2012 in Ingrid Neeva Jeevana

Since we published recently our annual report, it is now time now to tell you about it!

SIWOL was able to send 8 250 Euros in 2012 through the generosity of our donors. It covers up to 2/3 of the orphanage expenses if we refer to the total expenses of 2011 (13,934 Euros) and allowed our 27 children to go to school and be taken care of. The business plan made in 2009 (the orphanage opening) foresaw that 40 Euros per month and per child would be needed to cover all the daily expenses. However, the rise of inflation in India has been such that the costs haven’t decreased yet, though their rise has been contained: we calculated that 43 Euros only are required per child and per month in 2012. The remaining third of the expenses is taken in charge by German and English donors; we feel reassured that the orphanage doesn’t rely solely on us and thus limited risks are taken. SIWOL’s remaining money is saved on a bank account to face possible hard times and for the future (in particular if the girls wish to do higher studies, which is expensive in India. More on the budget: clic.

Moreover, a cloths and child games collection was organized with the Luxemburg Credit Agricole (a bank) and it was a success: more than 10 boxes of cloths and games have been given to us! Unluckily, we do not feel confident enough to send them to India by post and they are actually stored in Germany and carried regularly to the orphanage by a German friend.

We talk a lot about the work done by the voluntaries in the orphanage, because we believe that volunteering constitutes a huge opportunity for the children.  Besides the fact that volunteers themselves get to know another culture, they carry their world with them and contribute to opening our children to new horizons: Celine taught geography to the children and she led a photography project (link to her project webpage?) for example.  Moreover, daily living with volunteers of different culture is a source of enrichment both for the volunteers and the staff and children of the orphanage. We were very happy to find a volunteer who wanted to teach dance to the girls, but she had to cancel it last minute. It was too late to recruit other volunteers for 2012, but we welcome anyone who would like to share his/her project with us!

 

As for awareness rising, apart from our activities on the blog and the newsletter, we organized an Indian day in May 2012 with the Moulin à Café, a Parisian social cafe. Diverse activities were proposed such as sari dressing and Bollywood dance or a concert and more than 300 persons attended the event! We were amazed by this success, and we raised 1,116 Euros during the day. In addition, we set up a partnership with the Indian restaurant “Chez Bharati”. We organize diners with friends of us in a warm place and a nice Indian diner to present SIWOL’s actions. The dinner cost is 20 Euros, and 5 are given back to SIWOL. Through this diner, some friends have discovered our actions, others subscribed to our newsletter and other donate. In total, 554 Euros were raised in two dinners.

But for us, the most positive point remains that Prema is very happy with the progress the girls make, and all that she and her staff are able to make with and for them.  As for school, the children now lead their class. Their initial social isolation has been broken and they now freely participate to all school activities. The eldest of the girls began to learn about stitching and she takes daily class: with the generosity of our donors, money was raised so that Anjali could start learning stitching and we could also buy a machine for her, so that she can practice at home and make quick progress.

 

Though SIWOL could not send any volunteer this year, Caroline came from Germany during the autumn to help children with their homework, to teach them songs and organize craft workshops. She was a welcome change for the girls, after the hard times of the sumer. Indeed, there were heavy water problems in Siraguppa this summer. It is starting to be settled now.   

The they were also many happy times, Ganesh festival took place in september. Our children were invited to give a dance show that they prepared with Prema’s niece Leena and Prema’s daughter Shiny. Prema told us how happy she was to see the children on stage. In fact, a previous show was scheduled in March 2012 for Shiva Ratri festival and was eventually cancelled. Prema learnt that it was due to the fact that the children come from low cast and tribal origins and so the high cast Shiva worshippers didn’t want the children to participate. She was deeply hurt and that’s why it is important for her that not only the girls get an artistic education, but also that they share it with the village, so that they become a source of pride for the local community.

Let us conclude with Prema’s word of gratitude: “Once again, thank to you all who support our work. With you aid and generosity, we can work with the children and you help me improve our society.”

Le travail des femmes à Siruguppa

 Un des objectifs de l’orphelinat est d’offrir aux filles une bonne éducation, et la possibilité de choisir un emploi par la suite, qui leur assure autonomie financière et épanouissement personnel. On pense souvent que les Indiennes sont le plus souvent des  femmes au foyer, et qu’elles n’ont pas de profession rémunérée. Il est vrai que le taux d’activité des femmes à la fin des années 1990 était de 14,7% en milieu urbain, et 30,2% en milieu rural (chiffres de la National Sample Survey 1999-2000). Toutefois, le taux d’activité des femmes est sans doute bien plus élevé, en effet, elles sont particulièrement nombreuses dans le secteur informel, par ailleurs, beaucoup d’activités exercées par les femmes ne sont pas considérées comme du « travail » pour diverses raisons.  

 

Nous avons donc pensé qu’il serait intéressant de vous donner quelques informations sur les métiers exercés par les femmes à Siruguppa. Nous n’avons pas pour ambition d’être exhaustif, mais néanmoins nous souhaiterions vous dresser un panorama d’ensemble. Les femmes les plus pauvres exercent majoritairement les métiers suivants : travailleuses aux champs (de riz et de coton principalement), sur les chantiers de construction de maison, dans les usines de transformation du riz, domestique dans des familles aisées, vendeuse au sein de petits commerces individuels (vente d’œufs à domicile, vente de saris en porte à porte au sein du quartier "intouchable", etc.). En général, ces femmes ne savent pas lire et écrire (ou juste écrire leur prénom) et beaucoup sont des « dalits » (c’est-à-dire des « intouchables »), mais ce n’est pas le cas de toutes. 

Femmes travaillant dans les rizières

Sans entrer dans le débat relatif à la qualification du travail sexuel, un certain nombre de femmes sont des travailleuses du sexe à Siruguppa. En premier lieu, il y a les devadasis, dont c’est l’activité « traditionnelle », mais qui travaillent également souvent comme ouvrières (agricoles ou sur les chantiers). Par ailleurs, d’autres femmes que celles appartenant aux familles devadasis travaillent comme prostituées aujourd’hui, souvent des femmes dont les familles ont connu de grandes difficultés financières.

 

Des lavandières

Les emplois que nous avons mentionnés jusqu'ici sont souvent considérés comme dégradants, et seules les plus démunies acceptent de le faire. En revanche, beaucoup de métiers sont considérés comme « respectables », et occupés par des femmes venant de familles qui sans être riches, ont un niveau de vie "suffisant" (il serait abusif de parler ici de "classes moyennes"). Il s'agit des emplois dans la couture, au sein des commerces (sur le marché, à la pharmacie, etc.), comme infirmière, esthéticienne ou coiffeuse, en tant que personnel administratif au sein des banques, employé administratif de la mairie, institutrice, ou encore travailleur social. Ces emplois sont formels ou informels, mais ils ont en commun d’assurer un niveau de revenu convenable. Par ailleurs, la profession d’infirmière est aujourd’hui très prisée en Inde, notamment parce qu’elle offre des opportunités d’émigration. Les emplois dans le secteur public sont également valorisés. Parmi ces activités, toutes ne sont pas exercées à temps plein, certaines étant des activités d’appoints, comme la couture. Par ailleurs, il y a des femmes qui ont quelques buffles dont elles revendent le lait, comme activité complémentaire génératrice de revenu.

Bonnes fêtes à tous! Happy holidays to all!