  We have also gained a relationship with the teachers, therapist, principals and other members at the school, that I am sure these relationships will continue well after we leave Mumbai. On top of this were where able to raise funds to sponsor a total of three students and give educational resources to be used at the school. We intend to continue to sponsor these children and will continue to fundraise for the school, so that they are able to give a chance to children’s who have disabilities.

During the week we participated in the annual Christmas Concert that was full of singing, eating popcorn and fairy floss (named old women’s hair in Hindi), Santa giving out presents (from a donor), a magic show, and the message of Christmas being told.  It was a great time to enjoy with all members of the school.

Christmas Concert 

Eating Fairy Floss at the Christmas Concert 

On Thursday we took the school bus home, we got to see the students being dropped off for the their parents to pick up and it was quite interesting to see the laughter and playfulness.

As we say goodbye to SEC we will surely miss the vibrancy of the school and will remember fondly our memories. You never know we may get the opportunity to return to Mumbai.

Saying Our Goodbyes

Goodbye Mumbai 

WEEK THREE

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." Walt Disney

 Malad Station Markets

After a weekend escape to Goa we have been hard at work. Learning from the culture we are surrounded by and working hard to make our impact in our placements. With one week left we are looking forward to getting home but will surely miss Mumbai.

 About Our Goan Getaway (9th-11^th of December) 

Mandrem Beach, Goa

Goa is directly south of Mumbai and somewhat a different picture to other parts of the country; being known for its excellent beaches, churches, and temples. Goa is India's smallest state by area, fourth smallest by population and the richest state with a GDP per capita two and a half times that of the country as a whole. Goa is very much a tourist hotspot, in 2010, there were more than two million tourists reported to have visited Goa, about 1.2 million of whom were from abroad. In Goa you can feel the Portuguese influence, for example through the colourfully painted buildings. Being a former Portuguese Colony, the Portuguese were the first to land in Goa as merchants in the early 16^th century and conquered it soon after, Portuguese India existed for about 450 years until it was annexed by India in 1961.

Mandrem Beach, Goa

Emily, Laura and Lizzy went to Majorda in South Goa. Some highlights of their trip were bathing with the elephants, The Night Markets, Seeing Old Goa and the amazing accommodation. Whilst they were down south I went up north to Mandrem Beach to see my cousin and her friends; the highlights of my time were seeing the red sun set over the beach, reading on the beach and generally catching up with people and sleep.

Laura in an auto-rickshaw at Majorda, Goa

Lizzy, Emily and Laura- Bathing with Elephants

Mandrem Beach, Goa

Talking about Mumbai

We have had another beautiful week in Mumbai full of seeing a Bollywood film, shopping and seeing more of the city. Again and again we are amazed to see the friendliness of the Indians. Often they start with staring at us. Then they say ‘hi’ followed by asking our names of which sometime they struggle to say. And then this is followed by ‘where are you from?’ And look amazed when we say Australia. Then they enquire to ‘where we are going?’ And give us suggestions or point us in the right or wrong direction. And often enquire ‘how long we have been in Mumbai/ India’ and ‘what we are doing here’. Their smiles on their faces and energy always bring a smile upon ours. The other day an older man was helping us out with the trains and gave us his wife’s number if we ever get lost!!  We haven’t used it yet!

The Trains

The trains are very interesting in Mumbai to say the least. The train system carries more than 7.24 million commuters on a daily basis and is the oldest railway in Asia (built by the British in April 1853). It has the highest passenger densities of any urban railway system in the world. Over 4,500 passengers are packed into a 9-car train during peak hours, as against the rated carrying capacity of 1,700. This has resulted in what is known as Super-Dense Crush Load of 14 to 16 standing passengers per square meter of floor space. Mumbai's local railway network was one of the deadliest in the world: a record 17 people died every weekday on the city's suburban railway network in 2008. Most deaths were people being run over while trespassing on the tracks. The next biggest cause of death was of passengers who fell (or were pushed) from carriages that travel at 64 km/h, are often dangerously full. Another 41 people perished after being bludgeoned by trackside poles while hanging out of overcrowded trains. Twenty-one were electrocuted by power cables when they sat on the roof. Luckily we haven’t been electrocuted, pushed out of a moving train or run over just yet!

