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