WoS India 2013: AGAPE (LOVE).

One the most humbling parts of our journey has been the privilege of meeting dedicated and passionate people with tender hearts to make a change - however big or small, they never underestimate the power of community and determination to push on, regardless of the unavoidable feelings of doubt which sinks in after continuously facing despair and injustice, more often than not putting their own lives at risk for others. Today we are on the way to meet another inspirational team.
We travel onto Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, located toward the south of india. From Guwahati airport, we board a 4 hour flight to Bangalore and here we are greeted by Alex, who runs the AGAPE Foundation. He has travelled 4 hours by car to pick us up from the airport and will now accompany us back the way he travelled where he and his family have generously opened up their home for us to stay for the next few days. Carolyn and I have truly been grateful for the overwhelming hospitality and welcome in India and this was no exception.
It's late, but our minds are never tired, always hungry for more information. Along the way, we have the opportunity to learn much about the local area. We learn that here, we will find India's largest tuberculosis (tb) population where someone dies of the disease nearly every minute. Here we will find the most number of feticide which inherently leads to the most number of child marriages (children younger than ten years old get sold or arranged to get married), here we will find the most number of feticide, and here we will find the reality of the sumangali scheme (more on these to come). We are greeted at home by Alex's wife, Chandni. It's close to 2am but she had waited up to greet us and ensure a safe arrival. It's evident that Alex and Chandni's hospitality stretches beyond our stay, their doors are always open to neighbours, church family, anyone in need, including patients that Chandni looks after. Chandni is a doctor who runs a clinic as part of the foundation to assist in offering medical care to those who have limited or no access, especially in the care of patients suffering from tb. This is just one part of AGAPE's mission which also includes community development, raising awareness and treatment of infectious diseases, prevention of human trafficking and child abuse, promote livelihoods and entrepreneurship development programs and formation of self help and community based organisations. They also run a school for children who otherwise would be deprived of a basic education, they started with less than ten children, mostly those of neighbours and church members and now have more than 80 enrolled students from areas near and afar. Over the three days we spend with Alex and Chandni, we visit the school (which is also the place of worship for the congregation Alex pastors), the clinics, speak with local contacts who have formed ACT (Active Communities against Trafficking) groups to specifically promote prevention of child marriages, and learn that on average, only 2 cases of kidnapping gets officially reported per year, despite the phenomenal number of children that get taken each day - it's overwhelming to think how hard to you have to fight for what are such basic human rights. Rights we most often take for granted.
We visit Panagrah, a village tucked away from the busy streets from which it borders, literally, folded in an obscure path which you would not even notice had you just walked obliviously past it. The common factor with the villages we have visited is that they are forgotten pods of society, shunned away from civilisation, because let's face it, it's easier to forget if you can't see right?
Walking through these villages is like walking through an old deserted colony. There are homes built with sticks and stones with plastic roofs, stray dogs and dry tumbleweed blowing through the emptiness. You wouldn't think people occupied these villages if it weren't for the abundance of chickens and occasional curious child peeping through the makeshift windows. Yet again, there is a strange sense of community that holds these villages together. We meet with a family who after being connected with Alex and Chandni (through the medical clinics they run) and hearing of the work they do, decided to form an ACT group within their village. The sense of ownership and accountability of their community is evident and I think, if ACT groups can operate in the most remote and isolated communities in India what excuses do we, living in privilege, have in not caring? This family meets with the team at AGAPE and take it upon themselves to educate their community and be the point of contact to continue to enable growth and development in their village. On our way home, we stop by a UNICEF run NCLP (National Child Labour Protection) school which aims to restore education to children who have been saved from various forms of forced labour. The school is a small concrete block, with limited light and no heating/cooling access, small bathroom, no rugs, carpets or books in sight. Yet, the walls are covered with colourful drawings, and the writing on the wall is literally words of encouragement and hope. Words which will hopefully educate the children to enable self protection against the dangers of trafficking and forced labour. The 20 or so students are very young in age, ranging from kindergarten to primary school age. They greet us with those infectious smiles, the same we've seen on every child we have met at schools here in India. Perhaps they are just happy to be at school. Perhaps they are just happy to be in the presence of other children, perhaps they are happy to be in a safe environment. The joyful energy is transcending and you can't help but feel hope and energy every time you walk into a classroom. The children will usually sing a song or show us what they have been working on and here we find a very special chart - it's an inspiration chart, where each child has listed what they want to be when they grow up. Doctors, teachers, nurses seem to be professions of choice. We ask why they chose these particular professions and they say its because they can then help others. It's simple when you put it that way isn't it? They are ecstatic to take a picture and it's not so evident in the pictures of their smiling faces that they were once in such a vulnerable and abusive situation. It's hometime and they all pick up their matching backpacks (thank you UNICEF) some outweighing their tiny frames and they wave one by one as they leave. When we ask why school finished earlier here than other schools we are told it's because most of these children have to walk for 2 hours to get home. 2 hours to school. 2 hours back. It's hard to imagine that such tiny feet can carry the weight for that long every single day. But it seems it makes them stronger. And they wouldn't have it any other way. They sure don't complain about homework either, in fact, I told that they are hungry for it.
