Day 4: continued...

Day 4: continued…

Below are some other pictures taken throughout the day.

(As we entered into the MRYDO site, the women welcomed us by placing the Tilak on our foreheads)

(When visiting the village, the women from MRYDO placed a Tilak in the spot between our eyebrows. Tilak is a red dot, it is made from sandalwood powder and it represents a sign of respect and welcome.)

 

(MRYDO women group, whom began their businesses based on the micro-loan)

(Me! - Waiting for the MRYDO group of women to speak)

(Allen playing Cricket with the children from the slums)

(Chris also played Cricket with the children from the slums)

(Slums)

(The children from the slums)

(Having lunch at Suribachi in Delhi, India)

(Some Manhattan College students with the Qutub Minar which is the tallest monument in India, 72.5 meters; the Muslim rule in India began with this minaret)

(MC students in front of the Qutub Minar during our tour)

Day 4: Financial Emergence of India

Day 4: Financial Emergence of India

            Today we visited a social NGO called Modern Rural Youth Development Organization (MRYDO) and Quatrro an outsourcing company.  We also took a quick tour of Qutub Minar.

            According to the pamphlet we received from MRYDO, it has a mission “to channelize the potentialities of youth, women, children and other marginalized communities for their own development and work towards a healthy society free from hunger, disease, discrimination and injustice”.  MRYDO was able to register their business in 1986 and with the help of UNICEF, they we able to actually start out the way they really wanted. Other organizations that have helped are WaterAid India, National Bank for Agricultural Development (NABARD), Delhi State AIDS Control Society, Ministry of Women and Child Development and some others.

            Below is an image of the work that MRYDO has influenced the women of these remote villages to do. MRYDO provides classes to these women for training on sewing machines, cloth making and beauty culture.  MRYDO teaches about 100 women on a daily basis and holds 2 classes in the morning and 2 in the evening with 25 students in each. We met a group of women in which 4 members spoke about the work that MRYDO has helped them complete.  These women have been able to start their own businesses such as a pickle business, a handbag business, a shoe business, a chocolate business and a tie-dye and embroidery clothing business.  MRYDO has not only supplied them with the skills but given these groups of women the confidence to help trust one another in order to start their businesses.  MRYDO helps these groups of women to join together and take out a micro-loan so that they can all start their small businesses.

(A few of the women participating in the self help groups)

(These women are being taught about beauty)

(Women being taught how to sew)

 (Bag crested by one of the women)

(Examples of what the women have made with the help of MRYDO and the loans from the bank)

            Another aspect about MRYDO that I found interesting, was that they have helped implement health classes for females and children in public schools and a program for scavengers (scavengers are those who are hired by the upper class to pick up human defecation and are considered untouchables). The health classes for females teach them about menstrual hygiene and all types of women empowerment especially about their sexual self respect, identity and dignity.  The health classes for children include a 3 step plate for children to wash their hands in before a meal. This implemented idea allows smaller children to be able to reach the water properly enough to wash their hand thoroughly. The scavengers program has added pressure to the government in order to get rid of these practices and implement something different like sewages.

            Quatrro is an outsourcing company, which began 25 years ago and is based on the concept of helping other companies become innovative.  Before, the concept of outsourcing was believed to be taking the food away from the table and putting it on another table.  Today, the concept of outsourcing is defined as putting the food on both tables.

            At about 6:30 pm (India time) we met up with a company called Quatrro. Quatrro is a business that works at night, because most of their clients are people from the United States; they have adjusted their times in order to fit ours. The majority of businesses that Quatrro helps are small to medium sized businesses. Quatrro’s services consist of (1)Technical Support, (2) Knowledge Services, (3) Interactive Entertainment, (4) Processing Services, (5) Mortgage and (6) Financial Processing

 (Quatrro Building)

(Lauren, Kiara & Eleana)

(The MC students making their mark)

More pictures to follow...

Day 3: Habitat for Humanity North India (Delhi Offices)

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” 
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Below are a few pictures of today's adventures. The description of the day will soon follow.

(View of the Sikhi Temple we were in yesterday)

(View from the top of the Habitat for Humanity Delhi Office Building)

(A few students taking a glance of India from above)

(Jessica & I on the roof of Habitat for Humanities building)

(Time to go!!!!)

(Keara, on our way to Savda Ghevra, India to see and help in some of the work that is being done by Habitat for Humanity)

(Meeting a group of entrepreneurial women in Savda Ghevra, India)

(This is one of the houses that are being built with the help of Habitat for Humanity)

(Jessica & Abdulah hanging out with a few of the village's children)

(I think this is ther version of a playpen...maybe?)

