Today
was a life-changing day for me. It put everything into perspective, and
taught me to appreciate what I have. As Bob Harris (http://en.wikipedia.
About an hour after I arrived at the branch, a CRS staffer named Munjranu took me to a “center meeting,” where CRS staffers collect the loan payment from the clients. Center meetings take place in the clients home, so we hopped on his motorcycle and we went off toward the slums (this was the first time I ever rode a motorcycle). As soon as we reached, we went into the small, rundown, dark home of one of the clients. We sat at the front of the room, on a small mat. As I wrote in my notebook, I got curious stares from the 27 different women. They could tell I was foreign, and that I couldn't speak the language. I got lost throughout the center meeting, as it was conducted all in the local language (Urdu or Kannada). About an hour later and after another bumpy motorcycle ride, I was at another center meeting in a different woman's house. It was slightly less awkward as there were only 25 women this time.
Finally, a few hours later I attended my last center meeting, and one of the clients could speak English. She was talkative and adamant about showing me her house (the meeting was held at a different client's house). She proudly showed me her house, which was a small, unlit, dark room. But the fact that she was proud and eager to show me her house spoke volumes to me. These clients are proud people, happy people, and simple people. They give the CRS staffers the utmost respect, and are grateful for Ujjivan's help. The pictures below are of the different rooms and the streets they live on.
About an hour after I arrived at the branch, a CRS staffer named Munjranu took me to a “center meeting,” where CRS staffers collect the loan payment from the clients. Center meetings take place in the clients home, so we hopped on his motorcycle and we went off toward the slums (this was the first time I ever rode a motorcycle). As soon as we reached, we went into the small, rundown, dark home of one of the clients. We sat at the front of the room, on a small mat. As I wrote in my notebook, I got curious stares from the 27 different women. They could tell I was foreign, and that I couldn't speak the language. I got lost throughout the center meeting, as it was conducted all in the local language (Urdu or Kannada). About an hour later and after another bumpy motorcycle ride, I was at another center meeting in a different woman's house. It was slightly less awkward as there were only 25 women this time.
Finally, a few hours later I attended my last center meeting, and one of the clients could speak English. She was talkative and adamant about showing me her house (the meeting was held at a different client's house). She proudly showed me her house, which was a small, unlit, dark room. But the fact that she was proud and eager to show me her house spoke volumes to me. These clients are proud people, happy people, and simple people. They give the CRS staffers the utmost respect, and are grateful for Ujjivan's help. The pictures below are of the different rooms and the streets they live on.
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