Beginning of My Bonus Life: Africa and Thailand

Am back soon!

2011-02-28T18:06:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,
It has been months since I have written anything. So many new developments have happened 1) More stories about Cambodia and Burma visits 2) Solar Oven project that was implemented in Mozambique in Dec 2010 3) On becoming a foster mother of six children and a grandmother of three (Yes, the best thing that has happened to me in 2010 ) 3) My life changing road trip across country for an incredible experience in the East Coast and lots more!

Will start writing again this week.

Catching up!

2010-10-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,
Just got back from Bangkok to Los Angeles. I finally made it and graduated last week. I have not been able to write much after my trip to the refugee camp. So much more to write about Cambodia and visit to S21, Pol Pot's regime, visit to UNESCO, several NGOS, my public seminar, graduation and about people who impacted my life.

As soon as I catch up with my work here in LA, my classes, pile of bills and some sleep, I will get back to writing.
In a nutshell, I had a wonderful and a life changing experience even though the program was intense and at times felt overwhelming. I have learnt a lot!!!! As Inday (one of our peace fellow) would say "At the end of the day what matters is YOU".

The Happy Planet Index

2010-08-31T07:58:00.001-07:00

Did he say "Abolish the Army?"

Allowing yourself to be vulnerable!

2010-08-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

Today we had a highly emotionally charged class about people who work in humanitarian projects, on dealing with trauma and how you can care for yourself and how you can care for others. People who have been traumatized feel isolated and feel that no one can understand what I am going through and that it is true for most people. We watched a video of journalists who were interviewed about the most traumatic incident that they had covered and how did they cope with it. It was very eye opening to see how people deal with trauma in different ways and how culture has a lot of influence on who can get post- traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS) and who cannot.

One of the classroom activity was to identify the most traumatic situation that we had gone through in our personal life and what were the coping mechanisms we used. However we had to express it in the form of a drawing and not words. Each one of the 17 World Peace Fellows were given blank paper. I looked at my blank paper and before I could think about anything I found myself drawing with my pen. At the end of 10 minutes, I looked at the completed composition and here is what I drew: I drew a skyline of Los Angeles, showing the tallest U.S.Bank building along with several other skyscrapers. In the middle was my building Bunker Hill Towers. Around the skyline, I drew a maze of freeways, cris-crossing each other with a sea of cars. It was a night setting with a cresent moon right outside the window of my 13th floor apartment. Everything was brightly lit and glittered like millions of stars had just descended in downtown Los Angeles. I zoomed on my bedroom and drew the picture of my bed, surrounded by closets with mirrors and walls made of glass. I drew a picture of me lying sick in my bed and looking at the sky outside. I did not know why I drew that, until we were asked to get into groups and share with someone the story behind it.

I got together with Vicky (Vicky is a very intelligent, beautiful and a fantastic woman from Northern Ireland and who currently works for UNHCR and lives in Switzerland). I excused myself for a minute to get some coffee and by the time I came back to sit next to Vicky, I saw her crying. I ran outside again to get some tissues. I was holding Vicky's hand when she started telling her story (It is her personal story and so I cannot share it on my blog). However, I cried along with her while listening to her story. We both sobbed for a while and then it was my turn to tell my story. It was hard for me to put words to the picture I had drawn. I told her, that the picture I had drawn was of downtown Los Angeles where I live and it was me lying in the bed sick and in pain for 4 years. I told Vicky how I am dreading to go back there. The place where I went through one of the most traumatic event of my life. Vicky and I sobbed some more and were running out of tissues and also time. This sharing of experiences allowed me to be vulnerable and hence brought me closer to Vicky. It also gave me a perspective on how I want to see myself in future and what picture I want to draw in few months.

I started thinking about the coping mechanisms, I had used. It was praying and exercising.

The goal of the activity was to understand the importance of "Self-Care" when going through a trauma or working with people who have gone through the trauma. Sympathy is not very helpful. Feeling sorry for someone is not helpful. It is empathy that works. I want to be by your side and feel along with what you feel.

My head was hurting from all that crying and in few hours, I was supposed to do a presentation at the local rotary club in Bangkok. I was the key note speaker at the meeting where all the Thai rotary Members including the club President were going to be present. I come home after class, clean up my face, put on some lipstick and get ready to be all happy and cheerful so that I can do a good job at my presentation. Vicky offered to go along with me to my presentation. We took the sky train, arrived at the hotel, greeted everyone and I conducted my presentation. I and Vicky both slowly got into the mood of enjoying ourselves. At the end of the meeting there was a Karaoke and we both sang the song from the "Sound of Music". We both danced and laughed with everyone. I told her, how we women were capable of going through a range of emotions in just few hours. No one would have believed at that meeting that just few hours ago we were sobbing and sharing with each other, one of the most traumatic event of our lives.

I am posting a video of the song, I and Vicky sang at the rotary meeting and then sang again for our classmates. Our classmates will be seen and heard singing along with me and Vicky! Our Professor has been great and I really appreciate how she integrated music and dancing into this class along with the videos of wars, people and children experiencing trauma.
The video below was shot my Rosamaria, my sister here about whom I will write in my next blog.

Children Coping with Trauma

2010-08-27T01:36:00.000-07:00

I am posting this while I am in class learning about the impact of trauma on children going through war. This video was shown in the class and it brought tears to me eyes. It took me back to my interview with the a family of six children in Mozambique, who had lost their parents to AIDS. And it reminded me of the coping mechanisms they used to survive. The 13 year old sister who would prostitute herself to feed her little siblings. I had asked her that time, why was she doing this knowing that it would expose her to HIV and kill her like her parents and she told me, either way, she and her family will die. At least she was preventing her family from dying of hunger. I thought it was a very powerful statement made by a 13 year old.

Here is another perspective from a 4 year old. The video below shows how war is raising a generation of children with a total dissociation and resentfulness. If you notice the articulateness of the girl. It is a clear indication of how she is forced to grow up at the age of four. All the little things that constitute comfort, safety and love for a child are taken away and how traumatic it has been for this little girl. Tom, my classmate also mentioned how he was deeply touched with the image of a father showing on his neck who was wounded and there was a child standing next to him and comforting him. It clearly depicts the role reversal that traumatic situations could lead to. Phew!!! This class is certainly very emotionally charged!

Cultural Aspect in Peace and Conflict Resolution

2010-08-26T23:22:00.000-07:00

More detailed posts later this week-end, but could not wait to share this video about the cultural sensitivity that one of our Professor today shared with us. We are studying "Conflcit Trauma".

For Every Woman

2010-08-22T04:09:00.000-07:00

This was one of the poem shared by one of my Professor Irene Santiago. The poem is written by Nancy Smith. The topic for discussion was "Gender role in Peace and Conflict resolution". It touched my heart as many of the words I thought reflected my personal sentiments.

For every woman who is tired of acting weak when she knows she is strong,
there is a man who is tired of appearing strong when he feels vulnerable.

For every woman who is tired of acting dumb,
there is a man who is burdened with constant expectation of "knowing everything."

For every woman who is tired of being called "an emotional female,"
there is a man who is denied the right to weep and to be gentle.

For every woman who is called unfeminine when she competes,
there is a man for whom competition is the only way to prove his masculinity.

For every woman who is tired of being a sex object,
there is man who must worry about his potency.

For every woman who feels "tied down" by her children,
there is a man who is denied the full pleasures of shared parenthood.

For every woman who is denied meaningful employment or equal pay,
there is a man who must bear full financial responsibility for another human being.

For every woman who was not taught the intricacies of an autmobile,
there is a man who was not taught the satisfactions of cooking.

For every woman who takes up a step toward her own liberation,
there is a man who finds the way to freedom has been made a little easier.

Tell me why? Do you have the answer?

2010-08-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

This was the video song played in one of our classes. It has been tough week for all of us, learning about landmines, weapons, disarmament, cambodia killing fields, military, security reform etc etc. Am looking forward to the non-violence class tomorrow. Also will write my chapter 2 on Human trafficking this week-end. Have a paper to write too.

Chapter 1: Field Study: Visit to Mae Hong Sorn and the Ban Mai Nai Soi Camp

2010-08-15T23:45:00.000-07:00

Thailand is currently home to several thousand illegal immigrants (from several countries, like Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, and other neighboring countries and European countries. These illegal immigrants have different status 1) Some of them are "totally illegal" and thus subject to instant deportation if arrested by police or 2) some of them are “registered illegal immigrant workers” whose employer have sought amnesty from Thai government so that they can work for a year or so, however they do not have any labor rights and are often exploited or 3 ) The third group of illegal immigrants or classified as refugees by the UNHCR are , mostly from Burma (Myanmar) and who started arriving in Thailand about 20 years ago due to the political unrest in the country. The Thai government does not recognize them as refugees and however they have been moved to certain areas near the Burma-Thai border called “Temporary shelters” by the Thai government. There are a total of 9 “Temorary shelters” along the border. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) along with several international and local NGO’s are supporting these Burmese refugees. The camps houses around 140,000 refugees.

The Thai governments also has not signed the International Refugee Convention and hence have no legal obligation to allow the refugees to integrate within Thailand. However, one should keep in mind that Thai government has taken total responsibility for these refugees by not only providing them with the land but also working with UNHCR and International Organization for Migration (IOM) for the resettlement programs for the refugees.

Let me describe my field trip to visit one of the Refugee camps. There is so much information that I will have to write in parts.

We arrived in Chiangmai this week. The rotary club has sponsored everything, our flight tickets, vans, hotels, food etc. We really have been treated very royally. Thanks to all the Rotarians and their donations, that is funding our study program. It has been a great experience so far and indeed feel very privileged. Our first day was a little laid back and we all went to the night market to shop. I was extremely tired from the travelling. The next day we started at 7:00 am in the morning to go to Chiangmai University. We were a part of the panel discussion on Human Trafficking issue in Thailand. I have learned so much about Human Trafficking (HT) in the last few days. The issue of HT in Thailand is very serious problem, as it is a center for source, transit, destination for human trafficking. In May 2006, Vital Voices Global Partnership in collaboration with the Royal Thai. Government's Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the United States Embassy in Thailand, and the United States Agency for International Development organized a regional conference in Bangkok, Thailand to encourage civil society and government efforts to collaborate in the prevention and elimination of human trafficking. I will write about Human Trafficking and my personal perspectives in my next posting.

I was laying in the bed after puking my guts out at the hotel in Chiang Mai. I could not sleep as I was exhausted and also my mind was trying to process all the information that we had learned in one week. Human trafficking, bonded labor, sex trafficking, refugee resettlement programs, politics of Burma-Thailand, the red shirt perspective of the Thailand issue, Chiang Mai history and of course 1864 curves that I almost survived twice. I thought that there were both positive and negative aspects of everything that I saw and learned. The issues and problems existed but there were also people, organizations and international community trying to alleviate the problems if not able to solve them. The fact that Rotary organized for the World Peace Fellows to go on this field study is infact a testimony that the issues in Thailand were gaining public attention. I see this field trip as a wonderful opportunity for the World Peace Fellows not only as a learning experience but also to get involved in meaningful work with anyone of the organizations that we visited (IMO, UNCHR, University Professors, the theatre group) etc.

The visit to the refugee camp Ban Mai Nai Soi was one of the field study organized by Rotary. This camp is one of the longest protracted camp (of the 9 camps) along the Burma-Thailand border. Although every meeting with various stakeholders and organizations were highly informative and interesting, for me the highlight of the trip was the opportunity to visit the Ban Mai Nai Soi Camp in Mae Hong Sorn. I will never forget the morning of the camps day visit. As we prepared to board our truck in the morning to leave for the refugee camp, a sense of sadness engulfed me, the same sadness; I felt when I was in Mozambique working with the children orphaned by AIDS and used to travel with them in pickup trucks. It wasn’t that I was not ready to visit the site, but it was more of my personal feeling toward pain. Having gone through a life threatening health problem in the last few months, being diagnosed with a rare disease, the painful recovery, the endless visits to hospitals, the several emotional meltdowns when the physical pain became overwhelming, and the loneliness that pain and disease brings to your life. You are so trapped in the diseased body that you reach a point where you relinquish all your fight as pain becomes a part of you. It is not giving up hope but rather accepting what is and learning to mange and cope with pain and the inherent uncertainty that it brings to your life.

I was reminiscing the events in my life and thinking about the refugees and the kind of pain they must be going through being trapped not only physically in the camp for more than two decades but also emotionally with the uncertainties that has become a part of their life. As our truck drove through the thick woods, lush with green trees, bamboo shoots and overflowing river waters, it became evident how the far removed the refugees were from all other civilization. As we reached the camp check point to fulfill the legal formalities to get an entry pass to the camp, the entire process seemed like going to a safari. Yes ironically very sad. The houses within the camp reminded me of the movie Avatar, where the Navi people on the planet Pandora had build their homes with natural materials from the forest. Infact, the entire scene of the brown and beige camp houses made of bamboos and dried leaves against the backdrop of the luscious green trees resembled the plant Pandora, kind of pristine, organic and untouched by the modern world. The tour at the camps site shed a lot of light on how things actually operated in the camp.

