Kashmir - First Days

As soon as we arrived back from the hospital, there were people waiting for training on the laptops. To begin with, we just have them open Word and write a bit about themselves, or copy an article from a newspaper. They also like the Paint programme. The students who know more end up doing the teaching. I am there to advise more on technical issues at the moment.

One young student, Faizan, is very good already and is bored by what I can offer, so I am having him help me edit my photos. He is such a quick student, and his English is very good, so he understands my instructions easily. Once my box of additional items arrives, there will be a digital camera, and with some editing software, he can continue working with the Centre's photos after I leave. And train others. Faizan is not disabled, he is from a wealthy family and just likes to hang out with the folks at Hope Centre.

Friday walking to volleyball there was a horse on the sidewalk!

I carry my camera everywhere!! There are surprises around every corner here! Once we reached the area near the volleyball court, there was a one-legged shepherd with his sheep. He let me take his photo. He is a nieghbour of the Wani family.

I have noticed that the sheep in Kashmir get to keep their tails.

And there are quite a few horses and carts around.

On Saturday morning the night watchman Imtiyaz accompanied me on my walk to his village. It is up the hill behind the Centre, on a steep rocky path just wide enough for a small jeep. That is the shortcut way, anyway, there is a longer way taken by buses. We first went to the village, and I was surprised to learn that 20 minutes walk away is a village of 20,000 people! Many people called out to Imtiyaz as we passed, and he told them I was the computer teacher for the centre. That is a good simple explanation. One of Imtiyaz's 5 brothers runs a store in the village, and we stopped for a photo. Everyone joined in, of course. The light was beautiful, and the person using the camera held it steady. I have noticed that most people are not familiar with cameras, and don't hold them steady enough for a good photo, so I lose some potentially great shots, because people want a photo with me, which means someone else has to take the photo.

We then went to Imtiyaz's family home. He showed me his cherry and apple orchard, and his fishpond where he raises grass carp. The pond is drained at the end of the year, and the fish man comes to collect the carp. Imtiyaz gets 80 rupees per kg for them; about 73 cents US per pound or $2.70 NZ per kg. He harvests around 100 kg of fish per year, and is happy with the money since it takes so little work: only half an hour a day on average to feed them grass and maintain the pond. Like so many farm families here, they have a few free range hens, and a goat for milk, vegetables and fruit. All organic. So they eat far better than most city people do, in any country. Over tea, I explained why I took a photo of a chicken for this blog - that most chickens in New Zealand and the US are raised in factories, and this happy hen was a luxury.

Photo of Imtiyaz with rice seed drying, in preparation for planting.

A house on the way back from Imtiyaz's village.

Later, Sami and I traveled up into the mountains to follow up on Naza, a young orphan girl who lives with her uncle and aunt, and are very poor. Her foot was twisted 90 degrees to one side before the surgery. We were there for her one week follow up. Considering the state of the roads we were on, we really should have been in a 4 wheel drive! We found her sitting in the doorway in the sun, with a stream flowing past and a hill on the other side of the stream. Ducks were swimming in the stream, and it was a quiet, peaceful spot to recuperate in. She was doing well, and could walk a bit unaided. I took photos and videos.

On the way back down the mountain, Sami stopped in to see a friend of his; Bureeda Majid, Social Welfare Officer for Kangan. She was fluent in English, and a very able administrator. She explained that disabled people get a government payment of 200 rupees ($5 US) per month. That doesn't go very far, even here!


More students awaited us on our return. Members of the Hope Centre (disabled and former disabled) are hearing that computer training is being given, and they are starting to show up - new faces every day.

Saturday evening I went down to the volleyball court with Tahir, but the men had finished playing, and were lounging around on the rocks just chatting. When I showed up, one of them held the ball and inquired nonverbally if I would like to have a go. I don't think he expected me to immediately remove my jacket, drop my bag, and walk over to the court! He couldn't back down, of course, so we went one on one for a few minutes until I started getting out of breath. It is a good workout! Sami did not see this. So the next night, Sami was quite surprised when they invited me to join in a real game. I was bad, but proved helpful a couple of times. After the game, the kids invited me to practice , and I started hitting again with my forearms. But I won't play in a game again. I prefer to practice with the boys, and also that way I won't cause too much trouble by playing with the men. I get much more exercise that way too.

