DI am a Gandhi Fellow of School of Climate change and Sustainability, working at Sehore district, Madhya Pradesh. It was extreme winter at the end of December when I joined the villagers of Nipaniya Kalan in Sehore for my Community Immersion. I lived in a joint family of 15 members, they all were living in the same door under the same roof. So I had to stay in their old home, which shared the same boundary.
On the first day, I was welcomed warmly by the villagers. One of the things that stood out to me the most about the village was the sense of community. Everyone is so kind and welcoming, and it was a wonderful insight into the community’s culture and traditions. Everywhere I went, I was greeted with warm smiles and friendly conversations even though I don’t know their language. Every day was a bombardment of information, exposure, and it was challenging but the experience is irreplaceable. Once the night time, some women were gathered together and they were talking to each other. I entered that talk and one woman asked me to speak in English, we want to listen. so I explained about our foundation and program. Then that woman said to the crowd that “I don’t know when our children are going to speak like this”. After hearing that woman's comment, I was inspired to take action in the village and all my hesitations were dispelled. In the village, the status of women is typically lower than that of men. Women are usually expected to take on more of the domestic duties, household tasks, farming work and are often expected to be subservient to their family. A woman is not being a circle of selfishness. She is being selfish within the circle of family. Their contribution to the family is not comparable.
I had the opportunity of meeting the Head of Janpad of Sehore in my village, and upon introducing myself I asked one question, here every people in the area seem to be very happy, so I wanted to know what I could do as a volunteer to help further the development. His answer was, as a volunteer many people are motivated by a desire to help others but the fact is no one can make anyone's life like a Wow. Because everybody is working for their own development in the way of knowledge, status, prestige, power, skill. So focus on your self-development that will make a good impact on people.
The experience of being closely with people has been immensely valuable to me. I have been able to understand the impact of government schemes like Ladli Lakshmi Yojana to Pension, and missions like SBM, JJM, SSM on people's lives. This experience has helped me to gained insight into the kind of challenges people face in their daily lives and the various ways in which the government can help to alleviate these problems. I also had the opportunity to learn about the daily lives of the villagers. In Community Immersion, I don’t live in the community as a guest. So, I had the chance to try my hand at various farming activities like planting, harvesting, livestock caring, etc. I worked a whole day, I got a ₹200 as a wage. If one is a labourer, he/she is supposed to work a full day for watching a movie. so it helped me to understand the value of basic things and how to appreciate small happiness and how to live a life with very few materialistic things. It was enriching me a better understanding about life. The villagers were always willing to help and answer any questions I had about their way of life. I felt like I was part of the community, and it was a wonderful feeling. I observed the different roles played by the villagers in the community, each member of the village had a unique role to carry out in the village. I was amazed by how everyone worked together in harmony and with such dedication. The days passed quickly with each one bringing a new experience.
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