Seva In Action
Today was the day we were meeting with Manuela. She had invited us for lunch first, and then she would take us to the disability organisation where she works, Seva in Action.
Augustine came around in the morning and we had a bit of a chat. He is having some bits and pieces of work and decorating done at the guest house, and he was supervising this also. Soon it was time to leave for Manuela's house. We caught an auto, and between Augustine's directions, a little bit of Google maps, and asking directions when we got near, we were able to find Manuela's house.
Manuela had a beautiful house, and I hadn't realised how much effort would be gone to for lunch. Sunil was also there, and their elder daughter came home from her nearby work as a graphic designer to join us as well.
The vegetarian lunch, which included some rice dishes and some homemade pickles/chutneys, was absolutely delicious. We were given some sweets too, including an unlikely-sounding Goan sweet, guava cheese, which was incredibly delicious.
Manuela and Sunil have a driver, and after lunch we got in the car and were taken to Seva in Action. I hadn't been entirely sure of Manuela's role there, but apparently she volunteers there once a week and does some English language work with the clients.
Manuela explained that the people there are also taught various craft and production skills, and some go on to get jobs with the skills they learn while others are involved with making things to sell for fundraising and so on. Alex and I were shown a few things that had been made for a recent sale, and we all bought something from there.
Then it was time for Manuela to do her thing. Everyone sat in chairs in a circle, and her session began with some singing. She used children's songs like 'the wheels on the bus', 'old MacDonald had a farm', and 'if you're happy and you know it'. The songs were conducted in a way that was entirely inclusive of each person there, which was really beautiful to see. After the singing, they had a session with flashcards to practice the English names for different fruits and vegetables, and then Manuela's session was finished for the week.
Compared to the approach I am used to when working with people with disabilities, Manuela's approach was a bit infantilising. However, her passion and genuine care for the people she worked with was abundantly clear, and she also seemed to be very keen on their rights to live a good life within society, which is very important.
Before we left Manuela's house, she had asked if there was anything I wanted to do while I was there. I had thought she meant while we were back in Bangalore, and so I just said that I had been thinking of looking at jewellery to see if I could get an Indian-style nose stud. I have been wearing a plain ring, but it feels very boring compared to the beautiful India designs, and lots of women in the villages and the local girls who come to tuition have told me I should get some Indian jewellery. I hadn't expected anything else from Manuela after the brilliant lunch and then coming to see Seva, so I was really touched when she asked which metal I would like - gold or silver - so that she could take me to an appropriate jewellery shop! First, Manuela bought us some coconuts to drink from the side of the road, then we got in the car and she directed the driver to some shops where she thought we would find the type of jewellery I wanted to look at.
Manuela took us to a few shops - a couple were closed, but we went to one '1 gram' gold shop, which sells jewellery made from silver coated with gold, as I had said I didn't want to spend too much. There, I got a stud with a CZ stone for the equivalent of less than $1! I feel silly now for not getting some more, and I'm hoping I can go back to get some extras as presents and to wear as earrings. Next, we went to another jewellers which looked very fancy and I was sure I wouldn't be able to afford their items. However, they had 14ct gold items - which is very poor quality to Indians but very acceptable to me - and these cost the equivalent of just $3-5 each. So to my surprise I was able to get a several items at an extremely affordable price!
The quick success at jewellery hunting was also good because I felt a bit guilty that Alex might have to follow around for ages doing something he had no interest in, but thanks to Manuela's help my goal was achieved very quickly, and then she took us into a chat cafe (chat the Indian food, not chat as in talking) for some snacks. We weren't particularly hungry yet after the delicious lunch, but we all shared a few small items and Manuela and I shared a small cup of lassi.
By this time, Manuela had some other things to attend to, and so she dropped us off at an electronics shop that Alex needed to visit, and extended an invitation to visit again if we had a chance.
Once Alex had sorted out his electronics needs, it was very definitely within peak hour for traffic. We walked along a for a bit, and then managed to catch an auto that wasn't already occupied and got back to Augustine's place.
We organised with Augustine our plans for the next day, setting a time in the morning for doing our mid-placement evaluations, and then went to Udupas. We were both still too full to eat a meal, so we just had some delicious sweet and some tiffin (Indian savoury snacks, rather than the British fridge cake).