In my personal opinion the camp was in a much better situation than I had imagined with so many NGO local and international organizations in supporting the camp. The most important human right violation was the inability of the people to move and being trapped in this confined space. I wondered about their pain, as I tried to make eye contact with some of the adults and children. Most of the adults I looked at were stoic in their expressions, and continued doing their daily business as if they were used to the foreigners coming to the camp site and watching them all the time. Very few made the eye contact; most of them just ignored us. I also wondered what was going through their mind. Did they think of us as just another group of strangers here to watch the circus? Or were they just immune to all the visitors? Or had they just accepted their fate and sort of adapted to their refugee way of life or just lost their hope in the system and the hope in going back to their homeland? I can’t say that I was very deeply moved as I have been in similar situations before but yes, witnessing one more made me extremely sad. Then I began reflecting on all the conflict places that we talked in our classes, Bosnia, Sudan, Israel-Palestine, Sri-Lanka, Africa, Argentina, Thailand, Burma etc and the plight of the people suffering. The camp visit almost served as a model and replicated in my mind the plight of people suffering around the world. Strangely at that moment while I was in the camp, I was not thinking about how I can help and what I can do. I was just dazed at us as human beings, and how we treat our own kind and for what? Money, Power, Territories, Identity? When the reality is that all of the causes that creates conflict among us are frivolous in the grand scheme of life. We come alone and with nothing in this world and we go alone with nothing. I guess, we all human beings lose sight of it. As one of the Thai professor had said in our class that the root cause of all kinds of conflicts and suffering is the attachment to desire. I personally have always believed that true education is the only way to release yourself from the bondage of human suffering. I describe the details of the camp and what I saw and feel because for me it is a miracle to be alive and be here with the people whose pain I cannot feel but at least empathize. All my senses became alive and my heart resonated with the heartbeats of all trapped in the camp. I do not want to compare my pain with the pain of the people in the camp however this visit has given me a new perspective in dealing with my own.

Finally I want to say that there are basically moments in which you're in touch with the meaning of life, when your relationship to the rest of the universe makes sense and this field trip was such a moment for me. Life is meaningless only if we allow it to be. Each of us has the power to give life meaning, to make our time and our bodies and our words into instruments of love and hope.

Will write more about the camp in chapter 2. We were not allowed to take pictures at the camp, however, the camp commander has allowed some pictures that were taken by them. I will post more in my next blog posting.

Here is the song that my friend and colleague Rosamaria introduced me to on our way back from Mae Hong Sorn through the 1864 stomach churning mountain curves.

World Peace Fellows Singing the Rotary Song

2010-08-08T09:18:00.001-07:00

Student Life in Bangkok

2010-08-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

Many of you have emailed me asking me what I am upto. I am sorry for not being able to keep in touch. As mentioned in my earlier blog, life here is extremely busy. I am a full time student now something that I have not done in a long time. Most of the day, I am engaged in lectures, visits to organizations, NGO’s, government officials, field trips, tons and tons of readings from articles and journals, writing papers, assignments and trying to catch up on my sleep. Okay, if my students are reading this, I know, I have harassed you all too with lots of readings. I promise that I will cut some readings out. Even though life is hectic and the work is overwhelming, I am very happy to be here and to have this opportunity to learn and enrich my life. Maybe health wise I am not yet 100% and so am getting very tired. I have joined the local club where I go to work out, swim, sauna and yoga to keep myself mentally and physically fit. One hour in the club every morning is Manisha time.

Now many of you are also wondering what actually I am studying here. The content is very new to me. It has been four weeks now. The course is very intense as I am learning all new theories, models and literature associated with conflict and peace studies. While I am learning this new subject, I have been constantly reflecting on how I will integrate this into my field “Educational Technology” and more importantly how I can bring this experience into my classroom for my students. Will write more about it in later.
Week 1: Few of the highlights of week 1. The first week started with the concepts and values of peace and conflict studies, gender roles in peace studies, causes of conflicts, structural violence that are built in the system (e.g voices of minority, apartheid, meetings that happen at 3:00pm in the afternoon where mothers could not come in, laws that discriminate people, economic disparities etc), John Burton’s needs theory, human rights, nature and types of conflicts, Edward Azar’s Theory of Social Conflict, reconciliation strategies, Mary Anderson’s “Do no harm” and strategic conflict analysis.

Week 2: The second week focused on the diagnosis and analysis of conflict. This was a very intense week learning about different models of conflict analysis. One of the models we studied in detail is a conflict triangle proposed by Johan Galtung. Johan Galtung (born 24 October 1930) is a Norwegian mathematician and sociologist and a principal founder of the discipline of peace and conflict studies. It has three important components: The actors (external and internal who play a role in the conflict situation), the compatibilities/contradictions (the variables that act as connectors and dividers in a conflict) and the behaviors/dynamics exhibited by the actors and influenced by the compatibilities and contradictions. We studied in detail the Darfur Conflict Analysis for two days and it was an eye opening experience as I did not know how complex the situation in Darfur is and how many of the countries, NGO’s national and international, and several other international organizations are making money out of the plight of the people in Darfur. One of the root causes of conflict in Sudan is how some of the unaccountable elites have marginalized the rest of the country. It is the fight of the poor against the elites. But too complex, too many actors and behaviors that has made the situation difficult to resolve.

Erik Melandar my course instructor defined conflict as: disputed incompatibility (pursuit of incompatible goals). He talks about Peace as both negative and positive. (Negative Peace: The absence of direct violence between organized parties and Positive peace: the absence of organized direct violence plus the fulfillment of some human rights). Our final exam was to write a 15 page paper on conflict analysis of a situation that we are already are involved in our work. I did my paper on post conflict situation analysis of Mozambique. This paper highlights the situation in Mozambique grappling with the legacy of colonialism, civil war and apartheid and how these factors have shaped the pandemic of HIV/AIDS leaving a devastating impact especially on women and children and causing a hindrance to the post conflict development of Mozambique. It took me a week to write the paper which is why I was away from emails and communications.

Week 3: Week 3 was comparatively much lighter as we had several hands on activities and role playing sessions focusing on the conflict resolution, skills, approaches and strategies. We learnt strategies and tools that are used for mediation, reconciliation and interests based negotiation process. I realized this week how much of this is all an art and not a science. Mediation was very difficult strategy for me to learn without letting my personal bias and preconceived notions creep into the mediation process of the two conflict parties. I actually failed in my first role as a mediator and was very upset at myself for not being able to remain objective. It takes time, is what I was told. This week was really fun as our two Professors, Jan and Joel sang songs and played music in class to keep us entertained.

Currently I am in Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Song, northern part of Thailand. I will write more in the morning about the plight of the refugees living in the camp along the Burma-Thailand border, and Human Trafficking issues in Thailand.

The Grand National (Energizer) performed by World Peace Fellows

2010-07-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

I had to share this with my readers. As mentioned in my last posting, we world peace fellows are in our classes from morning to evening. So here is one of the energizer activity that we perform to keep us awake and alert. It was introduced to us by our Professor Michael Fryer! He has used this during the Peace negotiations in Sri Lanka and they were quite enamored by it. He is British and so has a very interesting sense of humor. The activity is called Grand National. Okay you have to google it to find out more about it. Enjoy!!! You will see me in red (thankfully I am not video taped when doing all the funny acrobats)

My first two weeks in Bangkok (Thailand)

2010-07-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday evening and I am in my room at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. This is the first time, in last 12 days since I arrived, that I have been able to spend time in my room. Am a little low in energy and running a temperature. Probably just sheer exhaustion, but am compelled to write. Many of you have been eagerly waiting to hear about my experiences. However, my schedule has been so packed that I have not been able to sit down and write anything. Let's see, where do I begin? And will I will be able to recollect everything that happened in the past few days?

I arrived in Bangkok on a Tuesday and was picked up at the airport by my counselor. It was a 2 hour long drive from the airport as the traffic was really bad, pretty much like in Los Angeles. Bangkok reminded me a lot of Bombay (Mumbai) and Los Angeles. Lots of high rise buildings in the backdrop of several small old houses and old style apartment complexes, scattered among expressways and freeways. Huge billboards with perfect looking Thai men and women advertising undergarments to plasma screen televisions and computers. The homogeneity of all humanity is slowly transforming the countries providing you with a certain level of familiarity, at least on the outside. I guess the consequence of globalization. I picked up certain Thai words in the car on my way to the University. Saa-Waa-Dee Kha (Good morning, Good Night, Hello) and Khab Khoon Kha (Thank you) etc.

Even though I was tired after my 17 long hours of flight, my eyes were wide open soaking in all sights that we passed. The street names sounded very similar to Indian names as several Thai words have their origin in the Sanskrit language (one of the oldest Indian languages).The pronunciation is however slightly different.
I arrive at my dormitory (ViddhyaNivas) of the Chulalongkorn University, a tall building on campus where many visitors and foreign students usually stay. The place is quite comfortable with a maid service. The dormitory is close to one of the biggest shopping mall in Bangkok called MBK. Everything and anything that you may need or want is available under one roof. There are several other malls around it. The malls here are so huge that it usually takes one day to get through one floor of the mall. Most of the malls here are 9 to 10 floors. Martin, one of my classmates from Argentina describes MBK as the "Temple of desire"

The first week of classes, started with orientation of the coursework and Thai culture. Jenn Weidman who is the director of the Rotary Peace Center at the Chulalongkorn University conducted the orientation. Jenn is a very vibrant and enthusiastic woman. Her goal from day one was to make everybody feel welcome and at home. I met other 16 world peace fellows from different countries at the orientation, and was in awe of the work each one of them have done or are currently doing. They all came from wide variety of backgrounds, teachers, school Principals, college Professors, Police Officer, working for UNESCO, UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), documentary and film maker, activists, working for NGO's in Darfur, Pakistan,etc. It was quite an humbling experience. We all have become quite close almost like a family since day 1. Most of us herd together for shopping or dining out in the evenings or week-ends (Will write more about my classmates and their work in my next posting).

Week 2 was learning theories and models of conflict and peace resolution. Most of it is new to me, but very much interesting (Will write about the content of my study in this post, later today)

My day is pretty packed with classes and activities and hence it is very difficult to keep up with my blog. I wake up at 5:00 am, go to the Gym or run at the National Stadium from 6 to around 7:30 am, get ready for my Thai language class from 8 to 8:45 am, the regular classes start from 9 to 4 pm. Usually there are lots of activities with my fellow classmates in the evening, like playing badminton, swimming, shopping at MBK, touring the nearby temples, exploring the campus and various places to eat, getting Thai massages etc. By the time I am back in my room it is past 9:00 pm. Also first few days were challenging in terms of finding vegetarian places to eat. I have been slowly exploring new restaurants and now am pretty happy with the food here. There are so many places to eat and the food here is so inexpensive that most Thai people do not cook and prefer to eat out.

I have also tired the street food here a couple of times. Thankfully haven't got sick yet. But I think I am done with the street food. My favorite food here is sticky rice smeared with coconut milk and mangoes! People eat it as a dessert but I and my friend Rosamaria usually eat it for dinner.

I started writing this blog much earlier on the week-end but am posting it now. Am about to leave for my class and so more later!! Here is the link to some of the pictures Thailand Pictures

Here is me and Charlie performing Thai dance in our Thai class:

Update on the Apron Project in Mozambique

2010-07-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

African Millenium Foundation along with Neal Baer envisioned the Apron Project in Mozambique. For readers who have not read the archives, here is a two line recap. Many of you recollect that I was asked my Neal Baer and Malena Ruth from AMF to conduct research in solar technology in India. My google research led me to Deepak and Shirin Gadhia about whom I have written in my past postings. Both Deepak and Shirin visited U.S.A twice last year and have finally become partners in implementing the Apron Project. I along with Malena and Lacey wrote a grant to fund the Apron project. The grant has been funded by several individuals and organizations.

AMF has built viable relationships with both foundations and individuals that are committed to the long-term success of the Apron Project. The Jeanie C. Linders Fund one of the major funding organization has made it possible for continued fundraising efforts that to lead to new partnerships. Author Cornelia Funke has donated to the program and will be leading a fundraising event at her home this fall. A donations from David Andrele was collected for the project at an event held at the Los Angeles home of Erwin Moore in May. The Gamma Lambda chapter of The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International supported the project through a donation.

The Apron project involves donating solar ovens to the women (for the pilot project 10 women have been selected). Along with the solar cooker, the pilot group will receive micro-loans to start small businesses associated with their new cooker. Each woman will receive $350 to buy supplies and start a small enterprise. Training, with best local practices in mind, will be provided to the women on how they can utilize their cookers with their business. This initiative will be overseen by Reencontro’s established micro credit program with weekly meetings to share best practices and explore potential setbacks. AMF will provide $1,000 worth of supplies to start the program including pans, cooking supplies, etc.