Over the course of the weekend we also visit another village which the government ironically built and named Kothadimy which means - slave. 25 homes and families rescued from bonded labour at a coal mine live in this colony. We met with a woman who had worked in the coal mine for 40 years, and had started there when she was sold off to pay off her family's alleged debt. Her son now works at the same coal mine, and he voluntarily took her place. Despite her knowledge of the abuse and mistreatment there she tells me with a distinct quiver in her voice, that she is powerless to bring her own son home, for if she speaks up 'great danger will come to him'. Threat and bribery are common practice here and a way of life which continues to distort, fail and disillusion the innocent.
Stories like these break my spirit and hope but i'm quickly reminded that my role isn't to fix all of this but to acknowledge, learn and walk in humilty with those who have kindly shared their stories of survival and strength. And through recognising the work of all the organisations and people who continue to be a vessel of communication for those who need to be heard a constant balance of encouragement and hope weighs against despair and heartbreak.
Carolyn and I are in town at the right time as AGAPE invite us to join with them on a monthly Stop TB day rally in a local village. We don our shirts and visors and join in a conga line of children and AGAPE team members who proceed to walk through this particular village, handmade signs and flyers in tow. Children are familiar with the proceedings and are excited to participate in the rally. They provide the voice for the rally, their unbroken voices shouting out "I WILL STOP TB IN MY LIFETIME" echoes through the village. Curious people peep through their windows and step out and the children and AGAPE team don't waste a single opportunity to raise much needed awareness in the area. The flyers are decorated with images and diagrams outlining the symptoms of TB and how easily it can be treated. Graphic information on what could happen if untreated seems enough to prompt anyone to seek (free) medical assistance. The work AGAPE is doing in these villages seems to be working as they have treated hundreds of patients since opening their clinics in these villages. Alex and Chandni are passionate to further develop education and treatment as tuberculosis continues to be a major public health problem in India. India accounts for one-fifth of the global TB incident cases. Each year nearly 2 million people in India develop TB or which almost half are infectious cases. It's estimated that 350,000 people die of TB each year, that's nearly a thousand people a day die of a disease that in this day and age is so easily cured. Unfortunately stigma and lack of education continues to prevent TB from being eradicated but the voices of one community at a time seems to be the key for now. We drive home after a long day and are treated to a warm hearty dinner with Alex, Chandni, Lydia and Elango who are the extended family at AGAPE. After many conversations around the table, Chandni and I find each other in a space where we can converse further. Chandni, like myself, seems to process events and experiences through verbalisation so we gladly continue to talk about her work, her faith, family and relationships. From the minute I met Chandni, I knew she was the kind of woman who if she puts her mind to something she could do anything. She's a doctor, mother, wife, friend, councillor, drummer, keyboard player and singer in the praise team and most of all a woman of strength. So, Chandni, if you're reading this, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for your words, encouragement, giving me hope through your actions and most of all cementing my belief in the strength and grace of women - traits which you truly personify.