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India – the land of contrasts

I’m writing this blog in India. I’ve been in India for the past 10 days and I’ve visited 5 different towns/cities in the state of Andhra Pradesh. India is indeed a land of contrasts.

I landed in the spanking new airport in the high-tech city of Hyderabad. We landed at midnight but the airport was filled with Indians welcoming their loved ones home. Most of my fellow travelers on the Silkair flight over from Singapore were Indians who were working in Singapore returning home for their vacation. They were mostly well-educated or highly skilled workers who were making invaluable contributions to the economy of Singapore. Many were busy on the flight working on their laptops or busy watching movies on their iPods.

As we left the high-tech airport with its high-tech crowds, we drove into the city It was late at night but I could already sense the vast difference between my fellow-travelers and the poor Indians who were walking bare-footed on the pot-holed streets and sleeping on the pavements.

During the course of my 10-day stay (the purpose of which was to visit the families of many of my Indian friends in Singapore) I had the privilege to visit their villages and their homes. The vast majority of homes of my Indian friends that I visited were simple Indian homes – some of wood and attap roofing, some simple tiny bare brick structures, Occasionally, I would visit an impressive two-storey new building built with the money that was sent home from Singapore. I was sure that if I had another occasion to visit them in the near future, most of those simple homes would be replaced by nicer homes funded by Singapore dollars.

I had made friends with so many of them in Singapore but did not fully realize the backgrounds from which they came. One home that I visited was so bare – the doorway was so low I had to bend to half my height to get in. I met the mother of my friend in Singapore. I was told that he was a rickshaw-puller in his little village until a kind neighbor lent (or gave, I’m not sure) money for him to go to a job agency and take a test to come to Singapore to work in a shipyard. Today, he is sending money to feed his family and hopefully his younger brother will be taking his test shortly to join him in Singapore. Who knows how that little village will change, just because of the act of one kind man.

As I thought about the successful Indians and the poor Indians. I realized that there was really one difference – one had the chance to get an education or a job and the other didn’t.

This is what Goducate is all about – giving chances to the helpless!

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Saving our precious worms from the flood

About 6 months ago, a few sponsors pooled together US$360.00 for our Goducate team in Laguna, Philippines to start a vermiculture (“vermi” is high-class word for “worms”) livelihood project.

Prior to this our Goducate team had been studying different methods of helping the poor to help themselves. They did feasibility studies on raising tilapias (a type of fish) in backyard farms, of producing quail’s eggs in backyards, of raising goats, etc.

At the end of about 4-5 months of feasibility studies, we came to the conclusion that using worms to produce fertilizer was most suitable for the people of Laguna. Laguna is the place where the famous International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is situated – this is the place where the rice hybrids of the world are produced to feed Asia’s growing population. The University of the Philippines at Los Banos (UPLB), with its agricultural research departments, are also situated in Laguna.

Our friends at UPLB suggested that we use worms (a special species called “African night crawler”) to turn waste vegetation (eg. grass, banana trunks) into top-quality organic fertilizer. The advantages of this project are many.

Firstly, the price of fertilizers will rise in the long-term because it’s pegged to the price of petroleum. Secondly, fertilizers will always be needed in farming communities. Thirdly, the financial investment is low and technical know-how simple.

So with the funds provided by the kind sponsors, we started our pilot project with a few kilos of worms. The objective was not only to do a feasibility of this method of livelihood but also to produce more worms to pass to other poor people – who would also agree to pass worms on to others. It was in effect, a rural version of a pyramid-scheme in reverse!

This pilot project went on well and met our expectations…. until the typhoon (codenamed “Ketsana” internationally or codenamed “Ondoy” locally) hit Laguna at the end of October 2009. Almost all the worms in about 10 different worm-beds were drowned by the flood!

As our workers were busy surviving the typhoon and busy helping others who were badly affected by the flood, the poor worms were drowning!

When I arrived in Laguna, I witnessed a “salvage” operation to save the worms that were still alive.

Dr Choo and Goducate team salvaging worms
Dr Choo and Goducate team salvaging worms
Dr Choo and Goducate team salvaging worms
Dr Choo and Goducate team salvaging worms

Thankfully, there are enough survivors to re-start the project. Several lessons have been learned from the pilot project and from the flood and these will be put in place to improve our efficiency.

Worms salvaged
Worms salvaged

I believe that vermiculture is a good project which can help many poor people help themselves.

I believe that it can be used in most agricultural communities throughout Asia.

I believe that it will be more and more useful because the price of oil (and therefore the price of synthetic fertilizers) will rise.

I believe that organic fertilizers will not only provide a source of income for the poor but that it will also produce healthier food for all of us.

More photos (click thumbnail to view photos):
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Goducate’s new learning center in Lanit Iloilo

On Oct 25, Goducate opened its new learning center in the little village of Lanit, 25 minutes drive from the city of Iloilo, Philippines.

About 6 months ago, some Goducate workers started Saturday classes for the children of this village. Prior to this, these same Goducate workers had been teaching these same poor kids in the city of Iloilo.

However, when their families were relocated to Lanit to make way for the new airport, the kids asked these workers to continue teaching them. So the Goducate workers asked permission from the Lanit village-head (called “barangay captain” in the Philippines) to use the village basketball court to hold classes for the kids. However, this became unfeasible later when there was competition from other users for the basketball court.

When a kind Filipino, who resides in the USA, heard about our need, he offered us the use of his large rice-fields in that area for free. So it was decided to fill a small portion of land at the edge of his rice-field and build a little building for a Goducate Learning Center.

The children at the Goducate learning center in Lanit
The children at the Goducate learning center in Lanit

Lanit is a relocation site for former squatters in Iloilo. Most families struggle to make ends meet and to keep their children in school.

When I arrived on the afternoon of October 25 for the Official Opening of the center, the little building was filled with over a hundred children and another hundred parents and well-wishers. The local village (barangay) officials were also there.

It was indeed a joyous occasion for that little neglected village on the edge of the rice-fields.

The little kids will now get to learn their ABC’s.

And the older kids will have a nice place to study and play.

More photos (click thumbnail to view photos):
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