The project was supposed to begin this June, however due to my surgery, health and several other logistic issues, the Apron project will not be implemented in Fall 2010. If my health permits I sure will go to Mozambique to conduct the evaluation of the project.

For now I am posting this update from Thailand. More on my last 10 days in Thailand in my next post.
(Again: Pardon my typos and spelling mistakes).

Baby Steps: Changing my blog title and design

2010-06-23T19:17:00.000-07:00

It is a lovely evening in San Antonio and I am relaxing in the backyard of my friends house. The quiet and peace is such a welcome from the Los Angeles traffic and police sirens in downtown. I am slowly able to sit upright for an hour at least to continue with my typing. My abdominal stiches are healing as I could do some really advanced Yoga postures this morning. It feels good today!

The feel of the cool breeze had suddenly inspired me to play with my blog. I am not sure how will I be able to capture everything in the last one year but it's a good start that I changed the look of my blog and also the title. I have added Thailand as I will be soon (4th of July) travelling to Bangkok for three months to study "Peace and Conflict Resolution". My work in Africa has now led me to Thailand. I will provide the connection in my next posting. I have so much to write and catch up. Am taking baby steps for now!
More tomorrow!

Breaking my long silence

2010-06-02T18:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,
Yes, I have been quiet for a long time. Too many new developments in the last one year. The most important was my health. I had a little brush with death last year. Was diagnosed with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (a rare form of sarcoma of the colon). However it was a low malignant potential and so did not need any chemo or radiation. Survived a major surgery and am trying to get back to my normal self. Soon will be back into my projects with even more renewed energy!!!

Am also hoping to slowly catch up on my postings and update the readers of my work in Africa. Thanks for your patience! Stay tuned!

Looking for funding

2009-02-28T07:31:00.000-08:00

I am writing this blog as I just found out that the CSULA Today magazine has been published last week. It highlights the work done by CSULA students, in designing interventions for the children in Africa.

I intend to take 10 CSULA graduate students to Mozambique to implement these interventions. I am looking for funding sources to make this a reality. If anyone out there is reading this blog and is interested in helping, please contact me and I will be happy to provide a detailed overview.

Thanks!
Manisha

CSULA Graduate Students Make a Difference

2008-11-24T11:29:00.000-08:00

I will write about this in detail soon. Until then read the article published in Cal State LA Today. At the end of the article is a link to the two papers depicting work done by CSULA students to design interventions for Africa.

http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/ppa/publicat/today/

Deepak Gadhia: Gadhia Solar Energy Systems

2008-10-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

In my endeavors in finding an expert in solar energy in India, I came across the name "Deepak Gadhia" in my google search. Deepak and his wife Shirin have received many awards, also from the President of India, in promoting solar technology and renewable resources not only all over India but in several other countries. I went to India with a list of names of vendors who were dealing in Solar Cookers. The first contact on my list was Deepak Gadhia. I called him once I was in India, not knowing that he would personally answer the phone. In my phone conversation with Deepak, I felt very comfortable and we arranged to meet in Baroda city at Muni Ashram (in the state of Gujarat), where he was delivering a lecture.

I booked my train tickets and was on my way to Baroda with my parents. It was my first visit to the city. We booked a hotel in downtown and arrived a day earlier. It was hot and humid. The humidity was just too much for me to handle. I booked an auto-rickshaw and next morning arrived at Muni-Ashram. The drive to the ashram was very beautiful. My rickshaw followed a curved road paved with coal tar and trees on either side, some parts landscaped with open fields and men and women in colorful clothes working in the fields. I arrived at the ashram feeling rejuvenated by the cool and fresh air. I arrived early and while I waited for Deepak (which is what he wanted me to call him, by his first name), I took a mini tour of the hospital located in the ashram. The hospital had a state of the art technology, with high tech diagnostic labs, MRI and CT rooms, Oncology department, cancer researach center and plush waiting rooms. The premises inside looked like any other hospital in a America. I was amazed with the place, and could not beleive that this was all in a remote village of India.

Deepak arrived soon and we had an hour long conversation introducing each other of our background. Deepak told me that his lecture was cancelled and he only flew down to Baroda to meet with me. I was touched. I found Deepak's demeanour very friendly, humble and warm. He shared with me his life story in a nutshell and how he got involved in solar energy projects. He was a very amiable and down to earth. We chatted for a while getting acquainted with each other. The more I got to know about Deepak and Shirin, I was very impressed with their accomplishments and their commitment to help not only the needy in India but any global community. For them the world was their home. It will take me an entire different blog post to write about him and his wife Shirin. Will save it for now for another posting and get to the real business.

In Deepak and Shirin, I found kindred spirits. Deepak then took me on a tour of the Muni-Ashram, introducing me to all the board members and staff at the ashram. Here are some pictures that I took at the ashram and will write about it soon.
http://picasaweb.google.com/manisha.javeri/IndiaSolarEnergyProject

Also here is the link to Deepak's website on Solar Energy Solutions.
http://www.gadhia-solar.com/
Please click on the video link to watch the videos. The first video will give you a very good idea of what has been implemented by Deepak and Shirin in India and other parts of the world.

Solar Energy in India: A way of Life

2008-10-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

Solar energy is the most readily available source of energy and it is free. It is also the most important of the non-conventional sources of energy because it is non-polluting and, therefore, helps in lessening the greenhouse effect. There are three major types of solar cookers popular in India. Before we delve deeper, let us look at the basic types of solar cookers (information from the site http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles/SolarCookersinIndia.asp)

Types of Solar Ovens

The following are three popular ovens used in India.

See Table:

Box Cookers	Panel Cookers	Parabolic Cookers

When a glass covered chamber coated black inside and insulated all around is exposed to sunlight the temperature inside exceeds 100 degree Celsius, which is sufficient to cook food. More heat can be achieved by having an exterior reflector. The solar box cooker incorporates these features.	Roger Bernard in France came up with this design, where various flat panels concentrate the sun's rays on to a pot inside a plastic bag or under a glass bowl. The advantage of this design is that they can be built in an hour or so, from next to nothing. In Kenya, these are being manufactured for the Kakuma Refugee Camp project for US$2 each.	These are usually concave disks that focus the light onto the bottom of a pot. The advantage is that foods cook about as fast as on a conventional stove. Seen above is one model and there are many others possible.
Slow, even cooking of large quantities of food is possible Takes more than 3 hours to cook	Relatively quicker, but can cook only smaller quantities	Food can be cooked in half an hour. The disadvantage is that they are complicated to make, they must be focused often to follow the sun, and they can cause burns and eye injury if not used correctly.
With a single-reflector box cooker, once the food is cooked, it just stays warm and doesn't scorch.You can put in a few pots with different foods and then come back later in the day and each pot will cook to perfection and stay hot until you take it out.	Some people have reported the need to stir food every once in a while when using this kind of cooker, to ensure that the food heats evenly.	Cooking with a parabolic cooker is very similar to cooking on one burner of a conventional stove. Since the concentrated sunlight shines directly on the bottom of a pot, the pot heats up and cooks very quickly. The food will burn though. So you have to stir it and watch it carefully.
Box cookers with one back reflector don't need to be turned unless you arecooking beans, which take up to 5 hours.	Panel cookers need to be turned more often than box cookers, since they have side reflectors that can shade the pot.	Parabolic cookers are the most difficult to keep in focus. These need to be turned every 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the focal length.

Most popular in India are the box type solar cookers with a single reflecting mirror being promoted by the Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources since 1982. These cookers are manufactured mainly by small/tiny industries to a set of specifications developed by MNES, later approved by Bureau of Indian Standards. There is an estimated potential demand of 10 million solar cookers in this country. In India a major portion of the market is covered by box type cooker and a small portion of the market share is taken up by community type box cooker/parabolic type cooker. Manufacturers intending to manufacture and market solar cookers under the subsidy scheme have to compulsorily get the cooker tested and certified by an authorized test center. There are about 40 manufacturers whose combined annual production capacity is 75000 solar cookers.
These cookers have proved immensely popular in the rural areas where women spend a lot of time foraging for firewood.
To popularize the solar cookers in urban areas the Ministry has formulated a strategy to introduce cookers with electrical backup which consume low electrical power.
Solar cookers are available with and without electrical back in different sizes and can be procured from dealers/manufacturers/nodal agencies/Aditya solar shops all over India.
A family size solar cooker is sufficient for 4 to 5 members and saves about 3 to 4 cylinders of LPG every year. Life of this cooker is 10 to 20 years. This cooker costs around Rs. 1000 after allowing for subsidy.
Concentrating solar cookers have been developed and deployed but the quantity is low and until wider acceptance is gained or some modification is made in the concentrating solar cooker which will allow the solar rays to be directed to a hot spot inside the kitchen, people will shy away from these giant contraptions.
A community type parabolic concentrating solar cooker developed by ULOG Group of Switzerland is being promoted by an NGO in Gujarat and has met with moderate success. This cooker is designed to direct the solar heat to a secondary reflector inside the kitchen which focuses the heat to the bottom of a cooking pot. This cooker costs upward of Rs. 50000 and it is also possible to actually fry, bake and roast food. More than 50 such cookers have been deployed under a project sponsored by Sardar Patel Renewable Energy Research Institute and Gujarat Energy Development Agency.
Unique in India is the solar steam cooking system installed at Brahmakumari’s Ashram at Mount Abu with financial assistance from German Government. This system consists of 24 Scheffler paraboloid reflectors, two each of which are installed to focus sunlight on a square type insulated fin and tube receiver. Twelve such receivers are focused by 24 reflectors. The concentrators track the Sun automatically using a mechanical clockwork arrangement and a DC motor run by photovoltaic power panel helps in resetting the reflectors to face the Sun as required. This system generates 500 Kgs of steam which is enough to cook two meals for 500 people. More than 1000 people can expect to receive cooked food from this system within an hour, provided sunshine is adequate.

Background of Solar Energy Project for Mozambique

2008-09-12T20:36:00.001-07:00

Background of my Visit to India and Solar Energy Research

It has been almost a year since my visit to Africa. A whirlwind of trips followed after that to Toronto, Quebec city, Hawaii, Colorado, San Francisco, Chicago, and finally to India. In the last one year I have spend more time on the plane and airport then I have at my place in Los Angeles. The purpose of my visit to India was related to my continued work in Africa. Below are the project details:

African Millenium Foundation (the los angeles based NGO, that sponsored by Africa trip in 2007) and Dr. Neal Baer (executive producer of Law and Order) along with some sponsors from Hollywood are planning to implement a solar oven project for in Mozambique (Sustainable Solar Oven Project for the Women in Maputo (Mozambique)

Current Situation in Mozambique:

Several miles outside of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique is a sprawling community with around more than 6000 children orphaned by AIDS. These children live in their houses within the community who are practically raising themselves or are taken care of by the women living in the neighborhood. Many of the women have themselves lost their husbands to AIDS and are also single handedly taking care of their own 3-4 children along with other orphaned children.

In summer of 2008, I (sponsored by AMF) visited this community first hand to conduct a needs assessment of the situation in Mozambique. The needs assessment included onsite visits with several families, interview with the women care givers and activists. These women care givers and activists are the women from the community who have taken on the responsibility of serving their own people. Also some of the teenage girls and boys have joined hands with women caregivers and activist. Of the several needs of the women in Maputo and Gaza district, one of the greatest needs was getting fuel for cooking. The firewood was very expensive and so many women would walk several miles in the rugged terrain to get wood for cooking. This practically took over their entire day, leaving little time for these women to engage in any other activities and for the girls to go to school. Also the smoke and carbon emission from the fuel burning polluted the environment, leaving several children with respiratory disorders. It is very evident that if the women had access to solar cookers/ovens many of these problems could be alleviated.

Goals and Objectives:
The overarching goal of this project is to create a sustainable and replicable training program on the implementation of solar ovens among the women in Maputo. This goal will be achieved by the following objectives:
1. Conduct analysis of the needs of the women in Maputo with regard to their cooking and fuel requirements.
2. Conduct research and needs assessment to find the solar oven model that best fits the needs of the women in Maputo.
3. Introduce the concept of solar energy to the women in Maputo.
4. Train the women in Maputo on the use of solar ovens and their application in cooking, baking, sterilizing water etc.
5. Conduct formative and summative evaluation during and after the implementation of the training on solar ovens in Maputo.
6. Document best practice examples of the use of solar ovens by the women in Maputo to be able to replicate in another community

Update on my Blogging

2008-08-10T00:24:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,
Many of you have been anxiously waiting to read my travel adventures in India and projects in Africa. However, my laptop has died and I am unable to type anything. Using a cybercafe to write long blogs is not feasible. As soon as I am back in LA in september and get my laptop fixed, I will resume writing.

Thanks for your patience and please visit my blog in september.

In a nutshell, I am having a wonderful time here in India currently. I am in Delhi and am learning so much about renewable energy resources, particulary solar energy. There is so much to learn and so little time.

