More than sum of its parts

   Sometimes, you plan something with a certain vision in mind.. putting bits and pieces of ideas heard here and there into a bigger design for more impact.. you think its a bit idealistic, but you tell yourself, what the hell, at least the planning should aim big.. but be mentally prepared that in this set up and given the scale and the number of moving parts to this, its likely to achieve about 50-60% of what you planned. But hey! 60% is so much more than 0! So go give it a shot! So, after this little pep talk to self, you go ahead and give it a try. 

   And oh my god, it works out better than even you imagined!  Do you know what that feels like?? Its un-damn-believable! Filled with a huge sense of gratitude and sheer happiness, I want to write about the menstrual hygiene and adolescent  health programme we have been running.

   The base idea was of an officer who had done a similar thing elsewhere. The model was different, but content was 50% same. Then I remember reading about identifying anaemic girls early, specially in hostel students. Then a bunch of enthusiastic kids of an ngo came to meet me, as a courtesy and it stuck in my head somewhere that this was their field of interest. Putting all these three together, we chalked up a programme in which girls and their mothers will be spoken to about menstrual hygiene in their school, by a bunch of med school students and health team will also go and test their hb. Knowing the taboos and shame attached with this topic, I really didnt expect great turn out of moms or frank discussions post lecture. I also expected that the trainings will go as trainings usually do - one way talk, monologue-ish and wrap up. 

   I was so wrong! These kids, despite being young, were docs, in their lab coats and steths. It made everyone, students, teachers , moms all take them seriously. And these wonderful kids, came up with so many little little ideas to break the ice with the girls like singing, telling jokes, etc. Some even went ahead and involved the boys, did check ups and counselling for moms who had gynae issues! The way they went about it is a great example of the difference between doing something from the heart and doing something in a routine way. It may not sound like much and most certainly cant be explained in a training. But you have to be there to see this to get how well it is being conducted. 

   The idea of getting their hb checked.. I am so glad we added that because it turns out that almost 1% of the girls are severely anaemic. About 12 of them were less than 5 hb and were taken for blood transfusion immediately. The kind of data coming out is also informative. For instance, 58% of the severely anaemic girls are from the same region! Majority of the anaemic kids are around the age when they hit puberty - 12 to 13 years and many cases of amenorrhea. We also managed to get over a 100 moms to share other health issues for which they have never gone to a hospital. Listing their details and following them up, they have gotten treatment for the first time ever. 

   What makes me happiest is that a third party like UNICEF does a random visit and decides to document it as a best practice and award this ngo of docs for their work. This whole thing is not just a case of good civil-society govt convergence or inter departmental coordination. It has turned out to be so much more than just the sum of its parts. And I love all of them for making this really work a 110%.

   

Library Lost

   Its a beautiful building, who's exterior facade is used for pre-wedding shoots (some new fad all couples seem to have these days, which hapless guests are forced to watch in recompense for the dinner we down at their wedding reception!) while the interior holds books dating back to the 1600s. Sadly, it is also one of the most forgotten institutions as far as government interest goes. 

   The regular influx of new books has left it with little space which isn't taken up with bookshelves. Some rooms are literally filled with sacks of books stashed one upon the other, with no staff left to even indent them. The scores of students who come, aren't here for the heritage or the hardbacks. They are here looking for a quiet place to study. With nothing left in the name of a reading room, the corridors are lined with desks and chairs for them to use. 

   Despite this state of affairs, the sheer will and commitment of 2-3 people is keeping this library going.. and they are super excited with my visit. They show me around with pride.. some more people join us as we move from room to room.. these are the old timers who have been visiting this library for decades. Some have even retired from here and keep pitching in with their help whenever needed. 

   We reach a sort of verandah where I'm stumped to find a massive, 10, maybe 12 feet statue of Queen Victoria in marble. Apparently, this library was originally opened as a museum in her name, in the late 1800s. Hence, the statue. Post independence, it was seen as a mark of British subjugation and removed from its prime spot at the entrance. Today she stands in the yard, book in hand, not knowing what to do!

