I recently returned from 7 weeks in India, and was struck by the truth of the often heard statement, “India is a land of contradictions.” High tech is everywhere, existing simultaneously with bullock carts and cows on the streets. There are satellite dishes on the rooftops of the poorest huts in the slums. As one friend said, in India, people live side by side in different centuries. There are the most up to date procedures in gleaming white hospitals across the street from slums and open sewers that make up the nightmare of those of us who work in public health. Parallel health systems exist side-by-side, western medicine and the traditional form – Ayurveda. I visited Snehalaya, an NGO that takes care of the children of sex workers, and spent time at an Ayurvedic clinic.
The NGO, Snehalaya, is a non-profit organization that was started 25 years ago in a small city, Ahmednagar, in Maharashtra state. The organization was founded to “improve the lives of victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking”. Their vision is to “…develop awareness and capability in those members of the society who have been deprived of their rights due to inequality and exploitation”. Beginning with a small group of college students, it has grown into a large, multi-faceted organization that works in multiple cities and towns. Their projects are diverse, ranging from providing a home and care for over 400 children, to working in slums in the areas of education, health, and job training, to running a dance school, a computer school, and a hospital for HIV+ patients.
Meeting the people involved in Snehalaya was a high point of my journey. As I walked in to the main ‘rehabilitation center’, young children came up to me, asking my name and where I was from. They were confident, smiling as they welcomed me to their home. Many of them checked each day to make sure that I had had my lunch, invited me to see the workshop where they created clay statues to sell, and held my hand as we walked around the grounds. The older children look after the younger ones, acting as older brothers and sisters.
The people who run the projects are all extremely enthusiastic and dedicated to their work. They take full responsibility for continually improving what they do. Their pride in the progress that has been made in areas such as HIV and STD prevention, rescue of vulnerable children and the elimination of underage prostitution is palpable.
One young woman I met works as a nurse at the 20 bed hospital for HIV+ patients. She told me that she was a “Snehalaya kid”, who had grown up there and had then been sent to nursing school. After graduation, she returned to Snehalaya to work at the hospital. We met on Indian Independence day, August 15, which is also been designated as the birthday of all the children at Snehalaya. Many people who had been raised there return on this day to celebrate with their younger friends. This place is seen as a family and once you visit, you are part of that family.
From there, I traveled to the south of India, 45 minutes outside the city of Coimbatore, to an Ayurvedic healing village called Vaidyagrama. From my diary….
“So here I am, lying on a wooden slab, having warm oil infused with herbs poured over me. Yesterday I was “pounded” with herbs wrapped in cloth and then my legs were covered in a paste of tamarind and more herbs. Five times a day, I drink specially decocted medicines, none of which taste good.” All of these are Ayurvedic treatments at a traditional healing center in South India, where I am spending a month during monsoon season.
Ayurveda is a recognized and state supported treatment modality in India, with schools, hospitals and research centers. Vaidyagrama, where I am, is an attempt to create a place where traditional Ayurveda can be lived and practiced. They use organic gardening methods, are building using mud brick from their land, and cook with fuel made from organic waste products. The entire compound is laid out using Vasthu Shastra – the Indian equivalent of Feng Shui.
The inspiration for this place came from the ancient texts and conversation with older doctors, who said that in the past there were no “hospitals” as we know them. Traditional doctors would have an extra house in their compound for patients to live in and they would eat with the doctor’s family. That way they would get holistic care, including love. Doctors would only have 10-15 patients at a time. Now they have 50-60 patients and are getting burned out. Dr. Ramkumar and his colleagues wanted to create a place where they could practice traditional Ayurveda according to the old texts. They are creating it as they go along. The garden was full of poisonous plants when they began. But instead of pulling up the poisonous weeds, they planted trees, bushes and medicinal plants and now they are gone. So by doing everything by the ancient texts, they have created a very eco-conscious, accessible modern facility. They are also working in the local villages, providing Ayurvedic care and collaborating with the Aravind Foundation who sponsor eye camps. They are educating the children, working for women’s empowerment, and have plans to build an orphanage and a senior home.
Being at Vaidyagrama was an education in learning from different modalities and how to incorporate the ancient and the modern. Their motto is: Live simple, Live well, Live healthy, Live happy.
Visiting both these extraordinary organizations was a gift. We have so much to learn from local organizations that are embedded in an ancient culture, and are working to bring it to the modern world. In the future, I hope to bring students to Snehalaya, to broaden the exchange of knowledge and experience that is so important.