Sunday Sami drove me into Srinagar so I could attend church. There are two churches in Srinagar, both Catholic. I was surprised to find any! We arrived at 8am to find the gates closed, and learned the service was now at 10:30. So we went for breakfast and then I had a walk along Dal Lake, turning down many offers for hired boat rides on the lake on a shakira. The cost is posted on signs along the lake: 200 rupees per hour ($2 US) .

Before returning to church, we bought groceries from a friend of Sami's. I wanted some cleaning supplies, nuts, raisins, honey, and oatmeal.
We returned to the Holy Family church, and Sami went to have tea with some friends.
The service was in Kashmiri and English, and the father was Indian. There were about 100 attendees. No Europeans except me.

As I was leaving, a young man came up to me and said he was Muslim, and wanted to buy a Bible. I chatted with him briefly, and told him I wanted to buy a Koran. He was very happy. I went with him into the church and he purchased a beautiful Bible for only 120 rupees ($2.50 US), and then led Sami and me to a Muslim bookstore, where purchased my Koran for only 150 rupees ($3 US). I am afraid he was a bit too strong a Muslim, and wanted the Bible only to point out what he feels are flaws, rather than read it with an open mind. He was doing his best to convert me in the bookstore. If he stays in touch with me, perhaps I can persuade him to have a more open mind about Christians, as I hope also to do with Christians about Islam. A big ask, I know. But one can only try, in this effort to reach peace in the world. We worship the same God, after all. I was reminded of the article in the Delhi Times of India, which advises "do not study other religions to find holes in their belief systems. Honour the strength of your own tradition. And if you notice similarities with others, be gracious enough to acknowledge and appreciate the gifts of other traditions. Cure yourself of thinking that you've got it right and others are on a 'wrong' path. ...Be conversant with the Bible and see how Jesus tries to spread love, and cut across discriminative barriers; reflect on the Bhagavad Gita and the call to a life of ..selfless action; explore the intricate web of the Q'uran and recognise invitations to mercy and justice....
No traditions, if you've studied them with sensitivity and understanding, incite their followers to violence. ...One's efforts should be directed toward acquiring enlightenment, refining desire and will by purging them of selfishness, by learning to endure pain, getting rid of hate, cultivating love." Homayun Taba

So perhaps that was why he approached me, of all the people there, to ask for help. Time will tell.

On the way back to Wayil, Sami mentioned that he spends all his salary on the Hope Centre. There is so little money coming in, and all the donations are used to fund surgeries and medicine and prosthetic equipment. There is nothing for gas or vehicle repair or office supplies. No ink in the printer, no refrigerator or oven in the kitchen, no kitchen towels or hot water. Sami's salary is 6000 rupees per month, $120 US. But he was able to change the lives of many young people through corrective surgery and rehabilitation. He counted up 75 surgeries in the past year.
Monday. I went with Imtiyaz to buy our morning bread and milk. The bread, chappatis (small pitas), are made fresh every morning by a blind man who measures the flour in his hand. His associate bakes them by pressing them up against the wall of the wood fired oven. The price? Two rupees each, or 4 cents US. And this is one of the reasons people can survive on $2 a day!

I stayed at the Centre on Monday, training staff and disabled members who stopped by. I write my blog and edit my photos as they type in Word or learn mouse skills with Paint. One of my students, Rajah, has one leg, and uses no crutches. His leg was amputated at the hip. So a prosthetic leg is not possible for him. His English is excellent and so are his computer skills.

Near sunset, Sami and I went to visit Parmeena, a girl who was going into hospital the next day, to sign papers and confirm everything. This 12 year old girl had deformed legs due to rickets. One leg had surgery last year, and now they were going to operate on the other leg. Parmeena.

We stopped on the way home and visited Sami's aunt, his mother's sister, and a cousin. She was baking bread in her home oven.