Hope you all are having a wonderful time as well.

Manisha

Ripples of Change at Reencontro

2007-10-31T12:32:00.000-07:00

I have been extremely busy with several projects and so have not been able to write much on my blog. However, I received some great news and could not resist myself from posting it on my blog.

Last night I came home from work after a very long day. It was 9:30 pm when I walked into my apartment and I saw several men with big water pumps and dryers, yelling and screaming at each other. That morning the water in the building was shut down for some repair and I had left one of the taps in the bathroom sink open. The sink stopper was closed and water flooded my entire apartment and started leaking down the lower floors. The carpet was all soaking wet, the closet clothes (that were on the floor) were all wet, the entire bathroom area, half of the bedroom and the living room was all wet except my couch. Luckily my laptop was on the desk and not on the floor that day. The security men from the building left after most of the water was suctioned out. Other then updating me with what happend, none of the men spoke with me at all (Of course angry at my negligence!). I was up until 3:00 am trying to dry all my clothes and clean up as much as I could. I was very tired, was dizzy, felt miserable, and was missing my family and neighbors in India. If something like this would have happend in India, my entire family along with all my neighbours would be right there with me cleaning up and the place would be fixed in few hours.

I woke up in the morning after 4 hours of sleep to the stench emanating from the wet carpet. I looked around me and did not know where to start. I thought of calling my work place and taking the day off to take care of the mess (which I could not do eventually). While I got on the computer to e-mail my department chair, I read the e-mail that I received from Malena Ruth from African Mellinium Foundation. Below is the e-mail content pasted.
******
Dear Manisha,

Hope all is well and that your apartment is being cleaned.
I thought you would love to know that my dear friend Gloria Ruben and her fiancé Chris Zalla will be sponsoring Irenio's family. It takes 5,400 a year to care for his family, from school fees, clothing, food, medical assistance, etc. Thanks to YOU, the future of Irenio's family looks much brighter. They are committing 5,400 a year for this family. Olinda found a company that will build a house for them and Gloria and Chris will pay to have the house furnished. Once again thank you a million times for your courage and being diligent and pointing out the needs that this family had. At least you can rest assured that your trip to Mozambique is already producing amazing results. Interesting note, Gloria is coming back to ER for an episode I will let you know when it will air.

Much love,

Malena

*******
When I read this e-mail, I took one glance at the mess around me and jumped out of couch and started cleaning up. I was so estatic that Irenio's family now has a home!!! If you all remember, in my past blogs on Reencontro, I had written an entire story on Irenio's family that had deeply touched me and everyone else who had read my blog. This family of six children were in dire need of a safe home to live (You can read more about in my archived blog). On my last day in Mozambique, I had breakfast with Dr. Neal Baer (the executive producer of Law and Order) and Chris Zalla (a film maker from New York). I had talked about all the kids who had left an impression on me and I really wanted to do something for them. I mentioned to Neal and Chris about Irenio's family and was hoping that they would take their story and tell it to the world. Neal Baer and Chris Zalla are now making a documentary on their lives and I believe the shooting is already done. I have also video-taped their story with my Mini DV camera and am working on making my own version of a mini-documentary that I can share with my family and friends.

So after all, at the end of the day, I am happy that I have a roof over my head and just a wet floor with some stink......as somewhere in another continent I was able to help someone get a home with dry floors :-)

More later!

My Meeting with His Excellency Armando Guebuza President of The Republic of Mozambique

2007-10-07T12:39:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, I was vacuuming my apartment in my dirty old T-shirt and smelling of Clorax, when I received a phone call from Malena. She asked me if I was available to meet with the President of Mozambique as he was going to be in New York City for the United Nations convention and would like to meet with me about my visit to Mozambique. So, I leave my cleaning half way and work on finishing my report related to my visit to the University of Unilurio, as I was supposed to present my report to the President. I then realized that I did even know the name of the President. So I googled him and that evening caught up on read everything about him.

I start my preparation for my meeting with the President. Malena had booked my tickets and had made all the plans for my visit. First, I had to request my department chair to find a substitute for my class. My department chair would not believe me that I was meeting with the President. He sent out a hilarious e-mail to all my colleagues and I finally had one of my senior colleague who offered to substitute for me. By the way my department chair is one of the kindest, caring and a wonderful man that I know. I promised him to get a picture of me with the President as a proof. I took a red eye and flew to New York city on tuesday night, right after my class that evening. I could not sleep all night in the plane with the excitement of not only meeting the President but also meeting my childhood friend who I had not seen for more than 14 years and with whom I had not spoken to in more than 20 years. I arrived at 8:00 am in the morning and took a shuttle to Grand Central station where I was meeting my friend. The whole world seemed to stand still when I saw my friend. We went down memory lane and talked about our childhood and school days. It was pretty nostalgic and I was “the happiest” in a very long time. I knew then, my meeting with the President that evening was going to be just perfect. And yes it was!

I arrived at the New York Palace hotel on Madison Ave, that evening, dressed in black trying to look professional. I walked through the security tight entrance of the hotel, into a magnificent lobby all decked with flowers, with several men and women sitting at tables, drinking wine and eating colorful desserts. I found myself a secluded table, waiting for Malena who was going to meet me there. I was half hour early, so it gave me time to bring myself back to the present reality as I had drifted away to my childhood days since that morning. As I sit there at the table, lost in thoughts and intermittently catching on the conversations around me, a gentleman walks up to my table asking me if he could sit there. He sits down and we ended up just chatting about the hot weather and the UN convention. He then extends his hand introducing himself as the Chief Analyst and advisor to the President of Zambia. I at once wake up from my semi slumber. We then talk about all my travels and work in Africa and at the end of the conversation, I got invited to visit Zambia in summer of 2008. It was then that it struck me that everyone in that hotel lobby was either a President, or a Vice President or Chief advisor, Analyst etc and that they all were attending the United Nations Annual Convention.

Later, I met Malena and her husband Joe who went up to the President’s suite while I waited again to be called in. I was again lost in thoughts when the President’s secretary Maria walks upto me in the lobby and says “The President is waiting for you”. I walk with her and take the elevator upstairs accompanied by NYPD cop. I was then led to the President’s suite along with Malena and Joe. I shake hands with the President, his advisors and other cabinet ministers after Joe introduces me to everyone. We all sit down and Joe gives a very glowing introduction of Dr. Javeri. It was only at the end of his introduction, I realize that he was speaking about me. I then address the President and provided him candid details of my visit to Mozambique. He listens to me very intently while the press is clicking away pictures from all angles. The President eyes lit up when I talk about my one-on-one interactions with the students of the University of Unilurio and he asked me if they were able to communicate with me in English. I told him yes, the students were very smart, intelligent and articulate. I then handed him my 30 page report and my vision related to building a technology infrastructure at the University. We talked about it for another 20 minutes and toward the end, the President promised me that he would read the report and will get in touch. I then asked him if I could take a picture with him using my camera as I needed to provide a proof to my boss. He kindly obliged and we took several pictures. I am posting the one we took with Malena as well. I shook hands with everyone and left the room. As soon as I came out of his suite, I was surrounded by press who interviewed me about my talk with the President. I and Malena came down in the lobby, chatted for a while over coffee and a quick dinner; while Joe her husband came down to tell me that I spoke very well with the President and that he was very impressed with my candid and honest spirit. It was still very surreal for me to really grasp the situation. Malena, then helped me find a cab and I drove back to the JFK airport. It was a long 45 minute drive to the airport, enough time for me to relive the memories of one of the most memorable day of my life, seeing my long lost friend and meeting the President of Mozambique.

My Visit to the University of UniLurio in Nampula (Mozambique)

2007-10-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

A Brief Recap: My visit to Africa this summer included three places a) Botswana (Gaborone), where I worked with the ministry of education training teachers, worked with visually and hearing impaired, conducted workshops on technology for the staff at the ministry of education b) Mozambique (Maputo) where I worked with the AIDS orphans supported by the local NGO Reencontro c) Mozambique (Nampula) where I visited University of Unilurio and conducted a workshop/seminar on digital libraries and repositories. My trip to Mozambique was sponsored by Malena from African Millennium Organization based in Los Angeles.

In my past blogs I have already written about Botswana and Reenconto. So in this blog I will write about my visit to University of Unilurio and that would provide a nice ending to all my travel experiences in Africa.

University of UniLúrio is a university in its infancy (2-week-old) when I first visited the campus. The campus is located in the city of Nampula (North of Mozambique) and is in the process of building an educational environment that would cater to the local community. Currently the university has faculty of medical, dental and pharmacy sciences with a total of 140 students. Unilúrio is in the process of setting up of a network system at main campus. Since my visitation to the campus was for a short duration of a week, it was hectic and overwhelming. However, I was very excited about the University as I first saw that the University has a great potential to become a state of the art campus in the city of Nampula and in the country of Mozambique. Dr. Jorge Ferrao the Vice-Chancellor and his colleagues at the university are visionary and willing to implement new ideas.

One of the key observations that I made was the close collaboration of the University of UniLúrio with several stakeholders like the military academy, the railways, the local Digital Resources Provincial Center (CPRD) funded by United Nations, the local K-12 schools, and the museums. These collaborations can be leveraged with the power of digital technologies to create a network of community of learners. In my conversations with the faculty at the university, with the staff at the museums and railways, with the students and teachers from the schools, and various other stakeholders, it was evident that their primary goal was integrating Information Technology and Communications (ITC) in their fields of work.

My site visit included the following:

Toured the main campus of University of Unilúrio and tour the campus facilities, computer labs, dinning halls, classrooms, study centers, faculty lounges etc.

Visited local museums, railway ministry, military academy, local K-12 schools, and local computer media center (CPRD, i.e. Digital Resources and Provincial Center).

Conducted a one day workshop and seminar on “Optimizing Digital Resources in Schools and Universities: Virtual Libraries and Communication” which was attended by all the faculty at the university of UniLúrio, people from the museums, local communication and network systems, information technology professionals, local school district teachers etc. The entire presentation and seminar was video –taped.

Visited and met all the faculty from medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and English to provide ideas on use of instructional software (like simulations and tutorials) and digital libraries for teaching and research.

Visited and spoke to the students from different disciplines at the University of Unilúrio and provided them an overview of the online social and collaborative tools like “Second Life”; “Myspace.com”; “Facebook” etc

Met the administration staff and provided consultation on online student registration, housing, scholarships and financial aid, a need to install a common student data management system, etc

Interacted with the key faculty: Professor Jorge Ferrão, Professor Abdulcarimo Ismael, Dr. Ivan Collinson, Dr. Rosemary Hunt (English) and Dr. Chipako.

In my next blog, I will write about my meeting with "His Excellency Armando Guebuza President of The Republic of Mozambique"

After Effects of Africa in Los Angeles

2007-10-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

It’s been more than a month since my return from Africa and I am still reeling under it’s after effects. The day I flew back to LA, I was received at the airport by my friend Evelyne who was waiting for me with her cheerful smile. It was indeed nice to see a familiar person coming to receive me.

The next couple of days, I was coping with a series of events that took a toll on my emotional and physical health but I have now bounced back with more vigor. Set backs are really good for you, they not only test your endurance but make you stronger, to face any other setbacks waiting for you in future. People say that you come back from Africa with a bug and it never leaves you. It’s very much true. It changes you and your perspective about everything. You become an alien species and can’t fit in back in the same society, which you were a part of just few months ago. The images of Africa, haunts me every minute, whether I am sleeping or awake. However, these images bring me closer to my feelings and emotions that were deeply buried inside me. Africa taught me, that all we need to learn from life is how to be a “human”. It’s that simple, yet difficult for some….

The question is, Will I go back to Africa? Yes! I will! with a better plan and yes with some of my friends who are signing up to go with me!!!

By the way some helpful tips from my personal experiences, for those who are like me. Pardon me if this offends my other friends who are very organized in their lives :-)

When you travel for a long period make sure you pay your bills in advance or remember to pay via internet or else your account will become “delinquent” like mine did for not paying $14.03 in time. I had never thought that I will someday have the honor to be on the delinquent list!
Remember to have someone run your car so that when you come back and you have no food in your fridge, you get into you car and realize the battery is dead! You then call the AAA guy and find out that your membership has expired just 2 days ago. So you stare at your dead car for sometime, you are jet lagged, tired, hungry can't think, and then you come back home and drink lots of tea and look for canned beans in your pantry. Well! if you like canned beans then you can ignore number 2 from this list.
Please make copy of your credit cards and drivers license so that when you misplace your license you do not have to stand in the hot sun for 4 hours to get a duplicate.
Write down all your passwords and userids, pin numbers (for your online banking, email accounts, your classrooms, labs, your voice mails, your credit cards etc) someplace safe, especially if you are traveling to Africa since you will forget all of them by the time you come back.
And of course if you are a homeowner DO NOT FORGET to pay your mortgage in time (online or via check). Well! in my case that was not an issue as I totally forgot that I had a condo in Colorado! What difference it makes, as I did not even have any money left after coming back from Africa.
If you are a Professor at a university and single (paying high taxes), living in Los Angeles and paying half of your salary in rent, and other almost half in a mortage, then you better prepare yourself for working on a second job after coming back from Africa. You will be buried in debt! Before my trip to Africa, I could not even spell the word “debt” nor do I remember that word existed in my vocabulary.
Have a close friend remind you that you have a job that pays your bills and that you have to keep your self sane and get over the hangover from your trip.
Most important: If you have visited Africa, after you come back, please request your friends, family and every Tom, Dick and Harry who knows you, not to call you Angelina Jolie or Mother Teresa! It will annoy you so much that you may want to run away back to Africa.