Each train is can be up to 15 carriages long and is absolutely packed full of people; there are different compartments in each train and these include:

▪    The General Compartment: Also commonly called as 'Gent's second class' as the majority population in these compartments is men. The compartment is open to women and children as well.

▪    The General First Class Compartment: Again commonly known as 'Gent's first class' since majority population is men. Women and children can also board this compartment.

▪    The Ladies Compartment: Commonly known as 'Ladies second class'. This compartment is reserved solely for females, however male children up to the age of 13 can travel in this compartment. Men are not allowed to travel, and may face a penalty.

▪    The Ladies First Class compartment: Commonly known as 'Ladies first class'. This compartment is reserved solely for females, however male children up to the age of 13 can travel in this compartment. Men are not allowed to travel, and may face a penalty.

▪    For Handicap and Cancer Patients: For the people who have physical disabilities and those with cancer, separate coaches are reserved in each train. On a platform, one can locate these by signs or by following a 'Beep- Beep- Beep' sound indicator for the visually impaired. There is no gender discrimination in these coaches however, one needs a valid certificate of disability(in case it is not apparent) to board the compartment.

▪    For Senior Citizens: A special coach is reserved for passengers above the age of 60. No gender discrimination in these coaches.

▪      For goods and heavy luggage: Heavy goods and luggage can be transported via the suburban trains using the compartments specially designed and reserved for this purpose.

As you can imagine at times it is quite tricky finding the right carriage to board. Especially when the station is shoulder to shoulder with people. The majority of the time we have been boarding in the women’s first class carriage which means that if we are super lucky in non-peak times we may get a seat but the main plus it that you are more likely to be be-able to get on the train.

Our work with the Society of the Education of the Crippled and at The Children’s Hospital Mumbai

Whilst Emily has been working in Pediatrics at The Children’s Hospital, Mumbai. She stated that she has found it interesting to see the different cases but at the same time it has been confronting to see the sickly children. During the week I have really enjoyed going to ‘School’ (Society of the Education of the Crippled), seeing the smiles and the enthusiasm of the place is absolutely uplifting. I’m always amazed at the joy on the children’s faces despite their obstacles they are encountering. I have had a great week interacting with the teachers and children. I have mainly been working with children with Cerebral Palsy working through examining and intervening in how they are able to perform their classroom academic activities. I have been looking at improving posture and seating, fine motor skills (either pre-writing or handwriting in the English language) and improving attention within the classroom environment. The Speech Pathologist have been working on articulation, social communication, increasing English vocabulary, and increasing volume and breath support.  We cannot believe that we only have one more week left at the school and are working hard to make our programs as sustainable as possible with the limited time we have.

The SEC School Bus 

A wheelchair I saw at SEC

Saturday (17^th December)

Main Street of Matheran

On Saturday we trekked to a peacefully quaint town named Matheran (meaning ‘forest top’), this hill town located on the Sahyadri range and is located 90km from Mumbai. Matheran has been declared an ecosensitive region by the Union Environment Ministry and the only form of automobile allowed in Matheran is an ambulance. No private automobiles are allowed. This leaves the transport being from foot, horses and hand-pulled rickshaws. It was utterly indescribable to not hear the beeping of a horn or the engines noises which are so common in Mumbai.

Our Lunch at Matheran

Coming home from our time in Matheran we travelled down the mountain on the Toy Train that is in fact just a train for tourist. As we looked out of our windows for over two hours we were left breathless at the views before us. They are just not quiet capture by the photos below.

Sunday (18^th of December)

Overlooking Dharavi and the railway

On Sunday, we headed to Dharavi, a slum that is situated near the train line and is spread over 1.7km squared with a population between 600,000 and over 1 million people. Its location and poor drainage system makes it particularly vulnerable to floods during the wet season. Dharavi is known for prominently featuring in Danny Boyle’s film Slumdog Millionaire.

