I realized today that I have become inured to traffic in
India. En route to Chennai, 3 hours north, the taxi driver would weave between
buses and trucks, pass on corners, cross yellow lines and play chicken with
oncoming traffic. He would tailgate in such proximity to the car in front (or
beside) that carrying on a conversation with the person in the next vehicle
could have been quite possible. I now take this form of driving as quite normal
and no longer panic at the sight of an oncoming bus aimed straight at us. I
have confidence that, at some appropriate moment, the taxi and the bus will
swerve and pass without incident. It will be a scene that will repeat hundreds
of time on the journey up and down the East Coast Highway.
I was part of a group heading to Chennai to meet with two
NGOs involved in child protection work in this part of India. The journey
started at 7 a.m. which meant that about 2 hours in there would be a breakfast
stop chosen by Surya. She always ensures good eats along the way.
As an aside, Surya is the lady who cleans my teeth on each
visit but she is also an exceptionally talented instructor on abuse in the
local schools. She meets with children 10 years of age an up. She would also manage to take us to an
Arabian restaurant in Chennai for lunch during which she tried to engorge me
with sumptuous food. As the saying goes, it’s tough work but somebody’s gotta
do it.
In Chennai I again got to visit with Vidya and Nancy at the
Tulir Centre for the Prevention and
Healing of Sexual Abuse (www.tulircphsa.org
). The work of this centre constantly amazes me as they offer vibrant training
and materials for those who work with children. They are also energetic
advocates who build bridges with diverse interests.
Later, we met with a representative of the Indian Council
for Child Welfare. This office focuses on the state of Tamil Nadu. The work
that most interested me was the emergency help line that children can call to
be rescued from such things as child labour situations. That program they only
operate in part of Chennai (other NGOs do it elsewhere). However, they rescued
almost 1000 children last year. The goal is to reunite them with their
families.
What is evident from this and prior trips, India still
relies heavily on NGOs to deliver child protection services. This creates a
fragmented and uneven approach. Yet, the efforts of these agencies really makes
a difference in the lives of children. They remind me of the power that
dedicated workers can have.
Next week I begin a series of training sessions for
teachers, health care workers and child protection staff. It looks like there
will be about 8-10 sessions in total but the number seems to be growing from
the original 7-8. It is a joy to be able to do this training as the audience is
trying so hard to be effective in aiding children and their families.
India remains quite a wonderful place and we achieve great peace here as we wander about.
One the the places we walk past each morning
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