Most of you are waiting to hear a follow up on my work with Africa. So in my next blog, hopefully this saturday, I will write about my phenomenal meeting with the President of Mozambique in New York City. YES STAY TUNED!!

PS: For now I am going to continue using this free blog service, until I have time to move it to something more user friendly and better interface.

Reencontro: Work by Neal Baer (Executive Producer of Law and Order SVU)

2007-08-16T04:42:00.000-07:00

I just have been able to establish an internet connection in my London apartment. I am taking this opportunity to post some good news about Reencontro. On my last day in Maputo, I had a tea with Neal Baer, the executive producer of the NBC show, Law and Order SVU and Chris, a film maker from New York.

We were at the airport and had conversations about the families in Reencontro. I gave information about the families that had deeply touched me and I am so glad to now learn that Chris and Neal Baer have decided to make a documentary on their lives. Neal Baer is still there in Maputo with his team and the shooting has already begun. It really gives me immense pleasure to be able to see their stories told to the world and that I was able to contribute even in a small way by giving Neal a lead. I can't wait for the documentary to be released. I told Neal about my blog and he mentioned about his blog too. But of course he has a professional web designer travelling with him who updates his blog on the go using high tech gadgets :-) My humble blog with so many typos will fade when you see Neal's blog. Please feel free to visit his blog. I had promised him that I would share it on my blog. Here is the link http://www.thehouseissmall.org/

I am invited for a get together of the crew back in Los Angeles at Neal Baer's house. It would be interesting to see what Neal has planned for Reencontro with all his expertise and resources.

I will be meeting with Malena Ruth from IMF and give her my report on Reencontro. We will then have to plan on our future activities for Reencontro. I may keep this blog alive so that if any of my friends or family are interested in getting involved in my work for Africa, I would be happy to have you join me.

As I relax in my London apartment waiting for my misplaced bag to arrive, I am finally able to have sometime to reflect on my travels. Gloria my friend in London is working today and I am feeling too lazy to venture out. The view outside the apartment is beautiful with all Victorian houses lined up in a row and the sun shining on the red bricks. I am sitting outside on the porch with my wireless laptop sipping English tea. Today is the first day in months that I am relaxing (almost as I am making a list of to do things once I am in LA). London is exactly what I had mentally pictured ever since I was a little girl in India and wanted to live in Britain. All the memories of my childhood became alive as I walked along the Baker's street, Liverpool, Waterloo, and all the names of the places that I grew up reading in Sherlock Holmes, Jane Austin , Charles Dickens, Shakespeare, British history etc. By the way, did I mention that London has made me totally broke?

PS: My last picture in Maputo: From left, me with Chris, Neal and Clesio.

Update from London

2007-08-12T01:17:00.000-07:00

I have not been able to post my experiences at Unilurio in Mozambique, which would be my last blog on my travel to Africa. I am currently in London fighting cold and trying to get my lost baggage. Since I do not have access to the Internet all the time, I will resume my blog posting once I come back to Los Angeles.
I am posting this from the city of Bath two hours away from London.

PS: Pardon me for not responding to everyone's e-mail. I have tried calling some of you yesterday with a calling card but will not be able to get in touch until I come back to LA.

Stay tuned for my next blog!!

Pictures from Africa

2007-08-11T09:35:00.000-07:00

My Last Posting on Reencontro

2007-08-05T01:07:00.000-07:00

Early morning at 8:00 am, again I left on my daily rounds of visiting the orphan children in their homes. Our pick up approached the house that had a very narrow entrance. There were branches with long thorns hanging low blocking the walkway. My digital camera was not charged that day so I decided to video tape the story of this family with my camcorder. I turned on my camera and followed Olinda, Meena and Dorothy. As we entered the narrow entrance we saw a young teenage girl with a little baby suckling on her breast. A young teenage boy came out of the house. Ireneo was his name and he was the oldest brother around 16 years. Olinda asked him to fetch his other brothers and sisters. One of the sister, Sakina (around 13 years old) who has taken on the mother’s role had gone to fetch water. I then found out that the young woman with the baby was their cousin visiting them. Olinda was my interpreter here as everyone spoke Portuguese. I began my conversation with Ireneo who gave me an overview of his family. This was a family of six children, four girls and 2 boys, ranging from 16 years to 5 years. In few minutes they all assembled and greeted everyone including me, the Mozambique way (In Mozambique people greet by lightly brushing their cheek against yours). Each child greeted everyone. They were very polite and stood next to each other, answering all my questions in Portuguese. I asked them what each one would like to become when they grow up. The oldest boy Ireneo (around 16) wants to be either a doctor or an engineer, Aginalia (she is around 14) wants to be a teacher and then the executive director of the school, Sakina (she is around 13) wants to be a nurse, Both Nazima the stylish one (she is around 10 years) and Anisha (who beamed with smile when I told her that my name was Manisha), declared that they wanted to be a Professor like me. I joked with them and asked if they would like to take up my job in U.S.A? Yeah! They said emphatically. In fact many of the children that I visited during my stay in Reencantro orphan community, all wanted to be a "Professor like me". The youngest boy Neeru around 5-6 years was very quiet and standing close to Sakina holding her tightly. He was very shy and after a lot of prodding he finally spoke to tell everyone that he wants to be Michael Jackson. We all burst out laughing and that made him even more uncomfortable, as he slowly retreated closer to his sister. It did not help much as now everyone wanted him to show some of his Michael Jackson moves. I zoomed the camera on him and requested him to dance. After a lot of cajoling he impressed all of us with his MJ dance moves. He seemed like a prodigy.

After few minutes as they all felt comfortable with me, I slowly changed the topic to ask them about their parents. They told me that their father died first and then the father’s family came over to throw them out of their house while their mother was getting sick. Eventually the boys and the girls had to drop out of the school to take care of the house, daily chores and earn money. Inspite of their mother’s sickness who was dying of AIDS, she would bake biscuits in the brick oven and the children would sell them in the market to buy water, food and coal for cooking. However their mother died almost 8 months ago and now they have been left all alone. One of their uncle helped them for a while but then he disappeared. Now they are all clinging on to the house as they have nothing left to make them feel secure. The oldest brother Ireneo and the youngest 5 year old Neeru slept in the outhouse (almost like a tent covered with rag clothes, dried leaves and grass) adjacent to the house near the entrance, while the four sisters slept in the house. I asked Ireneo if he was worried about his sisters and his eyes reflected his fear. That explained the thorns around the entrance of their house. I slowly zoomed, my video camera to capture the condition of the house that they were living. The house was in a very dilapidated condition, and it looked like it was just bombed in a war, with huge gaping holes, and bricks almost on the verge of falling. The house did not have a door. I asked for permission to enter the house and Ireneo politely lead me in followed by everyone else. As we entered the house, I saw a rusted refrigerator in the corner of the room. There was no electricity, they were using the refrigerator as a cupboard. There was another adjacent room and it was pitch dark in there even during the day time. There were no windows. I could not see anything but it was probably empty with few rags on the floor where the girls slept. I was taping everything silently and then I asked if the children wanted to share any of their stories. Aginalia, mustered some courage to speak and before she could complete her sentence starting with her mother sickness, she broke down into sobs clasping her hands to cover her face. She could not continue after that and we all stood there in silence while her cousin consoled her. I gave my camera to Olinda and also tried to console her and told her it was okay, and she doesn’t have to talk.

We stepped out of the house and Ireneo walked me to the makeshift bathroom at the back of the house. There were four bamboo sticks holding together a tattered jute cloth that served as walls. There was a stone in the middle of it, that probably was used to wash clothes. That was all! I dared not ask any other details. I saw few old English magazines lying near the bed where the boys slept and inquired if the boys knew how to read. They said they just liked to look at the glossy pictures. Suddenly, Sakina walked upto me and told me that she would like to say something. Here is what she said interspersed with her sobs and tears rolling down her cheeks "We all had at least food to eat when our mother was alive as she baked biscuits for sale but now it has become very hard for me to feed everyone. Sometimes we don’t have anything to eat for 2-3 days and then some days it’s only one meal." I asked what she cooked and said mostly rice that she got from Reencontro and which was not everyday. It was almost past noon that day and I asked her if they had anything to eat, and she became silent and tilted her head down looking at the ground. There was this uncomfortable silence with everyone looking at the children who were all avoiding eye contacts with us. Their stoic faces and looks in their eyes appeared as if it was their fault that they did not have food to eat. This is where I first reached out into my purse and offered Sakina 100 metical. I then ran toward my pick up as my tears started rolling down on the sand leaving a trail from the house to the pickup. I sat in the pick up, wiping my face with my muddy hands and in few minutes was joined by Olinda, Meena and Dorothy. We all sat there in silence for the next 15 minutes while the driver drove us to the next house. I could feel all 12 lonely eyes looking at the pick up drifting away from them, their last hope. Every house that we visited had similar stories and each time I would think this was the worst one until we visited the next house.

I was reflecting on the lives of all the orphan children that we had visited, I was overcome with both anger and sadness. I was angry as there were certain cultural aspects that made no sense to me as an outsider. For instance, if the wife found out that her husband had contracted HIV, she could not say no to her husband and not only that she would proceed to get pregnant too as it was a stigma for a woman not bear a child. And to prove her fertility she put herself and her to be born child’s health at risk. And of course, the mother gets infected and transfers her infection to the unborn child. It gets worse, after the parents die and if there is a teenage sister who is now left to take care of the younger siblings (and at least one of the sibling is HIV), also gets pregnant. They never question the HIV status of their boy friends. I later found out (through an outside source) that many of these young girls are lured by men for money or food. So the vicious cycle of HIV infection, parents dying of AIDS and more and more orphans and/or HIV infected children continues. However, Olinda did mention that there are several youths who are educated with this regard. So I do not want to make a broad generalization, but this was the prominent theme that I saw in the few families that I visited in Maputo.

One of the week-ends, early morning I had gathered all the caregivers and activists from the community with the help of Olinda to talk to them about their challenges and how they can be helped. Most of these caregivers were themselves single mothers struggling to feed their children, some of whom were more educated about HIV/AIDS and felt the need to help their community. The meeting lasted all morning with each one telling their stories of the orphan families they worked with. Some of the highlights of the challenges were: food, house, lack of opportunities to earn a living and of course lack of education was on the top of the list. There was one of the activist who imparted moral and health education to the children and I asked her what exactly she taught. Her response was "I teach them bible and how we should all be good to each other and our neighbors" I questioned her, Do you teach about causes of HIV/AIDS and prevention, sex education? She was uncofortable with my line of questioning but later admitted that she did not talk about it, but would do it if there were separate classes for the teenage kids and the little ones. However she does use the HIV/AIDS booklets donated to Reencontro sometimes with the youth.

I later met with the youth group (all orphans) with whom Petra (from Holland) worked with. I toured with them to see their mini workshops where they made furnitures, raised chickens, made shoes etc. All the young girls and boys in this group themselves had taken some role with Reencontro to help their peers. They seemed to be aware of the HIV/AIDS terror that has ruined their community and destroyed familes and were willing to do anything to help. I felt that these enlighted youth could serve as the change agents in their comminuty if they were given the right opportunities and resources. Their biggest need was to get a professional training through a vocational and technical school.

I found this place fertile with a unique concoction of human emotions, both negative and positive. I was sitting one evening in the lobby of my hotel reflecting on the day’s events when I ran into a German guy named Gunther who worked for a German international organization similar to USAID. He was also here in Maputo to work with the government of Mozambique on the HIV/AIDS programs and polices. I mentioned to him about Reencontro and the situation of the AIDS orphans. We both talked a lot about the issue in depth and he gave me his perspective on all the NGO’s around the world working on HIV/AIDS and ther challenges. He agreed with me that education from early childhood is the only solution to combat this menace. No outside agency or program can bring about a change in a country with deeply rooted culture of it’s own; change has to come from within the people, the people have to recognize the problem first and then be willing to change. Don’t we already know this, through our history? In one of our coffee conversation my new friend Petra, kind of summarized the situation "We may have the best plan, strategy and solution as an outsider but the African’s have the time". Inspite of all the ostacles and difficulties, when I look at people lke Olinda, Dorothy and Meena, who have devoted thier lives for the oprhan children here, it inspires me and I do want to come back here with a more concrete plan and hopefully more funding.

