"and now for something completely different"

Growing up I remember being exposed to Monty Python. My first memory of it was in my grade 11 history class with the wise Mr. Richard Vanderkloet. After this exposure I began to notice my dad's love for Monty Python-ic humour at home. Recently, ie the Sunday before I left on this journey, my parents, Seth, Brady (two of my brothers) and I spent some time watching Monty Python skits. (Sidebar: highly recommend Silly Walks, Argument Clinic, Dead Parrot..then we got distracted and watched some Carol Burnett/Mrs. Wiggins skits). What does this have to do with anything? The title of this blog is Monty Pythonic: "And Now For Something Completely Different".

We have spent our mornings at Kalighat. If you don't know what this means, check out earlier blogs. Essentially we're caring for, mostly, elderly patients. Before I we left I visited with some dear friends, Bruce and Barb Broadbent. Their son, Justin, had volunteered in India previously. He worked at Kalighat as well as for an organization called, "New Light". I had the goal of investigating this organization. Essentially they work with children of prostitutes.

Kolkata is a hub for prostitution. There are an estimated 10,000 prostitutes in Sonagachi (the main red light district of Kolkata). According to my understanding (this is based on conversation, not research) there are at least two other red light areas in Kolkata and one is in the Kalighat region.

Two weeks ago we applied on-line but hadn't heard anything back which we found intriguing. This is something I really wanted to happen so I took the bull by the horns and pursued it. On Tuesday afternoon, after finishing at Kalighat, we decided to find out where New Light was located. We knew it was in the Kalighat neighborhood but we also knew that India and Google Maps don't have the best relationship. After asking local police officers for directions, we were on our way. We turned where our map told us to and found ourselves in an alley. We clearly look lost and confused enough that two Indian men asked what we were looking for. (Note, in Indian culture they are not overly eager to help. People often keep to themselves). We're looking for "New Light". "the Electrical shop is that way". Hmm...we aren't on the same page. A girl of about 12 or so happened to be walking by was we asked the men about New Light. She recognized the name and motioned for us to follow. She brought us to an alley on the other side of the road and down a ways (yeah Google maps - I suppose it is up to us to figure out that they actually meant the other side of the road). 

She left us at the entrance of the alley. I looked up and noticed it was narrow and all concrete. There were plenty of women sitting on the doorways opening to the alley. We saw blue and white at the end of the alley and there were black and white photos integrated into the walls and the word "freedom" was boldly proclaimed. We were in the correct place. New Light seemed to be on the second floor but there was no clear entrance.

By one door there seemed to be a food distribution program happening. There was squawking and absent lines.

We stood awkwardly for a good 5 minutes (but what is a bad 5 minutes?). I do believe we stood for 300 seconds. If we were ever noticed, by anyone, they kept it to themselves. This is a challenge for me as I'm used to Central American culture where help and acknowledgement can be overwhelming at times. I even said to Teresa, "this would never happen in the Dominican". 

Teresa acknowledged that she didn't know what to do at this point. I wasn't sure either but I wasn't going to walk away, either. We investigated a few doorways but none looked promising. We stood on the ground floor and looked around. We saw children in upstairs windows and they acknowledged us. Soon after a younger dude (late 20s) came to the window. Finally. I yelled, "English?". "Yes". Dread and fear were instantly replaced with deep relief. "How do we get up there? We want to volunteer." Let's get straight to the point, shall we? He hollered down to a boy (8 or so?) to help us get up there. Sidebar: remember this boy because there will be a story about him in another blog. We went backwards in the alley a ways and came to a door that led us through the front step of 2 dwellings. Keep in mind that we are in alley-living. These wouldn't be considered slums but it is definitely close living quarters. We have since walked through this door countless times and have walked by as grandmas, moms and kids are bathing, cooking, cutting up fish heads, chopping vegetables, doing dishes and sleeping...all in this same tiny space. We walked past these front yards/living room/kitchen/bathroom area, made a left and found a short doorway (I've hit my head at least three times so far). We went up some stairs, avoiding a bunch of laundry drying on the concrete roof and on low clotheslines and entered the New Light area.

Patience and persistence often pays off. 

We sat in the office of a lady who looked important. After some time, when she completed her task, she addressed us. We shared our predicament (applying but not hearing back) and explained our hopes and intentions. The long and short of it was that we had to head to their Media Centre that was a ways across the city to get our ducks in a row (ps what an odd phrase). 

We found an A/C taxi to take us across town. They were closing at 7 and we arrived at 6:30 or so. We met with the volunteer co-ordinator. Then another lady entered and asked us to come back tomorrow because they were closing soon and the registration process takes a while. It was quite a journey to get there, one which we weren't eager to repeat, so I decided to name drop. We mentioned that we were there on the good word of a friend of mine. As soon as I mentioned his name (Justin, the son of the couple mentioned earlier), everything changed. The lady dropped everything to give us hugs and she enthusiastically shared how great Justin was as a volunteer. Because of the instant credibility we quickly completed the necessary details. Although it was an inconvenient registration (not as much as it could have been), I appreciate the inconvenience because this organization showed they are focussed on their mission and are looking out for the children. I appreciate details, screening, organization and regulations regarding random volunteers.

Urmi is the power behind this mission. She is the one who dropped everything to shower us with hugs. She is the one who loves Justin. She is a local who has a heart for the underprivileged, specifically the children affected by the sex industry. This mission has existed for 16 (maybe 17) years and she excitedly shared with us how they are really beginning to see the fruits of their labour now. They provide pre-schools, and extra schooling from 5-8 for those who attend other classes. My understanding is that if this organization has the necessary sponsorship and the child is capable, they can attend the English medium school instead of the Bengali/Hindi government school (which, apparently, aren't very good). They also run some homes for these children as their homes/neighbourhoods are unsafe. New Light. Check it out. http://www.newlightindia.org/

This organization changed our daily structure. Teresa and I are now are each at a different pre-school hanging out with little people from 9-12 or so and spend our afternoons with the elderly and destitute until 5. More details shortly.