My name is Lindley Greene. I am 27 years old and live near Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, Colorado with my husband Ryan.
This past March I traveled for two weeks with 35 medical professionals to the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. I went with an organization called Dalit Freedom Network (DFN) who partners with Operation Mercy Charitable Company (OMCC) in India. I, however, am not a medical professional as my degree is in dietetics (nutrition). I really wondered how I would be of service at the clinics, especially after seeing how and what people in India eat. My only nutritional advice there if I were to give it (I didn’t) would be telling them to EAT! The women in India especially need to eat. They feed their husbands first and any other men at the house then they feed the children. Whatever is left they eat themselves.
To understand the need for the DFN and Operation Mercy Charitable Company (OMCC), one must understand the Dalit people. They are the lowest caste in India, formerly called the “untouchables”. They have been told for 3000 years by the upper caste citizens that they are less than human. Currently, the Dalits in India are numbered at 250 million, which is about 25% of the population. They are treated as less than human and are given the degrading jobs no one else would ever want to do. They are considered polluted and able to pollute others by interactions. They are forced to be Hindu and yet they are not allowed in the temples to worship and they are not given the education in order to possess the ability to read. Dalits are arguably the most oppressed people group in the world today. (To learn more about India’s oppressive caste system go to http://www.dalitnetwork.org/go?/dfn/who_are_the_dalit/C64 )
Dalit Freedom Network is working in partnership with OMCC to holistically transform the lives of the Dalit people. I love the fact that OMCC is staffed by Indian nationals. They have a major say in what we as Westerners are allowed to do, and how to present ourselves while we are in India. This is very important to me so that it’s not the Westerners coming in and trying to change India in the way we think it needs to be changed. Rather, the Indian nationals know how to go about the changes necessary in a culturally sensitive way. Women’s empowerment is an integral part of their approach. It involves teaching the women that their lives have amazing value. A Dalit woman hearing that she does not deserve to be raped and beaten is often very powerful. Women are now able to receive mirco-loans in order to become self-sustaining through endeavors such as sewing and agriculture.
While there, I was able to witness a ceremony celebrating the opening of a new sewing school which had three brand new pump sewing machines. This was hugely exciting to the community at the ribbon cutting ceremony!
Education is also a main factor in the holistic work within India. Dalit Education Centers (DECs) are used as the platform to reach out to the Dalit villages in India. When a DEC is set up in a town, the children have the opportunity to be educated for the first time in their lives, as upper caste schools most often do not allow Dalit children to attend.
As part of my time there, we established medical clinics at the DEC’s we visited. Many people we helped at the clinic looked quite malnourished. Finances are a strain for the people we worked with so main staples of rice, wheat flat bread and lentils are main sources of nourishment. Being on the team it was clear that we were not able to fix every problem presented but we were able to care for, love and touch these people and that in itself is very powerful for them.
The view of India that I see from the states is a stark contrast to the life of the Dalits. The Indians in the states are well educated and good in business. They represent India as a powerhouse in the world. Looking at the daily life of the Dalits and Other Backward Caste (OBCs) members (even the name is degrading) in India, I saw a life, for a large group of humans that is well hidden from the rest of world. These people are beautiful but the life they are being forced to live and the way they are being treated is not beautiful.
Looking back on my time in India the most powerful memories I have are the chances I got to spend with the women and children. Simple moments like holding hands with a nervous woman waiting to go into the doctor’s office or holding babies and looking into their little faces were precious to me. Some of the best times were blowing bubbles for kids. There was something amazing and new for me watching them stare at a plastic wand and blow bubbles for the first time. I had many laughs as I sat on a wooden platform in the village and read English children’s books to the kids. They crowded around and laughed at the voices I made for each animal character in our stories. I was touched in ways I have never experienced in other parts of my life. Despite crooked backs and beat-down spirits I saw so much life and hope in a group of people who have been oppressed for so long. I know that some of their hope is coming from the work of Dalit Freedom Network.
To an outsider my overall experience in India may not sound like life-changing events, but they were in my life and I hope they were a comfort and joy to those Indians I came in contact with. One never knows how many lives will change by touching one life. I am the one who went to see them, but they have truly touched my life.
I left a few days ago for another trip to Uttar Pradesh, India. I’m excited to be serving the Dalits again. This time my team is only 17 people and most are from the medical field. We will be at two different Dalit Education Centers than I went to in March. I look forward to spending time with the women and children again while helping my team where I can.