Dharavi from above

We took childlike pleasure in weaving around the narrow passages and dodging the litter and murky puddles. Our caretaker Mukesh took us to his old home in which we climbed a ladder to enter. His home was the smallest room I have ever seen in my life! (No kidding!) He explained that seven of his brothers and himself shared this room; where they slept, toileted and cooked. Mukesh explained that they bathed down on ground level in an open-aired drum (with their neighbours watching) as there is no running water and it would be impossible to get the water up to their home. He enjoyed seeing his old neighbours and reminiscing how nice it was to be so close to his neighbours and community. I got talking to one of the girls who lived in the home now, unfortunately I am unable to pronounce or write her name but she is studying commerce at college it was really good to see how vibrant she was and although she lived in a place without a toilet, that she was gaining an education and a future.

 

Weaving Around Dharavi

The district has an estimated 5000 businesses and 15,000 single-room factories. We went to a few factories one of them being a sewing factory where they were currently sewing Gillette toiletry bags.  The factory is the place all the workers eat, sleep and work.

Single Room Sewing Factory, Dharavi

Dharavi has severe problems with public health, due to the scarcity of toilet facilities, due in turn to the fact that most housing and 90% of the commercial units in Dharavi are illegal. As of November 2006 there was only one toilet per 1,440 residents in Dharavi. Mahim Creek, is widely used by local residents for urination and defecation, leading to the spread of contagious diseases. The area also suffers from problems with inadequate drinking water supply.

The latest urban redevelopment plan proposed for the Dharavi area involves the construction of 2,800,000 m² of housing, schools, parks and roads to serve the 57,000 families residing in the area, along with 3,700,000 m² of residential and commercial space for sale. This would occur by building skyscrapers, giving for example the bottom three levels to the current residence and the four upper levels would be sold to the general public. There has been significant local opposition to the plans, because only families who lived in the area before 2000 are slated for resettlement. Residents who fear that some of their small businesses in the “informal” sector may not be relocated under the redevelopment plan have also raised concerns. The government has said that it will only legalise and relocate industries that are not "polluting."

As we finished our week with a southern Indian meal on banana leaves we look forward to what adventures are to come in the next week!

Namaste from Mumbai! 

‘Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.’ Gandhi

I look out onto the streets: I see beggars in beautifully dressed saris on streets filled with rubbish and businessmen in expensive suits. This city has so many people, alive with smiling faces. We are now actually learning our way around Mumbai by walking, auto-rickshaw, taxi and train. We feel a little more comfortable around the confronting masses of people but have been realising the contrasts of Mumbai.

Saturday

                                                              

On the weekend the Antipodeans took the opportunity to explore the sights of Mumbai. After a week of hearing traffic noises, looking at seas of people and working hard; we thought would see if there were any trees in Mumbai! It seems strange that a city so large would have room for a national park however with low expectations we were granted with grand results.

Sanjay Gandhi National Park is a large protected area in the northern part of suburban Mumbai. It encompasses an area of 104 km² and is surrounded on three sides by India's most populous city. It is noted as one of the major national parks existing within a metropolis limit in Asia and is one of the most visited national parks in the world, attracting more than 2 million visitors each year.

The National park contains 2400 year old Kanheri caves which are sculpted out of the rocky cliffs within the park.  Most of the caves are the Buddhist viharas meant for living, study, and meditation. The larger caves, chaityas or halls for congregational worship, are lined with intricately carved Buddhist sculptures, reliefs and pillars, and contain rock-cut stupas.

                                          

In the forest there is a famous Jain temple called Trimurti. It has three huge idols of Lord Adinathh and his two sons, Lord Bahubali and Lord Bharat. Many Muni maharaj (Jain Saints) stay here to preach to the followers before moving ahead to other cities or towns.

Within the National Park there is a Lion and Tiger Reserve that is only seen by bus. In addition to seeing lions and tigers we also saw monkeys and deer. 

At Night we went on a tour of Mumbai, with a knowledgeable guide with the best English I have heard in Mumbai so far!

Before the tour we sat down and watched the cloudy sunset over the murky water on the Marine drive (also known as the Queens Necklace or Miami of Mumbai). As we drove along Marine we saw the Saifee Hospital, which is the most spectacular hospital I have ever seen (from the outside at least!). It serves the Dawoodi Bohra community. The Antipodeans have very much found that generally in Mumbai there are a great discrepancies between the hospitals and how they treat ‘rich’ patients compared with the poor.