Day 2: Old Delhi, New Delhi, and experiences of a lifetime.

Day 2: Old Delhi and New Delhi

Being that India is a country many miles away from home to start off I would like to make mention that this country and all it has to offer continues to in a mere word astonish me. Upon waking up from a restful 8 hours of sleep, I was lucky enough to have a nice breakfast with coffee with Gabriel Quiroz and Dr. Predmore, in which we discussed Spain and its economic situation. Just with a start like that I knew that today would be both interesting and very eye opening. Now normally being someone who likes to keep to myself I find that this wonderful group of diverse students brings out a more interactive and more social version of me so thanks guys if you read this.

Moving on we began our day by getting on the tour bus in which our tour guide Gotham (to which if I have spelled your name wrong I am sorry) took us to Old Delhi a place in which he exclaimed "you can find anything here." This I must tell you I found both intriguing and exciting as I was interested to see if this place could live up to its reputation. As I would later find out you literally could find anything. Our first stop was a Mosque Jama Masjid to which we had to remove our shoes. Despite the cold marble the sight of this unfortunately I could not take photographs inside but one of the other students has so keep posted for pictures! Once I had recovered from the amazing designs that lined the walls and even the floor of the sandstone and marble encased Jama Masjid we then moved onto my personal favorite part of todays trip, the streets of Old Delhi.

The first Mosque we visited

Another picture of the Mosque

Just a view at the jungle of wires that electricians have to deal with if something goes wrong

This is where they made jewelry like the earrings I purchased for my girlfriend.

The Rickshaw ride everyone looking somewhat concerned

Selfie in the Rickshaw

One of the many forts that conquerors built in India

Delivery Service anybody?

At the Gurudwara with some of the guys.

A picture of the Gurudwara that we visited.

Upon leaving the Mosque Old Delhi was just waking up from its slumber, shops began to open and colors began to flow for miles. As much as I was immensely impressed with this I could not help but see many people staring at us throughout the streets which made me feel a bit uncomfortable and out of place. Seeing this, however, gave me insight as to how tourists or visitors to New York must feel. We seemed what felt like hours roaming these streets which contained spices, jewelry, and Sari's which are traditional Indian dresses for women. However, the laugh of the day was when one of our group members split his pants, however, his name will remain off this post. Within minutes of this we found a tailor and his pants were sewn back together and away we went. Of course the girls were trying on Sari’s for what seemed like an hour while the guys were standing outside but it gave me an opportunity to talk to the guys and get myself familiar with everybody. Next we had the distinct privilege of going to the U.S. Embassy American Cultural Center.

On the bus ride over our teachers educated us on how the situation between India and the United States is a bit fragile at the moment. Apparently, a diplomat had a servant to which was being underpaid and was being used essentially as slave labor was arrested and strip-searched. Since this has happened India in retaliation has taken away the protective barriers in front of the U.S. Embassy. So at the moment the situation amongst our two countries is rather delicate. In our visit, which Gabriel has so graciously posted, a picture of already we talked with two individual from the Embassy. They graciously explained their roles in the Embassy as well as some of the issues and successes they have encountered. Their roles at the embassy are to promote U.S. exports and try to obtain investors to create jobs in the United States. They exclaimed right now there is a huge potential market for medical equipment, aerospace, and cultural products such as movies and books. These two individuals also mentioned that Indian culture is very strong and it is hard to break into this market. Seeing how the middle class of India drives consumption it is self-explanatory as to why they would want to break into a market that contains 200-500 million people. They also emphasized the three P’s for successful entrepreneurship, which were Patience, Perseverance, and Partners. As much information as was thrown at us this whole day has been a wonderful learning experience.

After leaving the McDonald’s that we purchased dinner at I had my first real encounter with poverty despite seeing it throughout the day in which a woman and her baby were begging for food to which I gave them some despite being told not to give them money I thought some food would help. Poverty in this country is devastating to see and it opened up my eyes to how privileged I am in the United States. As we got on the bus we decided to head to one last destination a Gurudwara which essentially means "Gateway to the Guru," which practiced Sikhism, which utilizes the text the Guru Granth Sahib. This experience was probably one of the richest (both literally and figuratively) due to the fact that the inside of this Gurudwara was adorned with gold and gave me an insight as to the cultural diversity that India in general has to offer to the world. In summation, I could say this is the best day ever but there are more to come on this trip and I look forward to all of them.

JWT just shared our schedule for Thursday...sounds like a fantastic afternoon!