I cannot write more on this anymore as it is too overwhelming. I fly to Nampula another city in Mozambique. In my next blog I will write about my experiences in Nampula at the University of Unilurio where I will be spending one week before I come back again to Maputo: Reencontro.
PS: I will upload the pictures as soon as I have access to my camera cable. I will delete some of the pictures of the little kids from my entire blog before the end of this month as I do not want them floating on the internet.

Reencontro

2007-07-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

Many of you probably are waiting to read my blog on Maputo and AIDS orphans. I am writing this blog after a long time as I needed to allow myself to absorb and reflect on the experiences in Maputo. I still haven’t been able to digest everything but have been able to muster some energy to write about it, even though briefly. What I am about to write is just getting my thoughts out on paper with details in some instances only. I am going to avoid the graphic details of my experiences with the lives of the AIDS orphans.

I arrived in Maputo airport and went through questioning at the customs and immigration by the Mozambique officials who after a thorough screening and going through my bags found nothing except my clothes and shoes. As I walked out of the airport, I was received by Clesio, Meena and Olinda. Meena and Olinda work for the Reencontro organization and Clesio is a friend of Malena who is working on starting the African Mellenium Foundation branch in Mozambique.

We took pictures standing next to the Reencontro pick up truck to post on my blog. I sat in the air-conditioned car with Clesio. My bags were all in the pick up driving behind me with Meena and Olinda. As we drove out of the airport, Clesio received a phone call and was busy talking while it gave me time to look outside. My senses suddenly became more alive like they always do when I land on the Mumbai airport. I saw the dust in the air and the smell was so familiar. Yes, it was exactly like the area around Mumbai airport with slums lined up with their tin and iron planked make-shift walls, graffiti all over the walls, little children carelessly playing close to the edge of the street in the mud watching the cars pass by, women drying clothes on the clothes line, dumpsters over flowing with stinking garbage that probably has been sitting there for days, streets with potholes, cars honking, bright colors of the clothes, big huge banners on the streets advertising expensive cell phones and TV’s. It felt like being home those first few moments. As we kept driving, the scene changed the streets became cleaner, the shanties transformed into apartment buildings with convenient stores below each building, people busy shopping, restaurants packed with people, few scattered mansions and houses with the western architecture (which I later found out that belonged to the U.S and exparts from other countries).

I arrived at the hotel Teminus where I was staying while in Maputo. The hotel was like any other five star hotel with all the facilities. Malena had arranged this for me as she thought I needed a good night sleep in a comfortable bed after my grueling day and she was right. My room had one single bed, with T.V and Ethernet wire that did not work. However, the hotel had an internet café with two computers that worked very slow. It was better than nothing. I was given a cell phone by Clesio. I rested in my room for a while before I was picked up by Clesio again at 7:00 pm for dinner. We went to the popular old Portuguese restaurant Costa do Sol that served the best sea food. We were joined by Dorothy and Olinda from Reencontro and Tobias a handsome young chap who I found out was the nephew of the current President of Mozambique. Tobias and Clesio are both planning to open a branch of AMF in Mozambique. I talked too much and asked too many questions all through the dinner trying to get an idea of what everyone was doing and also sharing my experiences in Botswana. I ordered the vegetarian platter that had rice like Indian pulav, spring rolls, cabbage potatoes, carrots, fried egg plant and fried cheese. I accidentally added too much of hot sauce on my rice and ended up burning my tongue, my first experience with the African chili.

After the dinner, I was dropped back to the hotel and of course I chewed Clesio’s ear up by asking questions like: What is the average income of a Professor in Moambique? How much money does one need per month to live comfortably? How does the healthcare system work? How are the universities? Who does these mansions along the coast belong to? And on and on …I am sure Clesio probably did not know what he was getting into by hosting me, pretty much the way I was unsure of what I was getting into. I did not sleep well that night as I could not figure out how the remote for the room temperature worked. I was too tired to play with all the buttons. It was the task that I left for the next day and so kept tossing and turning all night trying to acclimatize to the fluctuating hot and cold temperature.

I woke up at 5:30 am and ate a croissant loaded with jam and 4 cups of tea at the hotel’s restaurant and got ready for my trip to Reencontro office and the community where the orphans lived. I was picked up by the driver from Reencontro who was accompanied by a teenage orphan boy named Innocentio. He spoke good English and greeted me with a polite "Good morning Mam". I liked him instantly. I kept looking through the window, taking pictures of the city’s bustling early morning life. The scenery was similar to driving in one of the crowded suburbs of Mumbai, lined up with apartment buildings with multicolored paints and apartments adorned with the colorful clothes hanging outside every balcony, huge trash dumpsters overflowing with garbage outside each building with stray dogs and cats feeding around it. As we started to leave the city, the landscape changed into shanties, open outdoor street vendors selling fruits, vegetables, brooms, plastic mugs and glasses, aluminum pots and pans, cheap furniture and several other nick-knacks. Our pick up truck gradually disappeared into a cloud of dust from the road that no longer was paved with tar but was filled with the beach sand. It was like being transported to an all together new country. We were driving through a sea of several thousands huts and shanties, build with exposed bricks, cements, tins, ridged iron sheets that were rusted, and plastic covered roofs. It was Dharavi (the largest slum in Mumbai, India) magnified 10 times. Within a five kilometer drive from my five star hotel to this place, it felt like being beamed from one planet to another. The driver of our pick up, navigated very efficiently through the narrow gullies (streets) wide enough to accommodate only one vehicle, while I struggled to breathe through the dust smoke. I could taste mud on my tongue, and my nostrils were getting slowly clogged with tiny specks of sand. Innocentio then soon announced, "Mam, we have arrived" and yes indeed I had arrived to the place that I had seen on television, the place that I had mentally pictured or Did I?

I hopped out of the pick up trying to balance my feet with my semi heeled slippers. I was glad I did not wear closed shoes as the place was full of sand. It was like walking on the beach. I badly wanted to take off my slippers and walk bare foot, however all eyes were on me from little children on the streets, adults walking with plastic cans filled with water, to the staff from Reencantro and even the stray dogs and animals. I stood out among the rest. My brown skin was of no help. I entered this dilapidated small tiny building where the kids were hanging out like bees on a honeycomb. I found out later that they stand there most of the time, hoping to get food from the Reencantro office. As I walked in, I was greeted by Olinda the director of Reencontro, who was guiding the children into this tiny 6 by 6 feet room. As I stood outside perplexed at the number of children of all ages enter one by one, a long line that seemed to go on endlessly. They were all so well behaved, each one stealing a glance at me as they walked past me. It was my first real human interaction with the children that I saw on television last December in the comfort of my Los Angeles apartment. I smiled at everyone, and did not get response from anyone. I finally entered the room where all the children and staff were standing on every inch of the available space. Olinda introduced me to her staff that included care givers of the children from the community, the local activists, her colleagues, and Petra a woman from Holland who is a consultant for the international baby food program and works with the youth group at Reencontro. Olinda mentioned everyone’s names and I could only remember few. The children had composed a special song for me with my name. They played guitar and sang the song for me and some of them even managed to dance in that cramped up place. I randomly picked few children and asked their names and was talking to them when, I felt someone staring at me and I saw at a little boy standing very close to me and looking at me with his lost and sad eyes. His name is Pinto and he was born HIV positive who is now an orphan and lost both his parents to AIDS. Pinto also now has fully blown AIDS and will die any time. He is about 4 years old, very tiny for his age and so sick, his face was pale, eyes droopy, skin with rashes, dry scalp and feeble legs. I wanted to pick him up, kiss him and hug him. Later that day I saw him walking home alone looking at me through the bushes. By the time everyone reads my blog, he would have passed away but he will always stay in my memory as the first child I fell in love with in Africa, my pattern of falling in love with the unattainable!!

Most of the children who were in that room singing were AIDS orphans of all ages and some of them were HIV infected. Reencantro’s tiny office was a safe haven for them. Their family comprised of their peer orphans and the staff from Reencontro. I sat down with Olinda and her colleague Dorothy to interview her about the history of Reencontro and I taped it. It will take along time for me to write about it. But in brief, the idea of Reencontro originated in 1990’s when few of the nuns from the catholic church who were once colleagues decided to come back together and serve the community suffering from the deadly disease, AIDS. Olinda, Dorothy, Meena and others were nuns who left the church during the 1970’s when Mozambique was a communist/socialist colony. The meaning of Reencontro means "coming back together again"

There are 1149 orphans in Maputo and more than 6000 in Gaza district which I still have not visited. Later that day I started my tour visiting the homes of these orphans who lived in the community spread around within a range of 5-10 kilometers. We took the pick-up and drove to some places and sometimes walked. The entire area was a maze of tiny little alleys and back streets with huts and raw brick houses scattered everywhere among the bushes, trees, near the rail tracks, and maize fields. The entire terrain was sandy and made it difficult for driving and hard to walk. I was accompanied by Olinda, and her colleagues Dorothy and Meena, The first home we visited, there were two orphan children living alone, a brother and a sister. The sister was 13 years old and the brother 9 years. I am typing this after a pretty long time and so forgot their names. It was too much of a stimuli for my senses for me to absorb and retain, while trying to acclimatize my body to the scorching sun, dust and new smell. We visited homes after home, each one with similar stories of two to four orphan children in one home, parents who died of AIDS, children living alone, some selling fruits and snacks on the streets to buy water, bread, rice and coal for cooking. The eldest daughter or son usually (ranging from 18-24 year) took care of the little ones, cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, and worrying about when and how the next meal was going to come from. Several children were renting tiny huts for 200 meticals per month (approx, 8 dollars per month). The huts were normally 8 by 8 sq feet, with two to three aluminum pots, a brick coal stove, few clothes, no bathrooms and no electricity. I asked Olinda, how vulnerable these young girls are living alone, and she looked at me and said nothing. I felt a chill run down my spine as I read the non verbal response in Olinda’s eyes.

Reencontro has build concrete cement houses for few orphan families but still not have been able to get electricity or water taps due to lack of funding. And still there are too many in need of houses. I spoke with the children and most of them felt having a house of their own would be top on their list of needs even more than food. Having a place of their own made them feel safe and bonded to their siblings. It did not matter if they were starving as long as they were close together with their brothers and sisters in their own home. I asked the children about their parents and none of them wanted to talk about it.

In my next blog, I will write a story about four orphan children that touched me very deeply and I could not stop myself from crying. That day I visited many homes where children were in dire need of help and support. I asked children in one of the family, if they had eaten any food today and they said no. I reached out in my purse and gave them 100 metical to buy some bread. I kept doing that as we moved from one home to another. I ran out of all the cash that I had taken out of the ATM machine. After that I was too afraid to ask if they had any food as I did not have any money left to offer. I kept thinking about them after I came back to my hotel and when I sat down to eat my dinner. I had ordered a veg pizza and I could not believe that I ate the whole thing. Shouldn’t I be losing my appetite after what I saw today? I was feeling very lonely and wanted to block everything out of my mind. I wanted to get high and so I sought comfort in food as I don’t drink alcohol. I felt disgusted with myself later and fell asleep without brushing my teeth or changing.

I grew up in India, and although I have not experienced it I have seen first hand, poverty, hunger, filth, sprawling slums, street urchins, orphans, maimed children begging on the street, and several other things. So it was not new for me to see that here, however what perturbed me was the look in the eyes of these children. It just horrified me to death!

My Work in Maputo and Nampula

2007-07-20T04:45:00.000-07:00

All my workshops in Gaborone (Botswana) will be completed end of this month. I will then fly to Jo'Burg and from there to Maputo (Mozambique). I have a tight schedule for now. My trip to Mozambique has materialized because of my newly formed contact with Malena Ruth who runs the African Millennium Foundation (http://1amf.org/), a non profit in Los Angeles. Please visit her website to learn more about their projects. Malena and her husband have helped me out for my entire trip to Mozambique right from getting visa to arranging and paying for my trip and stay in Mozambique. I am indeed looking forward to this trip.

I will be received at the Maputo airport by Clesio and Olinda Mugabe who work at the Reencontro, the place where all the AIDS orphans reside and are practically raising themselves. I will be working with the children there that week and will then fly to Nampula to visit the "Unilurio University". At Reencontro in Maputo, I haven't decided what activities I will plan for the children. I will again let the kids decide. One artifact that I would like to bring back as a memory is a small documentary created by the kids themselves. I have miniDV cam, digital voice recorders, cameras etc with me. Let me see if that would be doable. It would be fun and interesting for the children to create something that will allow them to express their own perspectives and narrate their life stories. I also intend to conduct a needs assessment of the available technology resources and infrastructure and possibly think about writing a grant with USAID, UN or any other international organization to get funding. I personally believe that technology can serve as a powerful tool to not only educate the children here but also provide them means and resources for life long learning and access to information to compete with the global world. The challenge would be providing sustainability, however, I like to be optimistic :-)

In Nampula, I am hosted by the wonderful people: Jorge Ferrao, Rosie Hunt and Ivan Collinson (from the Unilurio University) whom I have not met yet. I am very impressed with the organized plan that has been set up for me even before my visit. Jorge Ferrao has planned my campus visit, meeting with the ITC folks there, visit to the CPRD Digital Resources Provincial Center, visit to Academia Military (army academy), visit to the National Ethnological Museum City Center, visit to the Project Um Olhar Esperanca (ITC center in Primary School Namicopo Township), meeting with the Enlgish lectures, visit to Mozambique Ports and Railways in Nampula, meeting with the Executive Director Eng. Filipe Nhussi, trip to Mozambique island and Chocas Mar beach, finally meeting with the Vice-chancellor before I leave.