As we began the tour we were driven to Chowpatty Beach, which is a busy vibrant place were people sit on mats with family and friends, to eat and have a good time. Chowpatty beach is unable to be swum in due to pollution.

We then drove through Kamathipura, which is Asia’s largest red light district. It got its new name from the Kamathis (workers) of Andhra Pradesh state. In recent times the number of sex workers in the area has dwindled. This is due to police crackdown, the rise of AIDS and the government's redevelopment policy that helped sex workers to move out of the profession and subsequently out of Kamathipura. In 1992, according to Bombay Municipal Corporation records, there were 70,000 sex workers here, this has reduced to 1,600 in 2009, with many sex workers migrating to other areas in Maharashtra. Our tour guide explained that although prostitution is illegal it is still common for corrupt businessmen to go to the villages and promise families to take their daughter/s to the city to get a reputable, high paying job. The girls are usually around the age of 10 and are taken to Kamathipura and put in a cage like room, where they have to earn their freedom rights. This can take up to six years and even then due to poor education they generally go back to prostitution. The police have attempted to crackdown on this however there is difficulty as some policemen are often customers. Non-government organisations have tried to combat the issues through education and supplying protection to minimize the spread of HIV.

We then went to Chor Bazaar and the Bangle markets, which were absolutely filled to the brim with bangles!! Sparkly, colourful bangles!

Our journey ended at the Hanging Gardens which overlook Marine Drive and give a great view of the city.

Marine Drive

Chowpatty Beach 

Hanging Gardens

Hanging Gardens lookout

                                                                                                                                   Saifee Hospital

Sunday

We explored The Gateway of India and Taj Mahal Palace Hotel Resort. The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay. The foundation stone was laid on 31 March 1911, by the Governor of Bombay Sir George Sydenham Clarke, with the final design of George Wittet sanctioned in August 1914.

The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel Resort first opened it’s doors to guests on 16 December 1903. On 26 November 2008, in a series of terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the hotel was targeted, during which material damage occurred including the destruction of the roof of the hotel in the hours afterwards. Hostages were taken during the attacks. At least 167 people were killed, including many foreigners. The casualties were mostly Indian citizens, although westerners carrying foreign passports were singled out. Indian commandos killed the gunmen barricaded in the hotel to end the three-day battle. It took several months to rebuild the popular heritage section of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

The Gateway of India

Taj Mahal Palace Hotel Resort

We had a huge lunch at Leopold’s Café ,which is well-known from the novel Shantaram written by the Australian author Gregory David Roberts. The cafe was an early site of gunfire and grenade explosions during the 2008 Mumbai attacks by terrorists and was extensively damaged during the attacks. Gunmen sprayed the restaurant with bullets and there were bloodstains on the floor and shoes left behind by fleeing customers. The building is now fully repaired and back to having masses of customers on a daily basis. This was followed by some shopping in the Colaba Markets.

On Monday evening one of Jyoti’s friends came over and did henna on our arm. It was very interesting to see how she was able to do such an intricate design on each of our arms. We had to put lemon and sugar on our arms and then keep it on all night and in the morning we were able to take off the thick layer and it left us with a lighter brown design.

Volunteering during the Week

As Emily continued with her work at Datar Nursing Home; Lizzy, Laura and I have started at the Society of Education of the Crippled (which is a school with those with disabilities, largely Cerebral Palsy). As we walked in for the first time we saw colourful walls with lively decorations, followed by the smiling Chhaya, the Assistant Principal.  Throughout the week we have been given the opportunity to meet the teachers, the schools physiotherapist, the children and other staff. The Speech Pathology students (Laura and Lizzy) have been allocated a group of kids, who the teachers have identified as having speech problems, to assess and do therapy with, and a different group has been allocated to me, for assessment and intervention in the coming weeks. We have found that the school has been very open for us to walk in and work with the kids and the kids have been absolutely joyful and lovely. We all look forward to going to school each day and can’t wait to see the progress of the students.

Emily and the team at Datar Hospital

Namaste for now