Nai Disha
By Gabrielle on Wednesday, February 10 2010, 18:11 - The bringers of hope - Permalink
In the courtyard of the headquarters of Sulabh in Delhi, a
sign welcomes visitors: ‘Smile, you are at Sulabh’. That was a good start for
the day. Soon after our arrival, Dr Pathak came to welcome us in person and
invited us to the morning prayer. We were invited to go with him on the
platform in front of a crowd of faces. The music started and they all sang in
one voice. Then, one of the persons in charge introduced us to the audience and
welcomed us. We were as much amazed as moved by this incredible reception. A
group of women elegantly dressed in blue saris stood beside the committee of
directors. They were the Blue Angels of Nai Disha. They came
from Alwar, a town in the region of Rajasthan at a 4-hour drive from Delhi, for
their monthly meeting with Dr Pathak. Later on, we sat with them to listen to
their story.
One day, during a public awareness campaign in Alwar, Dr Pathak noticed
scavenger women coming back from their daily duty. They carried on their heads
buckets of faeces they had picked up in the early morning (so that the people
living in the houses where they worked would not meet them). Dr Pathak went to
meet them and asked them if they wished to change their jobs and have a better
life. They were stunned by this man: was this Brahman teasing them? But when
they saw his serious and determined look, they decided to trust him and gave an
unanimous ‘yes’. That was in 2003, and Sulabh opened the training
centre Nai Disha in Alwar.
They told us enthusiastically about the incredible changes that have happened
in their lives since then. They turned their backs on the fields of refuse and
the disgust that used to overcome them everyday when fulfilling those
humiliating tasks. After three years of training in the centre, they
learned the basics of arithmetic and writing as well as new jobs:
dressmaking, preparation of food products, beauty care, etc. They now have bank
accounts where they can deposit their monthly wages. With the help of trainers
in the centre, they retrieved their dignity and the self-respect that they had
given up very young. Progressively, they also won the respect of others.
Usha Chaumar, president of Sulabh International
Social Service Organisation.
They invited us to visit them and, the next day, we drove towards Alwar
accompanied by Dr Suman Chahar, director of the centre. The Blue Angels
welcomed us with their beautiful smiles of free women. Their representative,
Usha Chaumar, put a dot of red powder on our foreheads. It is called the Tilak,
it is a sign of welcome.
We visited the dressmaking workshop. Women bustled about on the sewing machines
to produce an order of promotional canvas bags. As well as the series produced
for the merchants, they also sew self-created patterns. Dr Suman Chahar showed
us a few samples.
In another room, women rolled small cotton wicks destined for candles in the
temples. This is not insignificant when one learns that they only gained the
right to go and pray in the temple of Alwar on 21st December 2008. That day,
they entered the temple altogether, led by Dr Pathak.
Women of Nai Disha entering the temple Jagannath in Alwar for the first time
(Photo: Sulabh)
We went up to the beauty salon of the centre. There, a woman of Alwar gave her
face to the expert hands of a beautician of Nai Disha, while another gave her
forearm for a henna tattoo. Further down, women in a circle were making noodles
and papads (crispy and spicy thin pancakes) that have become greatly
appreciated in the neighbourhood. This experience seems incredible in the
Indian society where the slightest physical contact with ‘untouchables’ is
traditionally treated like a stain by the superior castes. Some women of Nai
Disha were even invited by their former employers to share a meal. It is the
proof that an important psychological turn has been passed.
Activities in the Nai Disha Centre.
In June 2009, Nai Disha welcomed the last class of scavenger women in Alwar,
celebrating the end of scavenging in this town of 400,000
inhabitants. The experience is now continued in a new training centre
that was opened in 2008 near Jaipur (capital town of Rajasthan). It already
welcomes 225 women.
The success of Nai Disha is the fruit of a long term effort led by Dr Pathak
and his team for the freedom and rehabilitation of scavengers in the society.
When Dr Pathak created Sulabh in 1970, he was one man against all. Dealing with
a subject as dirty and taboo as toilets was the worst of disgraces for a
Brahman, but nothing seemed to be able to dissuade him from his
objective.
The making
and installation of toilets was the first step towards the eradication of
scavenging. The final issue is to rewrite the rules of the social game in order
to give untouchables the chance to start a new life, to be relieved of their
labels. At the very start, Sulabh accompanied the professional retraining of
families who depended on this activity to survive. Training was organised in
villages to learn how to drive, mechanical engineering, masonry, etc.
In order to move the public conscience, Dr Pathak launched big public awareness
campaigns. He organised the sponsoring of scavenger families by Brahmans and
worked for their right to enter temples.
Dr Pathak also counts on the young generations that have the future in their
hands. In 1992, he opened a school in Delhi. This school welcomes 50% of the
scavengers’ children. During our visit, we followed the director through the
classrooms, the general courses, then the technical training: dressmaking,
electrical installation, computers, etc. The students welcomed us without being
shy, giving us a general idea of their presentations and their work. There, the
children study and play together without attaching importance to their
castes.
Visit of the school (Photo: Sulabh)
The metamorphosis of scavenger women into Blue Angels sends a strong message.
Through Nai Disha, Sulabh laid a new foundation that invites the Indian society
to evolve in order to realise the wish of Gandhi: eradicate the scavenging. To
be condemned from birth to thankless tasks and to the disregard of others seems
more and more difficult to justify, as well as all the inequalities caused by
the system of castes.
With Dr Pathak, the women of Nai Disha have become the ambassadors of Sulabh.
Among the big events in which they participated, their best memory is the
summit of the United Nations ‘Sanitation for sustainable development’ in 2008,
in New York! When they spoke about this trip, the conversation livened up and
their eyes shone. Their representative, Usha Chaumar, read for us the speech
she had then delivered in English. We looked at the photos of the fashion show
where models showed the clothes designed in the school and made in Nai Disha.
Together, the 46 women had raised their fist from the bottom of the Statue of
Liberty. The fairy tale has become reality.
The Blue Angels in New York (Photo: Sulabh)
How to help
Nai Disha is looking for customers to buy their products, which consist of
clothes, accessories or food products that the women can make on order.
Contact
Dr
Suman Chahar
Sulabh Gram - Mahavir Enclave
Palam Dabri Marg
New Delhi – 110 045
India
• Telephone : +91 11 25 03 15 18
• Mobile : +98 68 80 45 42
• Website : www.sulabhinternational.org
• E-mail : sumanchahar@hotmail.com
Gabrielle