City	When	Name & Title	Time	Remarks
Gurgaon	9-Jan-14	Arrive in JWT Office	1:30 PM
		Introductions – Joy Chauhan	1:30-1:45 pm
		Lunch	1:45 - 2:15 pm	Indian Lunch
		What today will be about… - Upasana Dua	2:15 - 2:30 pm
		‘How it all started’ – The story of how advertising began in India	2:30 - 2:50 pm
		‘Over the decades’ – The evolution of advertising in India	2:50 - 3:15 pm
		‘What makes us proud’ – A brief showcase of JWT advertising	3:15 - 3:30 pm
		‘West versus East’ - The difference between the two worlds of advertising	3:30 - 4:00 pm	Western and Indian versions of Ads of brands that exist in both part of the world primarily to show the difference in advertising in the west
		‘Play the Indian advertiser’ – Exercise	4:00 - 5:00 pm	Students will be given a brief and they have to make an Indian ad for a brand we will choose. There will be 5 teams.
		Experience India, the western way	5:15 - 5:45 pm	Indian refreshments – to demonstrate how brands change their essence and products in India to appeal to the Indian palate
		Tour of the office	5:45 onwards

Session 1: U.S. Embassy American Cultural Center

Today, after walking through the streets of Old Delhi, Manhattan College students went to the American Cultural Center in New Delhi. Know the three P’s for successful entrepreneurship in India: Patience, Persistence, and Partners.

Day 1: Arrival in Delhi, India

We have just arrived to India (well actually a couple of hours ago but you catch my drift)…yay!!!

Today was a very eventful day trying to get to India. First off, we arrived at JFK about 7:30 am. Our flight was scheduled to leave around 10:40 am but left at 11:30 am (which from what I heard is a very usual thing as these flights are never really on time). As we boarded the plane, the excitement starts to rise with the prospect of our new adventure but as the plane takes off, and the hours begin to pass, the excitement dwindles down and becomes more tiresome then interesting; I mean seriously, how much excitement can you hold on a 12ish hour flight? Even with a pretty view like I had, sitting near the window, the ride became exhausting.

(Flying way above the clouds)

(Arriving in Dubai, you can see more sand then actual structures as opposed to the concrete while leaving NY)

During my 12 hour flight, besides watching movies and failing continuously in my attempts to fall asleep I learned a few things about India by reading a few chapters of India Unbound by Gurcharan Das. My perspective of India before reading the few first chapters of Das’s book mainly came from Bollywood movies like Bride & Prejudice (1999) and even Slumdog Millionaire (2008). In these movies India is portrayed as an underdeveloped country full of struggles which it can’t get out of but also a country full of life, color and determination. Upon reading, there was a section that really struck me in determining what I should expect from my trip to India. Guracharan Das writes, “The Econimist has been trying, with some frustration, to paint stripes on India since 1991. It doesn't realize that India will never be a tiger. It is an elephant that has begun to lumber and move ahead. It will never have speed, but it will always have stamina.” In other words, India runs on longevity and its ability to endure and that even though it doesn't go as fast as the rest of the other surrounding countries, it will eventually get there. Another important thing that these words told me was that I should get rid of my expectancy and just start from scratch.

After our connecting flight (which we almost missed) in Dubai, I believe the struggle of the day really began. Since the first flight (JFK to Dubai) was late, we only had a few minutes to catch the 2^nd plane and in between this transition, some of our luggage didn't make it on the plane. Myself and four other students are the unfortunates to not have our luggage with us at this time.

Moving on, upon leaving the airport, India seems very foggy and over polluted to me. While driving to the hotel, you can see many stray dogs (which  bums me out because I am an animal lover) but you also see an underdeveloped nation with a whole lot of security. In a sense, while looking out the window, India reminds me so much of Dominican Republic except that the roads in DR are bad but the pollution is less. The little bits of India that I saw today show me that India needs to improve greatly. It isn't what I expected but there is so much more to see and learn that I am truly still excited.

As of right now, our 1^st day has ended. We have all ate, become extremely sleepy and I and my other four classmates, are still without luggage. Oh well I guess we must always expect the unexpected when starting a new adventure.

(Upon leaving the airport)

(In this picture you can kind of see the foogynes/pollution/smugness in the air.)

(I took this picture because I found it interesting how everyone just sits down wherever they want without a care. This picture was on the road towards the hotel.)

(Arriving at the hotel. The hotel is gated as well as many of the really nice looking places around. Seems like its own little secluded area.)

(Jessica & I)