It is time for a New Beginning

Some of you have had the pleasure of experiencing the transition from being individuals to parents to being a family. Some of you are on the way and rest will be there soon. The feeling is so simple yet so beautiful that it is hard to describe.

Catalyst, 3 months ago, took the risk of taking the responsibility to let this feeling be there for Ricky 18, and Sunita 15 who were living under a flyover till some time ago and sunita pregnant by 5+ months. They joined in our "Reboot" programhttp://www.catalystindia.in/whatwedo.aspx?projectid=16&projectname=Reboot 

Sunita, at the time of Joining Reboot

Now, it is anytime that Sunita will give birth to a new life, in a different environment than the others from their community.

And when i think about this child, and look at my daughter, i try to wonder what is the difference... nothing...and what will the difference be... immense...

I invite you all to think about this difference that is, and, which will be. Also think about how we can contribute to reduce this difference if at all we want this difference to be reduced.

I also invite you to contribute for the delivery process as it is a high risk for both the mother and the Child, it will cost around INR 20000. And then all that is needed for a new mother and the child as we believe all will go well by His Grace.

Let us all be a part of this New Beginning and make a better future.

Another Day in Catalyst Life- Buy Back Offer

Buy Back Offer (with a slight difference)

Three months ago, i deputed our project coordinator Ashita, to council a family who were about to marry their 13 year old daughter Anamika (Name changed). In spite of our efforts, the marriage still happened. It  was evident that the girl was also very happy to be married as she said she always liked this guy who happens to be a Polio victim and moves around in a wheel Chair.

We all consider Dowry system to be an evil practice and several young women die every year in our country because of this practice. The community we work with is free from this evil. Our community lives under a fly over and have no fixed housing, they can not even be called a slum. So the idea of the marriage here is the Man pays the money to the family of the girl to marry her, sounds better than the evil dowry system, but eventually this is a form of human trafficking and here it is considered that the girl becomes the man's property since he has paid for her.

July 6, 2009

We were called in as there has been major fights between the two families the previous night. Anamika also tried committing suicide by standing on the train track (thank God she was saved) and the Boy's family are preparing to sell her to a brothel since neither the boy nor the girl wants to be in the marriage. The reasons were;

1. The girl being just 13 is not able to take the physicality of marriage

2. Since the girl avoids the boy who is, as it is complexed of his handicapped, considers her character less

When we intervened, we were given this unique buy back offer. The boy has paid Rs 17000 for the girl, so if we pay that sum the girl will be free.

We offered the following solutions;

1. We take both of them under our Reboot Project (to know more about reboot http://www.catalystindia.in/whatwedo.aspx?projectid=16&projectname=Reboot ) Support them fully and provide them life skills.

2. Give some time to the girl to be physically ready and in the mean time we can train her with life skills in our Diversion Project (to know more about Diversion http://www.catalystindia.in/whatwedo.aspx?projectid=15&projectname=diversion )

Both the options were trashed by all of them as no one is willing to trust each other.

Now the options we have

1. Involve the police and the women welfare department and make sure the girl is not sold

Repercussions : Police and the judiciary are considered an enemy by this community for obvious reasons, if we involve the police we will lose the trust and respect of this community which we have built over last 2 and half year. Also, since the girl is the minor, the custody will be with her parents who both are severe alcoholics and in all possibility sell her again. The police will not camp there so, the girl will be beaten up as she is so far.

2. Let the situation take its own course

Repercussions : If the girl is sold to a brothel, Catalyst will have to live with this burden for as long as we exist, because then, rescuing her will be impossible.

3. Pay the Money and get the girl to a safe place

Repercussions : Setting a wrong trend

The Boy's family under no circumstances are willing to let go of her without money. Anamika's father, who, as i mentioned earlier is an alcoholic, has even agreed to sign a paper of no responsibility, if the girl is being sold out by the boy's family.

Please write in your suggestions to this unique buy back offer, it will be of great value to Catalyst.

Regards

Abhishek Gier

Executive Director

Catalyst India

Reflection of Mary Pandaini after Delhi Visit

India is the land of extremes – extreme poverty, extreme beauty, extreme congestion, extreme love.  Delhi, itself, is the land of heart.  The smiles of the children, especially the contrast of the street kids’ teeth against their dark skin, remind you that in the worst of situations, joy can be found in the simplicity of a kind hello.

My purpose in coming here?  Still not entirely sure.  I think Bob and I work well together.  To be with Richard and Abhishek with Catalyst draws me here.  Meeting Sam and Shoba inspires me.   My story needs to be told.   But where? How to tell it?

Standing at the top of the Garden of the Five Senses, we can see the whole of Delhi.  Smoke, flowers, singing voices, cars honking, miles and miles of city life.   At this time of day, families start to fill the homes, some legally built, others make-shift, and some under tents.  We pray.  We pray to God, asking for the Spirit to move among the city.  As Jesus wept for Jerusalem, we weep for Delhi.  Tears of joy in knowing God is already at work.  Tears of sadness for the pain and suffering of the marginalized and hurting.  Tears of despair at the enormity of work to be done.  Tears of hope that undergirds that task.

Pintu, tall and good-looking, smiles across the counter at the bakery.  He works the entire day in anticipation of earning enough for his own bike.  It’s quite a significant feat to have his own mode of transportation at the age of 19.  The bike is symbol of independence; his training in the bakery is his ticket.   After growing up in the “flyover” slum near New Friends Colony, his future now seems limitless.

The young couple, she is 15 and he 19, they sit next to each other sharing a meal with the rest of us.  She smiles beneath her scarf, wrapped in her sari.  “Thank you, Mister Bob,” she ends our meal.  They now have the potential of getting out of the poverty of their youth.  He works various jobs through connections of Catalyst supporters.

We walk up the steps to the shopping mall.  Karjol gets up quickly onto her one leg to run to us, giving hugs and warm hellos.  Behind us, from where she was sitting, a torn blanket and bowl sit out for her begging enterprise.  She is the sole bread winner of her family.  Mom is an alcoholic, dad has left.  At the age of 11, she has very little time for school or playing.  Fortunately, the relationships with those in Catalyst provide her with opportunities of being a kid. 

Is the answer more programs?  Yes, in a way.  No, in another.  Something more is required – “but to love justice, mercy and to walk humbly with our Lord.”  The name of Jesus asks us for our heart, lifting up the power of the Kingdom through relationships.

How can we build relationships when we live on the other side of this world?

That is the question.

Investment.

I have seen a side of Delhi that most do not see.  I have seen the dark underbelly, and as a result, fallen in love with the city.