Reflections on my CSC experience in Indore, India

Reflections on my IBM Corporate Service experience in Indore, India

The need for education in the area of environmental sustainability and smart water management is dire in most of India and even more so in the dry, hot and dusty plain where we were - - the city of Indore, in Madhya Predesh, India. 

Sciencetech, green industrialists  

Our field work took us to several slums, nascent middle class communities, two prestigious schools and a company where "green" principles are used. All of the communities we visited rely on water drawn from the aquifer. There is water that comes to Indore from the Narmada River pipeline but this source is 70 kilometers away and in demand from many cities in the region.

  

In the more organized slums, the community leaders (women mostly) had to prove that they could maintain a bore well before the municipal corporation would drill a well for them. Otherwise, the poor and vulnerable communities still rely on water deliveries from tanker trucks. This is still true in much of India outside of the biggest cities like New Delhi or Mumbai.

A woman at Rahul Ghandi Negar

For a country that is on the rise in the world economy, it was shocking to see the lack of infrastructure in India for not only water delivery, but also for basic sanitation and garbage removal. Pollution of the water ways is another huge problem. The water we saw was visibly polluted in lakes, rivers and streams.  It is clear that something big needs to be done to address this problem.

Our assignment was to provide a Toolkit for the local NGOs and Green Leaders to use with the citizens of Indore, India. We were asked to provide "Dos and Don'ts."

Through our field work we met leaders in different  communities who already know and practice the dos and don'ts. So, our team, Zack, Maco and me, decided a more meaningful, long term benefit would be derived from a methodology that stresses changing the mind set, behavior and capabilities (MB&C) of the citizens. Maco uses these principles in his consulting work at IBM. It is based on McKinsey Research.

Our guiding theme was this…

As a society we must acknowledge that there is no “quick fix” when it comes to addressing water scarcity. The solution will come with leadership, cooperation and a cultural shift in thinking about water use and water management.

Part I of the Toolkit offered a version of MB&C tailored to the Indore citizens and the NGOs and green leaders who will use is. Part II of the Toolkit provided practical advice that can be immediately used by  individuals, household and/or organizations for water use and management.  Part II activities range from simply turning off the tap when brushing your teeth and grey water reuse, to recharging of bore wells, rainwater harvesting and water treatment.

A large emphasis of the MB&C is on recognizing and cultivating leadership around water management. Our recommendation was that the green leaders and NGOs we met establish a committee, meet regularly and lead the citizenry in the movement for a sustainable environment and water management in Indore. That they follow the MB&C program first, so that they can train others.

We also created a motivational video  produced by the team. The ending quote from Zarathustra is as poignant today as it was thousands of years ago when it was written:

God has given us the fire, the air , the water and the earth – free for our use. We may use them but not abuse them; at no time defile or pollute them.  If we do so in time Nature will wreak a vengeance and life will become unbearable on earth.

In addition to the Green Leaders and NGOs, who work with the vulnerable communities in the city, we met the most remarkable women in the slums. I refer to them as water goddesses. Their courage in the face of what we Westerners consider unimaginable adversity was inspiring. On several occasions we found ourselves moved to tears.

The people of Indore were always welcoming  and generous no mater how much or how little they had themselves. I have fallen in love with them all.

 Indore children 

Our hope for the city of Indore and for all of India is that leaders will emerge and flourish in the citizenry, in the government and in the schools and communities. 

For, as I said earlier,  something big needs to be done. Water is life and, life itself is at stake in India. Water scarcity must be addressed today and everyday. 

Namaste,

Maria

The good life side of Indore

Just so you don’t think I’ve spent all my time in the slums ….  

This is Daly College, a residential school for well-to-do kids. We visited this campus because it is a model of optimal water management.  It is an oasis of green. Just beautiful.
Grey water is reused, there is a water treatment plant on campus, they practice rainwater harvesting and bore well recharging; and property within 100 yards of the campus experience high water levels in their wells due to the recharging at Daly.  
And, there is not a speck of trash on the campus. The students were realy nice. We conducted an interactive exercise and a survey on water scarcity awareness.

At the Shishukunj International School, we met with the students in the Green Club. We are happy to report that they were an environmentlly savvy bunch.

Classes are held on Saturday in India. That is, for the kids that go to school. On our several visits to the slums kids never seemed to be in school even on week days.

This is a modern campus in a new area of Indore near the city limits where new housing communities for a growing middle class are on the rise here, along with a big box store and a giant mall, of course.

Smiles are optional

 

Smiling for the photo is natural for us Westerners.

Not so here. It is not a reflection of unhappiness. The people are happy to meet you and invite you to take their pictures but they don’t automatically smile.

