Day 3 Field Work

Today was another day of field work but it was far more relaxed compared to yesterday. The sites we were at previously were established projects with Sehgal, they have been working in these villages for years now. Today we were able to go to a few newer sites that Sehgal is starting work on.

We started in a village past the Nuh district we were in yesterday. The community there has expanded pond to collect and store rainwater. Due to the size of the pond and because the ground already fairly saturated with water, the area can hold water for far longer compared to the check damns we saw yesterday. The sites yesterday were naturally arid so the water would sit for a few days after the rain stops before draining below ground into the aquifer, so now in the dry season the flood area is dry and sandy, here the water being collected drains much slower so even now in the middle of the dry season there is a substantial amount of standing water. The community uses this water in a few different ways; farmers bring their cattle to the pond twice a day to get water and be washed, the pond is being used as a fishery for the community to have a supply of healthy protein without having to buy meat or other products, finally as the water slowly percolates through the soil some of the contaminates are filtered out, this is recharging the area with clean freshwater and while it can’t be used for drinking it can be used for agriculture.

After gathering our samples at this site, we were greeted by the village leaders and given a tour of their community. We were invited into a few of their temples which was an incredible honor. I am not personally a very religious person, but I love learning about different religions, particularly those outside the Eurocentric lenses I’m used to being exposed to. I’ve always been interested in the Hindu legends and mythology because of depth of history and they’re complexities so having the opportunities to learn and ask questions about the practices of this particular temple, which was dedicated to Lord Shiva, was incredibly interesting and I’m very thankful for the opportunities and the openness of the people to answer the questions I had.

It felt wrong to take pictures of thier temple but it was beautiful. I do have a picture of a wild peacock on a temple ruin that was about 20 feet away... enjoy.

The second site of the day was another school and I think this was my favorite part of the trip so far. Yesterday the schools we visited were empty because there was a Sikh holiday being celebrated, today however school was very much in session. Something I’ve always valued is the concept of human connection and how even on the literal opposite side of the world humans are able to connect with each other. Walking into that school was something I’ll never forget, there was two parts to this school, on one side there was a middle school where there was a group of kids doing exercises in a mix of what we would see as gym class with some discipline training mixed in. The other group was actually learning English and they were so excited to say hello. The second half of the school was an elementary school, they were learning the Hindi alphabet and math when we stopped in. There is something so pure about kids being excited about something new, and while we were definitely distracting them from their work the teachers didn’t seem to mind. It became a bit of a game; the kids would wait until they thought the teacher wasn’t watching and they’d turn and wave at us and we’d wave back or smile, and they’d turn back to their groups very giggly. Or the older kids would peak around a corner, and we’d wave so they waved back very excitedly and go back behind the wall, it was a bit like hide-and-seek.

The connection with the kids really put the work being done here in perspective. Of course, I’ve always known the work being done is important and the vitality of clean water cannot be understated but walking to a school full of children learning the same things I learned years ago helped put myself in the heart of the situation. What was so impactful was the playfulness of the kids, they’re in this situation were they’re living in a type of poverty we can’t even imagine and everyday they’re drinking water that is likely poisoning them but they’re still just kids playing at school. When I was their age, my biggest issue was my cat ran away from me or my sister wasn’t sharing her snack and here are these kids who are drinking contaminated water and breathing the smog in the air even out in the country and they’re still so happy. It puts every problem I’ve ever had into perspective. I just want to fix all their problems and take away all the dangers, but I just can’t, not yet at least. But this has really solidified that this is what I need to do with my life, because if I can be in the position to help the kids just be kids how can I now dedicate my life to that.

We finished our day back at the foundation to start organizing the data and get ready to leave for Agra in the morning. The plan was to go out for dinner and go to bed early because we had to leave really early the day, but we were invited to the New Year’s Eve party the foundation was throwing. Originally when we were told we’d be going most of the group was really nervous and didn’t want to go. When we here “work party” we think of stiff rooms of professionals that is really a networking event rather than a party. Actually, I was talking to another student to generate questions and responses, “how long have you been at the foundation?” “What do you do?” “How did you get started” “oh yes, we’re students from America” “we’re study water quality in the area” just mild little small talk points because we want them to like us. When we finally got down to the party it was nothing like what we were expecting. Amazing food was laid out to snack on and the whole room had been turned into a dance floor. I’m not much of a dancer to songs I know let alone songs I don’t know that are in Hindi; so I was expecting to stay on the outskirts, maybe dance a bit, and be done. Almost as soon as we walk in the door, we are pulled into the center of the dance floor by a group of women who taught us a few dances and made sure we felt welcome in the group. I was very grateful to be forced out of my comfort zone and I really enjoyed myself, we ended up staying until the end of the party when we were originally just going to stay for an hour. I’ve noticed that almost everyone we meet here is so warm and inviting and there’s a real sense of community with complete strangers, I think I’ll miss that connection when I get back to the States.