My first SIFE field visit was as fun, exciting and thrilling as it could possibly be. The goal of our mission was to convince the defaulters of the Life on Wheels Project to make payments on time and to make them aware of the consequences of further defaults in payments. We started this expedition at 7:30 in the night, and if you think getting a rickshaw from the North Campus is an easy affair, you are wrong. (I can’t really blame the rickshaws as we were asking them to take us to three remote places and then back to Vijay Nagar…just a three hour process, nothing really time consuming :P). Finally luck sided with us and we were able to get a ride from GTB Nagar.
Midway I saw my senior companion (Ayush) jump out of the rickshaw, leaving me wonderstruck. Soon I realized that he had spotted one of our preys, a rickshaw puller. What happened next was indeed very impressive. Ayush, whom I perceived to be a very soft person, transformed into a very serious person and in a scary yet gentle way started the process of convincing. He had stopped being a college student and had become a SIFE representative. All I could do was stand in awe.
After this unexpected encounter, our first destination was Gopalpur followed by Jharoda and Sant Nagar. We met many of the rickshaw pullers under the Life on Wheels project. All had the same set of reasons for not repaying the money, which would definitely melt a common man. I was prepared for this, thanks to Puja who had warned me beforehand.
Though we had to walk through stinking lanes, though we were followed by dogs and cows, though we had to bear a quirky ride for three hours, I would call the mission an overall success. It gave me a real taste of SIFE work and I can’t wait for more!!
3 comments:
That is the essence of SIFE work - even when you go with a dead serious agenda in mind, there will always be something about the trip to lighten the mood - the dogs and cows in your case. I remember my first visit to the rickshaw pullers' village - we were followed around by the children in that village, all of whom were determined to have us take their photo. Cute stuff.
Its great to see such enthusiasm Krishna! Field visits might not sound so appealing initially but they can be really fun!
There's nothing like the feeling of satisfaction that you get after a hard day's work :)
You'll meet a lot more cows and dogs while working for SIFE! And trust me, as Surabhi said, the feeling after every field visit is so good that you won't mind it at all :)
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