I may be leading a workshop and/or roundtable on "How to optimize digitial resources in schools and universities-virtual libraries".

In one of the e-mails Jorge Ferrao mentioned that there is a possibility of me to work with the University and hoping to get funding from USAID. I would like to collaborate and maybe spend my four months of summer in Mozambique.

Few Pictures

2007-07-18T04:03:00.000-07:00

Sharing few pictures. The place in the blog is limited to share and upload many pictures. 1) Me, chilling at Saadia's after my gruelling long days of workshops (with her cat on my lap) 2) Me, Victoria, Saadia and Mavis at the Sir Seretse Khama (name of the first president of Botswana) International airport when I arrived. 3) Me giving out certificates at the workshops 4) Me and Saadia outside her husband's business "Impex" (http://www.impex.co.bw/). 5) Children at the blind school 6) The Gazebo at the Phakalane golf estate 7) Me with the botswana government car with the red number plate starting with BX and my driver Mavis 8) Cook at the local italian restaurant Primi Piatti

At the Blind School In Mochudi

2007-07-18T02:57:00.000-07:00

I visited a blind school in Mochudi after my workshops. The childeren had prepared to sing songs for me and show me their local traditional dance. I video taped their song and dance sequence. I was deeply touched that they went out of their way to do this for me. It was their testing time and they had exams all day. I visited them after their exams were over and yet they were all so lively and happy. I told them that their video and pictures will be shared over the internet with my friends.

I felt so much connected with the kids here. I talked to them and they showed me their braille typewriters and readers. They were such smart kids. Given the right opportunities and resources they could succeed in their lives and possibly become leaders of their country. I felt helpless and wondered how many children around the world are in a similar situation.

This trip has given me time to think and reflect and realize my own potentials and limitations. Right now I feel lost and am not sure how I will charter my future to serve others who are in need and consequently make my life more meaningful. I will have to ponder on it after I come back to Los Angeles.

Bus Journey from Gaborone to Francistown

2007-07-18T02:08:00.000-07:00

I am again behind in my postings due to lack of Internet access. However, I wanted to share the events of the bus ride from Gaborone to Francistown. It was quite an adventure. I woke up early at 6:00 am staying at Saadia's mom's house. Threw my clothes and stuff quickly into a bag and Saadia's mom gave me a ride to the bus stop. I arrived at the bus stop and I felt like I was transported to one of those ST bus stops in India (My Indian friends can probably picture this :-)). For my other friends, here is the vivid description: The bus depot where all the buses take off was huge with several buses standing everywhere. Thousands of people hustling and bustling with their baggage and children. Vendors selling fruits, snacks and water. It took me a while to find the bus that went to Francistown. (By the way it was holiday week-end, President's day and hence the rush). I reached the bus entrance and suddenly there was a mob of people trying to get in. There is no que or line. It's first come first. My Indian instincts suddenly came into play and I found myself pushing in the crowd with my huge bag, holding my purse tightly and elbowing everyone. Hurrah!!! I managed to climb the bus and was able to secure a window seat in the front of the bus. I felt very euphoric like we do when we get a window seat in the Bombay trains and pretty much like we do in Los Angeles when we get a parking spot closer to our office building. I plonked my bag on the seat next to me, when I saw a Hungarian couple boarding the bus. The husband (Peter) and the wife (Christina) came and sat next to me. Peter is a diplomat in the Hungarian embassy and Christina was a school teacher in Hungary. I was very ecstatic as I could now have a conversation during my 6 hours long journey. Peter and I talked for 4 hours about politics, religion and his research on the lives of the nomads in Hungary who actually are the descendants of the nomadic tribes in West India (Rajasthan). It was very interesting for me to learn that these nomadic tribes had migrated from India long time back. Peter is posted to Thailand and so he and his wife decided to backpack in Africa before they head to Thailand. They were just married since 2 years and were excited to start a family soon. This was their last trip. It was really fun listening to both of them and their adventures. It made me feel a little lonely that I was alone on my trip and it would have been nice to have a companion with me.

After about four hours of journey and drinking too much of water, my bladder was bursting. I tried to hold but finally I got out of my seat, asked all the people sitting along the walkway in the middle of the bus to get up and moved closer to the driver to request him to stop the bus when he sees a house. The driver looked at my very puzzled as no one one probably had ever asked him to halt the bus in the middle of nowhere. Anyways, we saw a small shanty and the driver stopped the bus. I got off from the bus, ran toward the shanty house, while all eyes from the bus were pierced on me. I am sure the people in the bus wanted to know what I was upto. I requested the house owners of the shanty to allow me to use their toilet and they happily obliged. After I was done, I ran back to the bus and was happy to see that the bus was still waiting for me. I cannot really describe the reactions of all the people in the bus when they saw me get in. I thanked the driver. I felt a little guilty for the creating an interruption for everyone but Peter and Christina thought that it was perfectly fine. When I described this to Saadia and Yafas they thought that it was only me who can do this, no body would ever have dared to ask the bus driver to stop.

I felt much better after that and continued with my talk with Peter while Christina was taking a nap. 6 hours later we reached Francistown and exchanged emails and contact info with my new hungarian friends.

Saadia send her driver Matthews to pick me up.
More later!!

Contacting my Friends and Family

2007-07-17T03:30:00.000-07:00

Dear All,
Just wanted to let you all know that I may not have access to the Internet for a long time. I have tried sending text message and also tried to call couple of my friends and family and I am not sure if you received my messages. Anyways, I had a long week-end break with Saadia and her husband Yafas in Francistown, which is north east of Gabarone. I will be taking a bus tomorrow back to Gabarone and to Mochudi, a small village where I will finish my last week of workshops and then fly to Maputo (Mozambique). I am spending half of my time in Maputo with the AIDS orphans and the other half I will spend at the University of Mozambique in Napula.
Okay got to go now. More later!

Upcoming Projects

2007-07-11T04:59:00.000-07:00

I am leaving for Fransistown by bus from Gabarone this friday and will be spending my week-end at Saadia's place. Will come back next wednesday and continue with my workshops. I will be now conducting workshops on desktop publishing, data base, web design and other tools (depending on what the needs are) with the staff and media specialists working with the ministry of education. I will be finishing all the workshops at the end of this month in Gabarone and will be leaving for Mozambique. This will be a totally different experience than Botswana as I will be working with the AIDS orphans in Maputo. Here is where I am not sure what my job will be.

More later on this!!!

Here is one picture of all my students, taken by a custodian who had never used a digital camera, so it's a little tilted.

Workshop Continues: Comments from Students

2007-07-11T04:21:00.000-07:00

My workshops are still in progress and very hectic. Finally the students are getting comfortable with computers and using technology. I wish I could upload pictures for all of you to see what we have been doing here. The Internet here is very unreliable and too slow to even check e-mails. It takes ages for a page to load. Things that we take granted in U.S. I guess, I will have to wait to come back to U.S to share the picture gallery.

My students learned how to open an e-mail account with e-mail. It took us one entire morning to do this with the slow internet connection. They send me their first e-mail, telling me about their expereinces so far with the workshop. Below are the quotes from few students.

From Kenndy, who is visually impaired and is the most vocal student in my class: "is this your first visit to botswana? how do you like the countrybotswana? what is it like to be a professor? i would like to be aprofessor one day, whatam i suppose to do to eventually become one?with your generous support i would be able to turn my dream iinto reality. god willing, i would love to see myself studying in one ofthe developed world one day especially in carlifonia. you did not tellus about your family, are you still going to do it."

From Maggie, "Hi Manisha, how are u this morning? hope u r doing well and I justed wanted to tell u that yesterday I learnt a lot from u.
I am grateful to be having an email address which I didnt have before."

From Tadela polite elias "hello! how are you this morning? today you look so tired, you have over worked yourself yesterday. but anyway you delivered very important information to us. i hope today you will work slowly not overwhelming yourself. as for yesterday we enjoyed the work."

From Patrick, who has hearing impairment "How a u my friend .hope u enjoying Botswana, the workshop was computer.I need learnt a lot .have a blessed week.it a very good job you have done i want learnt computer. more learnt computer, did not the computer copy .pastes .God blessed you. very good. thank you"

From Lydia, "Since coming to this workshop I have acquired a lot of information which I thought was only capable to be acquired over a period of a year.This have been an eye opener to me and I think this is what I am going to use for the rest of my life and at my work place.I wish you were not staying far so that you can assist in facilitating such workshops.What a wonderful techer I had.God bless you."

From Veronica, "Hi manisha! it was wonderful spendinding sometime here. what i have learned have increse whwt i knew already. but am hopeful that 2moro you help us on what to look at when buying a computors. i wish you had come earlier because i have already bought a computor and it has started giving me problems"

From Kgotla "Hello Manisha.Gudafroon.How are you?.I do not fine but i OK.On today at workshop the computer for learning.This have been very use to me and i hope you.I will keep in teach with you.I saying,please you helping with me for computer,and i want to learning.Should i will help to you for s/language"

From Elais: "today i real enjoyed the lessons especially how to create an email address. i can now communicate with my friends who are far away and you my new friend. here is part of what i learnt today"

From Veronica "Babes you did a very good job today. I cannt wait to ask permission from you after lunch cos my friend is flying to London and i have to see her off today at 530pm please!!!!!! "

The Gruelling Begins: My Real Work with the Special Education Teachers

2007-07-10T04:44:00.000-07:00

Last couple of days have been extremely busy. My day starts early morning at 5:30 am and ends in the evening around 5:00 pm. I continuoulsy talk for more thatn 8 hours a day and am dizzy by the end of the day. I had not done any preparation before I left LA, not knowing what I will be teaching and so every day I have to come up with the material and resources in class to teach. The students tell me every morning what they want to learn for today and I go through my 5000 files and intructional materials on my laptop (it helps as I have organized everything well into folders) and come up with a tutorial or activity in about 15 minutes time (which is when everyone is busy having their morning tea). I have been conducting workshops on basic technolgy skills and few advanced communication and collaborative tools, with the special education teachers. Most of them are on the low end of the scale and do not have acess to computer of Internet. We started with creating a newsletter in Microsoft word to get their hands dirty with the mouse and clicking on icons. It is however interesting that they all use text messing on the cell phone all through the day but do not have mouse skills and cannot do e-mail. I have a total of 11 students, one visually impaired and three hearing impaired students in my class who are teacher aids and special education teachers themselves.

This is a very challenging tasks as I cannot communicate with hearing impaired. I am learning the sign language some of which is different from what I am familiar India. One of my student, Patrick, who is hearing imparied and very intelligent taught me how to use sign language to tell my name.

It is an overwhelming experience for the students as I am introducing them to several things that they have never learnt and it is overwhelming for me to teach this unique group with special needs. Overall it is a facinating expereince for all of us in terms of our interactions and the different English accents. One of the students named Kennedy who is visually impaired and is known for his excellent memory told me today, that he is not sure that he will be able to remember everything that he has learned. I personally also feel that conducting few weeks of training with technology is not going to help them much. I am just hoping that I have at least provided them scaffolding to become independent learners and explore the possibilities after I leave from here.

By the way, mom I am eating well don't worry. I have not even gone for jogging or done any exercise since I arrived in Botswana. I just eating and yes all Indian food and some african food. T0day I went to an Indian restaurant and ate "Rava masala dosa' and it was too spicyand hot.

Got to go to sleep now. I am tired and need to leave early morning. However, nothing new is happening except for teaching all through the day. Again, I am just throwing out words on the blog not even bothering to spell check or even review it, as I want to post it before I go to bed.

Wedding in Botswana (Gabarone, pronounced as Khabaronee)

2007-07-10T04:43:00.000-07:00

Last week I attended a wedding in Gaborone with Saadia. It was her school friend Saba (an Indian) getting married to an African guy from Botswana. It was an interracial marriage with a unique blend of traditions, rituals and food from both India and Africa. The guests from the Bride side were all dressed in traditional Indian clothes and the guests from the groom’s side dressed in traditional African clothes (I am not sure if it is politically correct to label all the countries in the African continent as Africans as each country here has it’s own unique culture and administration and of course prejudices and stereotypes among countries). Anyways for a lack of better word and partly my lack of in-depth knowledge of all the countries in African continent, I will use the word “African” to represent the culture that I experienced in Botswana and Mozambique.