   Moving on, we go upstairs and they bring me the oldest book in the collection, dating back to 1665! The pages are so brittle that turning them reminds me of the first time I held my tiny newborn baby in my arms. There are some with beautifully painted gold inscriptions, travelogues written in an English which we do not recognise fully today, coffee table books of yore (that's not what they were called then!) showcasing a Bombay Horse and Cattle show and plenty other wonderful treasures!

   By now I have made up my mind to do something about this place. They say, whatever happens, happens for the best. And so it is, even if we dont realise it then. My little tenure in a place whose basic work was preservation of precious manuscripts and the people it brought me in touch with sprang to my mind immediately. With luck, I am able to mobilise funds from two sources under my control and reach out to my erstwhile colleagues for chalking out a plan of action. Its been about a month since my visit now, the plan is in place and we are ready to start working on it.

   If all goes well, we will find a new and separate reading room for all the exam - giving students, digitized books so that they do not have to be manually handled any more, scientific preservation of the older lot and a gallery showcasing some of the rare books and manuscripts unique to this library, within 6 months. Fingers crossed!

Catching up

   Two months nearly since the elections got over. Back to regular work. Time just flies. What have I been upto for two months now? If I look at it backwards, there has been 1 ill-timed and serious issue with bus burning and lathi charges. A very strange and inexplicable case indeed.. but one that cannot be discussed on a public forum.

   There was one trip to study the different kinds of models of implementing a particular scheme. That was interesting in so many ways. Firstly, to get to step outside of one's own pond and see how the rest of the world approaches the same problem in many different ways was really refreshing and educational. In fact, this should be made a standard practice. Secondly, the visit gave a shocking revelation into the ways things can be manipulated to serve vested interests.. or at least that's what it seemed like to me! 

   Thirdly, it was great to meet some people I hadn't met in decades! Age is a uniformly cruel thing.. but spirit is one's own. And it was inspiring, to say the least, to see how old friends and elders have kept up their spirits against all the odds that age and time throws at you.. and heartening to see how some relationships still haven't changed, because of the beautiful people in it. 

   Another dear-to-my-heart project on menstrual hygiene has been started. The planning for it nearly made me pop a nerve, but now that its underway, I am amazed myself at how smoothly its going despite the fact that the 4 odd departments/organisations involved were at loggerheads almost a week before its start! The response of the girls, their mothers is tremendous compared to what I expected.. The follow up mechanisms are also working, though a bit more tweaking is required and underway. The way the usually cynical media has appreciated and covered it has also surprised me. And now UNICEF wants to document it as a best practice. 

 A part of this time also went in visiting and commissioning works in an old and ignored library. This deserves a separate post, which I will write next. Another part of it went in a few field visits (not as many as I would like to) which were a great exposure for me. This place post rains is beautiful in a way that no one can imagine in this State. People are so diverse.. differences in dialects, customs, practices, expectations from the powers that be.. all of them are so varied within the boundaries of this 12000 sq kms. 

  It is also an eye opener into the cutting edge level service delivery issues.. which this place has plenty of. I have realised that just like Parkinson's Law, (Work expands to fill the time available for its completion), standards of service delivery tunes itself to the expectations and awareness of the people seeking those services, making sure that it is always at least one notch lower. So, in places where the latter is almost negligible, the standards of service delivery are.. well.. to put it mildly.. pathetic. Sometimes it all feels hopeless. But then, as a friend counselled, dont lose hope and keep at it. Sometimes the results will surprise you.. 

Last notable thing would be, as a broad category, to figure out gaps where ongoing schemes have not been reaching the intended beneficiary for a while and plug them. That part has been satisfying in the sense that things which got lost, somewhere in the maze of processes, could be salvaged and brought home, where it belongs. Compensation to more than 100 victims of certain crimes, scholarships to certain category of students (including 3700 orphans), sick patients on their death beds, incentives for immunising baby girls, certificates for a special category of people - these are done or nearly done. But what I am more excited about is that we are trying to build a way to figure out 100% reach in future. I am 'this' close to testing it.. If that succeeds, it will be really something!

Ideally, each of these should have gotten a separate entry.. but I haven't been able to write much the last two months and I am just compensating right now. 

have much to share.. but been whiling my free time with other things instead of blogging it down.. too late tonight. so just a checking in sort of post.. more later.