10 days in Delhi.

So after my disappointment last week I have been calling and applying to some other NGO’s to volunteer, no luck yet. Not For Sale http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/ did not let “members of the public” volunteer, so I have to wonder who works for them. 
Unfortunately  working with Apne Aape did not come about but they do great work are highly organized and effective. They recently started a raising awareness campaign encourage men not to buy girls for sex. Please, Please check this out and pass it to your own network as we need to get this message out so that men, and also women pimps will stop this horrific behaviour. 
http://apneaap.org/cmdbs/cool-men-dont-buy-sex-campaign 


I have my fingers crossed to work with WISCOMP as this is in line with what I studied. Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace. http://www.wiscomp.org/  They do research and training that facilitates women's leadership in peace secuirty and international affairs and was founded using the prize money His Holiness received for his Nobel Peace Prize in 1989; which is just way brilliant. So today, all being well I will get the yeh or nae on that. If that is a nae then, maybe I can volunteer with them in the autum. 
if it is a nae then I will contact BBA again, they work to end child slavery and talk with their volunteer manger who was “out of station” or not in the office last week. http://www.bba.org.in/


Also trying to organize projects for the summer in Kashmir this week and hoping to assist a Kashmiri woman who is involved in peace building projects and is part of the Women Building Peace Network. http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/7799_ashima_kaul.cfm She hopes to do a conflict resolution project with Kashmrir youth as well as a training for women. Of course this is contingent on funding, which I hope she gets. Just yesterday I also got wind of another project in Kashmir to empower women as citizen journalists and community leaders. For this project I may have the opportunity to meet with Ms Habib who has worked for women's right, the release of political prisoners and is also a political leader calling for an independent Kashmir. http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2011/Jun/17/zamrooda-s-prisoner-no-100-released-12.asp I am also looking forward to re-connecting with the women I interview in 2010, maybe even get this wee book I did printed in India and distributed to people involved in women's inclusion/ empowerment work.

So this week I have spend a lot of time in my hotel room, in front of the computer, in my undies with the fan on full blast, taking cold showers every few hours; it is just a tad warm in Delhi these days. Luckily I can visit with my dear friend Pema who lives here and we do an hour of yoga ion the morning when it is cool and hang out with her baby girl. We also managed to take a trip to Khan Market and Hus Kaus Dear Park and Arts Village in south Delhi which was a fun day and great to be get out of the hotel room and see some greenery. Delhi is fast becoming the hip and trendy place to be, when I think how it was 15 years ago this city has really changed fast. I see BMW's designer cloth shops and so many coffee shops with  20'-30's somethings on their laptops which was never even conceived of in 1995. I have also met another great lady, Fiona who though a mutual friend and the power of facebook have met and shared some good long chats over ice tea.