Himmat and Sarkhej

One of the ongoing features of Indian life, since (and before) Independence from British rule in 1947, has been the communal strife between the majority Hindu community and the Muslims, who constitute about 15 per cent of the national population. So that the reader does not run away with the impression that the country is a communal cauldron in continuum, it should be clarified here that only a miniscule minority of Muslims and Hindus actively indulge in periodic violence. In 2002, Gujarat witnessed one of the worst Hindu-Muslim communal carnages in history: it left over one thousand Muslims dead and many more affected. The series of riots were said to have been an orchestrated attack against the Muslims by the right wing Hindu political party in India - the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In Ahmedabad, the organization Himmat, meaning "strength," is a self-help group of Muslim women whose husbands were killed in the riots. A group of 10 women, they stitch and meet the orders for skirts, cloth bags, car seats and bed covers and the likes for private companies, and often for organizations such as Oxfam. The area also houses over one hundred Muslim children, all directly and indirectly affected by the riots. Sarkhej Roza, a mausoleum and home to Muslim ruler Ahmed Shaikh of the Sultante era, is now a non-formal educational centre for Muslim children of the area.

Details

Min/max # of volunteers: 2/5

Length of project: August or September would be the cooler times of the year to start work here. This will give volunteers enough time to adjust to the 40 degrees centigrade that will hit them in March. Of course, since the project is an ongoing one, work could be started here at any time of the year.

At Himmat and Sarkhej, volunteers will be expected to interact with children of varied age group from 5 to 15. There will be a need and an opportunity to teach the children English, computers, Math and Science, as well as help them with their homework. In helping the children with their educational and other needs, it is essential to keep in mind that the volunteers' work should not bring them into conflict with the traditional educational and social set up that they belong to. Playing with them for an hour every evening is a rewarding experience. They love to sing, draw, paint walls and dance with the volunteers.

At Himmat, volunteers can also be involved in teaching spoken English to the women. More than its utilitarian aspect, their desire to learn and the fun they have doing so in their adulthood are the driving forces behind this activity. A visit in August 2006 revealed that they also want to learn how to keep accounts, understand the computation of their daily earnings and the workings of their very simple business. The women are also keen to learn cycling which will enable them to drop their children to school and pick them up. They are keen on learning basic computation skills. Helping them stitch or doing related activities for a couple of hours could also be a part of the day's work.

Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in Western India

Room and board: ( )

Financial requirements for the volunteer: Living costs, including daily public transportation to the work place, will be up to 7000 Rs a month (44 rupees to the dollar, or 87 rupees to the pound in November 2006). As the volunteer becomes familiar with the place she/he could cut on costs by finding a family to stay with.

Specific requirements: Any group that works here will need a girl or two to be a part of it. The women are more comfortable with girls; if it is an all girls group it could work excellently, which is not to say that they are uncomfortable with boys or men. They were totally at home for a whole day with a 48-year-old male teacher from Mahindra United World College of India who was accompanied by two graduate girls.

The language spoken by the women and children is Gujarati and if one of the volunteers knows the language it would be a great help.

Without exception, they are brave, bright and determined women and make a volunteer feel very comfortable in their midst.

Back to 3rd Year Options homepage