It’s just one of this cultural differences I’ve noted and thought I would share. Namaste, Maria

Dress code: Women at work

 

 

 

In India, you will see a flood of colorful saris everywhere you go. Women at work, even the ones on construction sites, wear saris. It’s lovely.

These ladies are on break from cleaning at this new club that’s being built in a posh new development.

This was at another community meeting. The women seated on the floor are beautifully dressed; they come from one of the slums. I often feel under dressed.

India and my fifteen minutes of fame

I haven’t blogged lately as we have been consumed with a different kind of craziness. A film crew descended on Indore to document our work for the IBM CSC.

This required another visit to the Rahul Ghandi nagar community where we met again with the woman I call the water goddess. So, while we were sweating bullets in the blazing hot sun the crew was filming us. I can’t wait to see the footage. If this doesn’t send me to the fat farm I don’t know what will. We were popular the first time and now that we returned with a film crew, the kids, the adults and even the cows think we are celebrities. We were swarmed and I had a great time.

It was very sad leaving the slum knowing that I will never see these sweet people again. I was moved to tears.

Then, today we had a press conference with several publications. The topic was the IBM CSC. The team of twelve were there along with two of the NGO’s, from Urban Health Resources and Concept Society, both organizations are working on different aspects of woman empowerment. While there I was interviewed by the Hindustan Times. Picture and all will make the Sunday paper. Oh boy; looks like I had to come all the way to India for my fifteen minutes of fame. Good night and Namaste.

Tagged: #ibmcsc india

Dedicated to teachers everywhere in the world

This is Namita Goel. She is part of the India@75 team that we work with. Before India@75, she worked for Teach for India where she had 87 students in her class.  She is a great contributor to our project, very creative. She has a lot of patience and a really big heart. 

This post is dedicated to my sister, Margaret Jean, and to teachers everywhere. MJ is a lifelong educator who had as many as 48 Catholic school students in her classes in NYC in the 1970’s. 

Check out the video Namita did at Teach for India. Design for Change MHB Municipal School 

Tagged: #ibmcsc india

After a weekend in Bhopal, we dive deep into our projects

The India17 volunteers went to Bhopal for a visit to several World Heritage Sites: Sanchi, Udaygiri Caves and the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetra.

My colleagues have done a better job than I documenting the journey so, check out their Blogs if you have further interest.

We are now into our second week in Indore. The India@75 team, Zack, Maco and me, have a few more field visits to make. We are still back and forth finalizing elements of the plan with the clients. But, we are mostly heads down on developing the framework for our project regarding urbanization and addressing Indore water scarcity. Then, with a little more than two weeks left, we’ll have about seven days to complete the elements of the project before we begin the dry run and final presentation in the last week. Not too much pressure, eh?

It is amazing how we all get along really well. Our entire team has become a tightly knit community. Thanks to IBM, individuals from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Japan, Mexico and the USA have been brought together to do good.

Everyone in CSC has said this is a life changing experience, that’s true for us already. More importantly, we hope the lives we change will be the ones we touch in India.

Namaste, Maria

IBM CSC India17 Kickoff Meeting





From left to right: Mamtha Sharma, IBM CSC India; India17 volunteers: Miguel (Maco) Contreras, Maria Diecidue, Zach Waltz; Arun  Chaube and Namita Goel, India@75

Indore’s Water Goddesses

Indore’s Water Goddesses

What if you only had water service to your house 30 minutes a day? What would you do and how would you feel? That’s what many of Indore’s most vulnerable citizens contend with every day.

This week, Zack, Maco and I, accompanied by representatives from India@75, our host NGO, made several field trips in to Indore’s most vulnerable communities. Five of the six communities we visited are characterized as slums. Five thousand to 15,000 residents live in a community. A family of six can live in one 10 ft x 10 ft room.

Indore is hot, dry and dusty. Water is scarce. The communities must organize to prove to the local municipal government that they can maintain a well or taps that will be provided.  This responsibility usually falls to the women who care for the children; cook the meals and who previously had to walk several kilometers from their homes to fetch enough water to last a few days.

Some communities still operate this way, depending on water tankers for all or some of their water. 



You might think with all that life would be bleak, it’s not necessarily so. We meet several amazing women this week. They are leaders who have organized their communities to convince the municipality that they can care for the wells, collect the fees (usually RU50 per month per family) and teach the community members good water practices that will improve the health and well being of their families.

Again, our meetings were in Hindi with an interpreter. Their determination and pride transcended any language difference. I call these women the goddesses of Indore’s water. It was a privilege to meet them and I hope that the work we do will enable them to empower others to cooperate and organize, for there are several hundred thousand people living in   
Indore’s slums.  Namaste.   