Augustine came around in the morning and we had a bit of a chat. He is having some bits and pieces of work and decorating done at the guest house, and he was supervising this also. Soon it was time to leave for Manuela's house. We caught an auto, and between Augustine's directions, a little bit of Google maps, and asking directions when we got near, we were able to find Manuela's house.
Manuela had a beautiful house, and I hadn't realised how much effort would be gone to for lunch. Sunil was also there, and their elder daughter came home from her nearby work as a graphic designer to join us as well.
The vegetarian lunch, which included some rice dishes and some homemade pickles/chutneys, was absolutely delicious. We were given some sweets too, including an unlikely-sounding Goan sweet, guava cheese, which was incredibly delicious.
Manuela and Sunil have a driver, and after lunch we got in the car and were taken to Seva in Action. I hadn't been entirely sure of Manuela's role there, but apparently she volunteers there once a week and does some English language work with the clients.
Manuela explained that the people there are also taught various craft and production skills, and some go on to get jobs with the skills they learn while others are involved with making things to sell for fundraising and so on. Alex and I were shown a few things that had been made for a recent sale, and we all bought something from there.
Then it was time for Manuela to do her thing. Everyone sat in chairs in a circle, and her session began with some singing. She used children's songs like 'the wheels on the bus', 'old MacDonald had a farm', and 'if you're happy and you know it'. The songs were conducted in a way that was entirely inclusive of each person there, which was really beautiful to see. After the singing, they had a session with flashcards to practice the English names for different fruits and vegetables, and then Manuela's session was finished for the week.
Compared to the approach I am used to when working with people with disabilities, Manuela's approach was a bit infantilising. However, her passion and genuine care for the people she worked with was abundantly clear, and she also seemed to be very keen on their rights to live a good life within society, which is very important.
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| Manuela |
Before we left Manuela's house, she had asked if there was anything I wanted to do while I was there. I had thought she meant while we were back in Bangalore, and so I just said that I had been thinking of looking at jewellery to see if I could get an Indian-style nose stud. I have been wearing a plain ring, but it feels very boring compared to the beautiful India designs, and lots of women in the villages and the local girls who come to tuition have told me I should get some Indian jewellery. I hadn't expected anything else from Manuela after the brilliant lunch and then coming to see Seva, so I was really touched when she asked which metal I would like - gold or silver - so that she could take me to an appropriate jewellery shop! First, Manuela bought us some coconuts to drink from the side of the road, then we got in the car and she directed the driver to some shops where she thought we would find the type of jewellery I wanted to look at.
Manuela took us to a few shops - a couple were closed, but we went to one '1 gram' gold shop, which sells jewellery made from silver coated with gold, as I had said I didn't want to spend too much. There, I got a stud with a CZ stone for the equivalent of less than $1! I feel silly now for not getting some more, and I'm hoping I can go back to get some extras as presents and to wear as earrings. Next, we went to another jewellers which looked very fancy and I was sure I wouldn't be able to afford their items. However, they had 14ct gold items - which is very poor quality to Indians but very acceptable to me - and these cost the equivalent of just $3-5 each. So to my surprise I was able to get a several items at an extremely affordable price!
The quick success at jewellery hunting was also good because I felt a bit guilty that Alex might have to follow around for ages doing something he had no interest in, but thanks to Manuela's help my goal was achieved very quickly, and then she took us into a chat cafe (chat the Indian food, not chat as in talking) for some snacks. We weren't particularly hungry yet after the delicious lunch, but we all shared a few small items and Manuela and I shared a small cup of lassi.
By this time, Manuela had some other things to attend to, and so she dropped us off at an electronics shop that Alex needed to visit, and extended an invitation to visit again if we had a chance.
Once Alex had sorted out his electronics needs, it was very definitely within peak hour for traffic. We walked along a for a bit, and then managed to catch an auto that wasn't already occupied and got back to Augustine's place.
We organised with Augustine our plans for the next day, setting a time in the morning for doing our mid-placement evaluations, and then went to Udupas. We were both still too full to eat a meal, so we just had some delicious sweet and some tiffin (Indian savoury snacks, rather than the British fridge cake).
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