Bangalore Office Activities

In Bangalore, SPARC and participating communities are very active building and designing housing complexes and community toilets, starting savings/credit programs, and establishing schools for children who otherwise would not be able to attend.

The office space is nothing more than a small storage space with a faucet and toilet in the back. There is a wireless internet connection, but only John and I have laptops. Most workers are woman from Mihilan Milan. They are busy visiting slums by bus or in the office keeping manual paper records of the savings in office records. It is a community effort preparing tea and the lunch time meal.

Because slum dwellers of India are characterized by their informality, Bangalore’s SPARC office maintains a comfortable atmosphere for them. Everyone sits cross-legged on straw rugs, and, if necessary, short tables are used for sketching or taking notes. The pace of business is calm and leisurely with long intervals of down-time for everyone.

I continue to be uncertain with my role in this organization. John does not seem quite sure why he asked me to come, and I am struggling to figure out where I can fit in and help out. Last week he had me researching various data merging programs and their capabilities. This week, John and I met with an architect and visited a possible construction site in the Leprosy Colony.

Although I had been to the Leprosy colony once before, it proved to be another unforgettable experience:

John walked into slum as if he owned the place. There were no salutations or greetings of any sort. We rushed by the houses whose doorways I occupied for hours last week. Our presence was announced, and we gathered with the leaders of the Colony in the health clinic area. Here, we studied and discussed the current site plan of the colony. The common language was English.

Our parade crept through the narrow alleys, clambered atop ramshackle rooftops, and scaled over crumbling walls to determine drainage, pipeline location, and possible equipment access points for construction. The only access into this area is over a 30-foot wall, and there is a pipeline six-feet deep that cannot be disturbed. Some sort of driveway will have to be constructed, which will be costly. It seems a mess.

I was the only female in a mass of 40+ stern men, and initially, my presence wasn’t welcome. I was given peculiar and perhaps even disapproving looks, but John offered a hasty, blunt statement of reassurance to both them and me. Issue solved.

Being a female in India is not as intimidating as the rumors account. It is absolutely necessary to wear clothing that is long and baggy, but in the business world, if one has the necessary education and put into a complimentary position, then regardless of gender, one will be able to do his or her job without opposition.