i can't believe i've already been in India for a week. it's quite unreal. there are lots of things to say, but for memory's sake, i'll keep this post mostly about today while i remember it, and backtrack a bit later...

so i've been working at my NGO, committed communities development trust (CCDT) for about 3.5 days now. CCDT is pretty big for a local NGO... though the office is rather small (maybe 25 people?), the scope of the organization lies in its site-based programs (which include everything from community health programs in slum colonies, to residential care for HIV/AIDS affected-infected people, to day/night shelters for rag-pickers). my assignment is to work for the child rights unit, helping them formulate a manual on child rights-based programming as well as help organize/facilitate a three-day workshop based on the same topic. needless to say, i spend lots of time in front of a computer screen. it's not quite what i was expecting, but thanks to my lack of hindi/marathi skills, it's probably the only way i can really help CCDT.

so when ishita, a co-worker of mine managed to drag me out of the office at 4 o'clock (despite my supervisor, nihilesh, trying to keep me there as long as possible), i told her how happy i was. little did i know how much getting out of the office one hour early would mean. she had a meeting at Ashray/Phulwari, one of our project sites, and was awesome enough to show me around. Ashray is a shelter/support program for children affected/infected by HIV/AIDS. at the same site is Phulwari, which is a similar program for women at a stage of AIDS where they cannot take care of themselves. i got to meet the women, who were making beaded necklaces and earrings to support the project/themselves (i bought two anklets for nubhes and myself). and of course, i got to see all the adorable kids running around, piling onto one tiny plastic truck, and playing on the see-saw. and that's what makes all of the seemingly-abstract work i'm doing seem worthwhile...