The wedding was held at one of the upper class golf club. Very elegant decor, rich carpets, expensive flowers, wine, drinks, juices, a variety of food with different Indian curries like chicken and beef curry, some African meat dishes and salads, cheese etc. Long speeches were given by family members of both the bride and groom, while we impatiently waited for the lunch. When the lunch was announced it was just hilarious to watch all the Indians get up from their seats and huddle up near the buffet tables like herds of buffaloes. We just don’t like to follow any decorum, do we? And the guest from the groom side were all lined up in a que and were more graceful and should I say well behaved. Anyways, I and Saadia could not stop ourselves from laughing. We quickly finished the lunch and even though I wanted to go back for a second helping I dare not enter the herd of buffaloes for the fear of getting lost in there while I look for the naan.

In the afternoon I went with Saadia to the private hospital to see her nephew, Tawfiq who had to be hospitalized due to diarrhea and dehydration. We spend time at the hospital playing with him and watching him get poked by a very inexperienced pediatrician who did not know how to draw blood from a child. He was so crude in his method that I wanted to get a video of him. The hospital had lost the blood sample that was taken in the morning. Could not help myself not think about India. The hospital was really good like an American hospital with all the amenities but the staff was not trained very well. I found out from Saadia that they have socialized health care system where they do not pay anything (Of course it all comes out from the taxes. Please watch the Michael More movie Sicko if you have not seen it). However the lines in the government hospitals are so long that people sometimes go to the private hospital even though they do not have good doctors.

Health Care and Education in Botswana

2007-07-10T04:41:00.000-07:00

Two things that have impressed me about the Botswana government is their focus on two important things, education and health care, which speaks volumes about the people who have voted for the right people. Health care and education is FREE!!!

The government hospitals are all well equipped and they look pretty much like the hospitals in America. The government is spending a lot of money for HIV/AIDS. There are free mobile testing clinics all over the country. The antiretroviral drugs are free (and these are very expensive!). K-12 schools have sex and HIV education. There are banners and bill boards displayed on the highways all over the country advertising HIV/AIDS prevention and general awareness. My favorite one is this : "Are you a REAL man? I tested for HIV for my partner”

I also found out from Saadia that the school and the higher education is all FREE in Botswana and not only that if you enter the university here and you want to study a field that the university does not offer then the university gives you a list of countries where you can go and study and the government pays for it all of it, lodging air tickets, fees, books, and a stipend to spend money while you are studying in that county. And guess what options you get: U.S.A, Australia, England, any country in Europe or any where in the world.

This is also the reason whey many people in Botswana do not agree with Mugabe’s proposal to merge all the African countries into one umbrella of “Afircan Union” something like the European union. Botswana has a very stable and flourishing economy, highly competent government and people who are doing very well. They do not want themselves to be exposed to poverty, war and any kind of instability.

Sharing Few Pictures (Coming Soon!)

2007-07-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of uploading few pictures to flickr.com, and will post the link here, however it is taking in ages to upload anything due to slow internet connection. I do not have time to name the pictures, so here is a brief description: the pictures have been taken when I was flying from LA, received in Gaborone (Botswana), pictures of the restaurants in Gaborone, the fancy buildings is the financial district Gaborone, the media center where I am conducting the workshops, the wedding picture, golf course of Gaborone etc.

Week-end Morning in Botswana

2007-07-07T00:39:00.000-07:00

It's saturday morning in Botswana around 9:am and I am drinking chai made by the maids here. I am very relaxed today and am just chilling in my PJ's. Khursheed, Saadia's older sister is cooking Kichri (rice dish) and curry for me. She is a lawyer here and a wonderful person. We chatted last night till 2:00 am in the morning. I slept late this morning which I normally don't do. It was a long day yesterday working at the ministry planning for workshops . I also met with many Saadia's friends from high school in the evening. There are so many Indians here and it is interesting to see the African Indian culture. The dialets of the Indian languages they speak are different from the dialets spoken in India or by the Indian's in America. Also every Indian that I have met here is either an engineer or a professor or a lawyer, all professionals.

I have been enjoying the Indian food here and I also like the Ethopian food. Saadia's family cooks pretty much every day and most of the dishes are Indian. They have a big kitchen where you can cook food for 50 people. I like their family. Most of them hang out together, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandmother's, mom and dad. It's like being in Monsoon Wedding. I have been invited to play the family sport of volley ball this sunday and I have never touched a ball in my life. Let's see how I do.

Anyways, today I am not working and will be attending an African Indian wedding. More on it when later.

The weather here is cold like the winter in Los Angeles. I wish I had packed more warm clothes. I am borrowing some from Saadia.

The plans for the upcoming week are to conduct a five day workshop, help out Victoria and Joyce, the two smart intelligent women at the ministry of eduction (special education). Then I will be going to Visit a school in Francistown and also meet Saadia's husband Yafas.

Okay, got to get ready for the wedding.
I have read e-mails from Simeon, Anne, Deborah, Alpa my sister, my dad, my host mom Roberta, my friend John, Andy, Stefi, Chogollah: the handsome hunk who is my department chair, my friend Cia, Prema, and Neela. I hope I am not missing anyone. Sorry, I do not have time to respond to everyone and so I am hoping you are following my Blog.

Love you all!
Man

My First Moments in Botswana

2007-07-06T07:21:00.000-07:00

I reached Botswana after a gruelling journey of more than 40 hours. I made so many friends during my layover in London and South Africa. I met an interesting couple who are artists in Capetown. Collette is a mother of two young girls. She was sitting at the airport in the waiting lounge and I could not help myself play with her girls. We got into conversation and she told me about the South African history. Being a white woman she was candid to admit that she always believed that being white was superior, until she started questioning. She wants her children to get an education that provides multiple perspectives on issues. She and her husband have invited me to Cape Town to stay at their house near the mountains and help them design curriculum for the school community.
More than the destination it's the journey that matters and who you meet in your journey.

On a lighter note, I had a couple of men flirt with me at the Johannesburg airport during my 7 hours of layover. Many of them wanted to help me out with trying to find a phone to call my friend in Botswana. I think I should move here :-)

I arrived at Botswana airport in the evening. I received a warm welcome from my friend Saadia and Victoria and Mavis from the Botswana ministry of education. The people from ministry of education did not know me and yet they brought beautiful flowers for me and also came to pick me up after their working hours. I was deeply touched.

I took my first breath outside the Botswana airport and I could smell home, India, especially the town where my father has is ancestral home (which now belongs to me :-). The city is very down to earth, however the houses look like the houses in Greeley (Colorado). The architecture is very western. The streets are a little narrow but very clean and the traffic is organized unlike in India where there are no rules.

I was staying at Saadia's mother's place. The house is beautiful. I have my own room with hot and cold running water, warm bed, television and all the amenities that one can get at a 5 star hotel, the only difference is this feels like home. They have maids here like we do in India, so every morning I get hot cup of chai in my room. I do not have to make my bed, nor do my laundry. Everything is done by the maids. I think I am going to be spoiled and would not want to come back to Los Angeles :-)

Mom, if you are reading this tell kusumben (our maid) that I am thinking of her everyday when I talk to the maids here. And don't worry I am really being pampered.

Victoria introduced me to the minister of education Ms Matale and all other colleagues. Every single high profile person I met here in Botswana are all women. Even the government car driver that drives me and picks me up everyday is a woman. I am amazed at how the women are so accomplished and effective in what they do. I have helped them plan their first workshop for special education teachers, teacher aids and other specialist for next week. This will be a five day workshop. On day one we are going to teach them basic computer skills and then integrating those skills into designing lessons for visually impaired and hearing impaired. My expertise is not in special education , however I am helping them with different teaching and learning strategies, and showing them models of best practices. I also have talked to them about universal design and how to use hypermedia for kids with special needs. I have also demonstrated to them what I do at California State University, Los Angles, and they wished they had me here for more days. I have so many plans that I want to implement in future here, hopefully I will rope in few of my friends and colleagues who are in special education. Nate, if you are reading this, would you like to come here with me next year?

I have wondered why I decided to come to Africa. Now I see it all clearly. I am meant to be around people, making friends, learning from them, enriching my life and offering help that I am capable of. I thought reading was my oxygen but I now can't decide between reading and travelling.

More later!
I cannot post the pictures now as I have to find an adapter to charge my camera. Again please bear with my grammar and typos. I am posting this after a very long day when I am about to go to bed.

Waiting On the World To Change - John Mayer

2007-07-02T10:50:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite songs that fits this blog well! So friends let's not wait for world to change, let's be the change :-)

Words from Friends and Family that Keeps Me Going

2007-07-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

Below are few excerpts from the e-mails that I received from my friends and family that keeps me going when I read them over and over again. I did not have time to compile all of them before I left, so this section is still work in progress. I will keep adding them as and when I go through my old e-mails when I am missing all of you.

From Dr. Vish Iyer and Sherry Iyer (Professor at University of Northern Colorado and my Indian family in America):

Hi Manisha:

Khem cho! I bet you are so excited about this opportunity in Africa. Armed with your enthusiasm and knowledge regarding educational technology, I am confident you will have a wonderful time doing what you do best. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need anything from this end and I will do all I am capable of to lend a hand. Please convey my best to all our UNC friends in Africa. Tell them I miss our days at CIE. Make sure you send e-mails regularly to let us know how you are. Please stay well, do good work and keep in touch. Hope some day, I can do what you are about to do. We love you very much!
cheers!!!

From Dr. Kay Persichitte (Director of the Teacher Education Program at University of Wyoming and my mentor, advisor, my American mother and above all friend)

WOW! What a fantastic opportunity and adventure! I wish you every success and safety as you engage this professional journey, Manisha...send me/us the URL andknow that we hold you in our prayers. Once again, your courage and drive epitomize your character and professionalism...I am so proud of you!Always, Kay

From Dr. Bryan Cooke (Professor Emeritus at University of Northern Colorado and also my family in Greeley)

Manisha,
Congratulations & Good Luck! PLease stay in touch by internet, as I too will be on the road March 20-April 26 in New Zealand & April 26-May18 in Australia. Carolyn & I should be back in Colorado May 21st!
let me know if you need an HIV/AIDS Public Health Educator in South Africa!
Cheers!
Bryan

Resources Related to HIV and AIDS

2007-07-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

I was a volunteer in India in 1986 for the AIDS awareness campaign. I had read a lot about it then, and it's been a long time since I have done any research on it. My first job here in Africa is to create a multimedia DVD for the children on HIV and AIDS. I will write about it soon. However in this post I want to share all the latest resources and information that I have come across during my research.

Most people think that AIDS is something that will never happen to them. However, research has shown that most people do not even know that they are carrying the HIV virus until it develops into a fully blown AIDS and symptoms show up.

Hope these resources are helpful. I am hoping that my friend Dr. Neela Patel and Dr. Malavika Subramanyam will also share their expertise and other links and resources that I do not have on this list.

Also, I strongly urge all my friends to contribute.
List of Resources (Please note:If you are not familiar with the html code, please type the URL (Web Address) in your comments and I will later go and add the html tags)

UNAIDS

Africa: Anticipation

2007-06-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

As I begin my journey to Africa, I sit at the Los Angeles airport and reflect on my past months of relentless efforts to follow my heart, I think about these words that I read when I was with my friend Cia.

"The Choices we make often lead to unimaginable joys and even to unbearable challenges, but always to the twists of fate that shape the story of our lives"

My grandfather once told me always strive to live life and not just survive. And I have lived my life to it's fullest, fulfilling all my goals and aspirations. I consider my life post Ph.D as my bonus life. I now intend to travel around the world every summer, teach in different countries, volunteer where I am needed and make tons of friends. My trip to Africa is my first adventure of my bonus life. I am writing this blog in real time as I go through this new adventure. There will be times when I will be a little behind in my postings depending on my access to the Internet.

PS: Please feel free to read my blog and respond to it. I would love to hear from all of you. Also feel free to start a new post if you want to. Pardon my typos and formatting errors. I will be on the run so will not be able to spend time in making it look perfect. Also there will soon be a link to videos that I would host on "You Tube". I am using this free blog and so it does not have many multimedia capabilities.

Also if you have a gmail account you will be able to log in and post your comments. If you don't have one, consider signing up as it will take few minutes. Just follow the prompts when you click on the link "comments". It will lead you to a page where you can type in your comments after logging in.

If you do not want to log in and still want to send me your comments, please e-mail me at manisha.javeri@gmail.com and I will post your comments. Everyone who visits the site will be able to read each other's comments. This would be great as I am sending this invitation to my friends all over the world: India, Japan, Canada, U.S.A, New Zealand, England, Australia, Botswana, Hawaii, Mozambique, Ukraine, China, Malaysia and more (Wow!! I did not realize I had friends in so many places)

Thanks you!
Lots of love!
Manisha

And a quote that I read somewhere (Don't know the Author??or where I read it)

Live today to the fullest because tomorrow is not promised. If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it!