Tagged: #ibmcsc india

The commute and first day at the office

We went to our client’s office today and met with six different NGO’s who offered their perspectives on water scarcity in Indore. They spoke in Hindi for most of the day. I am not sure I ever even heard the language before.  Most everyone speaks some English, but they are passionate and knowledgeable and it’s understandably easier for them to converse in their native language. Fortunately, we have a wonderful woman client who translates for us.

The building is located in “new” Indore. There is construction going on so, some roads are partially blocked. A driver picks us up in the morning.  Here are some pictures from our commute to the office.  All commuters from pedestrians to elephants share the road.

We are working for India@75. The objective of our work is to help the address urbanization with a sustainable environment. Indore is growing rapidly. This is putting enormous stress the water table and other water resources. Water harvesting and recharging of wells is one method that can improve conditions and of course, conservation can help.  Next, we will visit residential communities. We will meet with the ward leaders who are citizens, not elected officials. There is a lot more collectivism here in India.  

Maybe, what looks like chaos on the road to us is really a collective behavior that works. Somehow the traffic seems to flow. Now how can we keep the water flowing?   

Indore First Impressions

Ah, the traffic.

Cars, motor bikes, busses, bicycles, carts and the occasional cow all share the same four lane road into town. Speed limit? I never saw a sign. Everyone drives as fast as they can without hitting anyone which is a bloody miracle because we drove seven miles before we saw the first stop light.

The intersections are a fright. Driving is on the left like most ex-colonials makes being a USA pedestrian a cautionary activity.  We took a walk around the neighborhood last night. It’s hot, dusty, smoggy and very vibrant.  I love it already.

It is not unusual to see a family riding on on motor bike. I saw two parents and their three children tonight. Helmets, no. It's total chaos but it all seems to work. There must be a special saint that watches over drivers in India.

As the time to leave for India approaches...

 

As the time to leave for India approaches, I am busier than ever closing out work and personal business. I am very touched by the extra expressions of love and support I have been getting from friends at home and work. Thank you. I will miss you.

 

I will be back! I’ll do my best to share the magnificent things we encounter on the way on this blog.

 

India 17, that’s our team name, and I will be socializing our service work through many channels. I was introduced to this one today. http://www.desicorps.com/ Here you can read about some of the work that earlier IBM CSC teams have accomplished. 

 

Namaste,

Maria

  

India, the Elephant and me

In less than two weeks I’ll be leaving on special assignment to India for the IBM Corporate Service Corps. What’s that, you say? The Corporate Service Corps (CSC) is the “jewel in the crown” of IBM’s Corporate Social Responsibility Program. It’s a four week assignment where a team of IBMers share their business skills with people in an emerging country. IBMers are partnered with the local in-country non-government organization (NGO) – kind of like the Peace Corps. 

I heard about CSC during a blue-washing event. Seriously, that’s what IBM calls its orientation for newly acquired employees. The company I was working for, Initiate Systems, was acquired over two years ago. Joining this big corporation after spending most of my career in entrepreneurial software companies was a shock.  But, I have always been open-minded, so I figured I’ll go with the flow. 

Back to that blue-washing where new employees spend the day hearing about the great things IBM has done over the past 100 years. All truly magnificent technological and cultural achievements; even so it’s hard not to be cynical in these times when we are trying  to figure out what’s worse corporations or governments.

When our lively presenter got to the part about the CSC, me bleeding heart jumped for joy.  Wow, IBM actually sends its people into developing countries to help out. Sign me up! Nabbing a CSC assignment is not that easy. There is a process. Of course, there is a process for processes at IBM. 

Each spring IBM announces to its 400,000 active employees worldwide that the CSC application process is open. Right off the bat I figured the odds were not in my favor. But that did not stop me from taking the application process seriously. I wrote and rewrote my essays many times before I felt confident enough to submit. Even then I figured “what the heck,” at least I tried. 

On May 26^th 2011, I was notified that I was accepted. I was blown away but I kept thinking I must have gotten the notice by accident, until October when I was notified that my destination was India. Finally, it began to feel real.  About two weeks ago I learned that I’ll be working on a water usage, water management project that is part of India’s vision for urbanization and a sustainable environment. I am thrilled! It is a wonderful fit with my interest in architecture and green building and will tap my personal experience working with local government and community groups. Besides, it’s India and it’s incredible! 

The next best part of this whole experience is our India17 team. Twelve IBMers from across the world who have gotten to know each other through weekly conference calls that began in November. I can’t wait to meet them in person. We are already bonded by our compassion for others, love for adventure and our commitment to purpose.   

Now about the Elephant; I am referring to that jumbo company that is sending us on this mission. This wonderful program is another cultural accomplishment for IBM.  The Elephant is dancing and so is my heart. 

Namaste,

Maria

Tagged: #ibmcsc india