Journey to India

by Uli Heine, PCI staff

When I traveled to India eight years ago, I witnessed a world I had not encountered before, but whose memories have been in my mind and heart ever since. I had never been to Asia and did not have any children yet. I was impressed with the obvious differences between India and what I considered “the western world”. The dichotomy of poverty, pollution and the constant noise level of the city that is Delhi contrasted with the beautiful women in a sea of sarees, children’s smiles, and gracious hospitality. However, most of all it was the humble nature of the people I met that stayed with me.

So, how did my recent trip to India compare to the one in 2000? The main difference for me was that I now have children of my own (two boys - four and seven), and that I easily identify with every mother who is pregnant, nursing and trying to care for her children. For me, this just heightened the way I experienced everything I witnessed on this trip because I kept saying “What if this was me or my child?”.

This time, a colleague and I accompanied seven women, five from San Diego, one from Kentucky and one from London to India's Golden Triangle. While we did visit some sites (Agra's Taj Mahal most notably) and enjoyed local markets, our main activities centered around visiting a shelter home for boys and our polio immunization program just outside Delhi as well as our micro loan program for women entrepreneurs in Jaipur.

At the shelter home, we talked to 40 boys who formerly lived as street children at the Delhi train station - a very unsafe place. It was so rewarding to see them well clothed, fed and educated. Of course, it is always heartwarming to visit kids - they truly tug on your emotions as you realize that they have the same wants and needs as our boys and girls - and the same potential when given the chance! It was inspiring to listen to the boys as they stood up and professed their dreams of becoming doctors, teachers or engineers! It really proved to me that we are not just helping them survive but truly thrive and provide them with opportunities they could have never dreamed of.

The second visit was to a village where we conduct polio immunizations. We all know that this disease is very preventable and unnecessary but nevertheless India is one the countries with the highest number of polio cases. PCI provides access to about half a million polio vaccinations a year by mobilizing the community to get the word out about its importance. We even work with religious leaders who act as messengers to the community. The most touching moment took place when a polio-afflicted young man, propped up by his crutch, talked passionately about his role in getting people immunized. I admire his courage and will never forget his face!

The third program visit involved a group of about 30 women in Jaipur who had received micro loans (about $100) from us to start their own business (saree making, weaving, cow herding etc.). We currently work with about 2000 of these women in 93 villages in our loan program and the repayment rate is close to 100 percent. We actually have made loans to more than 7,000 women in total, benefitting their whole families. In their own words, this really has changed their lives as they are now able to feed and clothe their children and send them to school. It was of great interest to me, as well as to the travelers, to be accompanied by one of India’s Qualcomm representatives. Qualcomm is partnering with PCI to strengthen the women’s ability to be financially successful by using Internet technology to bring their wares to the marketplace in the most efficient and effective way. The highlight of that visit was that some of the women travelers literally gave out four more micro-loans to women who had already replayed their first loan.

It's hard to pick which of these program visits was more impactful. They all provided wonderful hope in the midst of great poverty that we saw along the road. The experience really proved to me that PCI is changing the world - one village at a time, and that I am so very proud to be part of it together with all our staff and donors.