Randa Chehab is a dear childhood friend of mine. I spent many summers as a young girl with Randa at a girls sleep-away summer camp in Chatham, Massachusetts. Randa was so much fun, with a huge contagious smile, a hearty belly laugh, and big blue eyes which looked like gorgeous pools of the most beautiful water you have ever seen. Growing up in the 70s with transistor radios blaring throughout the camp, all the girls would join into song when the Beach Boys “Help me Rhonda” came on the radio and we would serenade our lovely childhood pal with “Help me Randa, Help help me Randa.” The irony is not lost on me that our Randa is the helper and a new version of our ballad needs to be let us “Help Help you Randa!”
Like many of you who found friends on social media, several years ago I was so joyful to reconnect with Randa, who I had lost touch with in high school. It has been my honor to have a front row seat in watching Randa go. As one of the best childhood athletes I knew, it was not surprising to me that yoga would play a role in Randa’s adult life. However, having the privilege of viewing what she has been doing for others has been a complete honor. I was worried for her as a I read her updates about being stuck in India during the global pandemic. I asked Randa if I could share her story here, with all of you. I would like to share our Summer of Love needlepoint profits with her organization and I wanted you all to know why.
(There is a trigger warning I need to share: there is mention of childhood trauma in this story.)
1. Can you please tell us a bit about your background, where you went to school and what you studied?
I went to Smith College, got my undergrad in developmental psych, and rowed crew for the 4 years I was there. After college I worked for years in outdoor education with the Colorado Outward Bound School and the National Outdoor Leadership School. After many years full time in the field (35+ weeks), I decided to put down roots up in Bozeman, MT, where I lived and worked on an organic farm and I also went to massage therapy school. I was nationally certified (and still am) in therapeutic massage and bodywork. In 1999 I went on to PA school. I come from a family of physicians and so felt like I was a bit of a black sheep and needed to blend in more. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and passing my boards, I decided to follow my heart with yoga. I just could not understand our health care system.
My yoga teacher at the time left Bozeman and handed me her students. I was so not ready to teach but she told me my heart was in the right place so slowly slowly from there it evolved into an incredible adventure. I have had a studio in Bozeman since 2002 and have been traveling internationally to teach since 2009.
2. I know you have been to India several times, what were you doing
there previously to this trip?
I've actually been coming to India since 2006. I come in the winters to
immerse myself in the practice of ashtanga vinyasa yoga with my
teacher, Lino MIele. Yes he's Italian! He comes to the south of India for 2 months every winter. I practice with him and assist by helping with the other students. It was in 2006 I met my business partner's family.
3. You moved to India before Covid, what did you go there to do? Why?
Yes, I arrived in India on Oct 2, 2019. My move is twofold. My
business partner and I set up a home stay and yoga centre here in
Kerala about 35 km north of where my teacher does his immersions, in an old Portuguese settlement.
4. What is the Portuguese settlement like? What is a home stay?
It's basically an area of fisherman and very well educated and very Christian. Every km for 9 km there is a Catholic church, names like Joseph Fernandez, Darvin, Beena Perriera. A homestay means the people that run the place must live at the house. Guests can have a room and can have access to the kitchen and my business partner will also cook but charges. He's a chef and he understands how the system here works which is not straightforward.
5. Where are you getting your master's in global health?
Northwestern University in Chicago (Feinburg School of Medicine). I am finishing my masters degree in Global Health, focusing on ending violence against women and girls. Ending violence against women and girls is one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Needless to say I wanted to have a soft landing after doing my work in gender based violence up in the north of India. Kerala is a well educated state.
Just 2 weeks after landing here last fall I flew to Kolkata to meet my
organization, NISHTHA. www.nishtha.org.in
Nishtha is a grassroots organization that started in 1975. Mina Das is
the director now. It was her father, the local village physician who
said to his wife, "we need to do something for these women and you need to do it because you are female!" ( She’s nearly 90 now and I had the privilege to meet her during my time with NIHSTHA).
I know from my travels and time on this continent, females are at a
total disadvantage. From the time of a fetus onward, with sex selective abortions still happening… the girl child has been considered a burden. It's unfathomable because women run the household and if there wasn't a woman running the household so much of India would collapse. Also for a country to climb out of poverty, how does it happen if half the population is kept down? Melinda Gates speaks of this in her book, The Moment of Lift. This culture has such deep roots in tradition and in 2020 I feel the tradition is not serving the people. Even the most educated women I know here feel helpless at times. AND the family reputation is an altar. Many girls and women are sacrificed on that altar.
6.) Can you tell me a bit more about the program about women and girls? I thought the poster about how women are regarded was riveting. What is happening to the women and girls? What does the program do to help them? How big is the program? How do donations support the program? What do they need the most?
NIHSTHA now has 10,000 girls it looks after in about 225 villages
south of Kolkata. It is building capacity for education and basic human rights! Honestly the message of right to live, right for shelter,
right for protection and right for development for both boys and
girls and men and women. There are 3 groups for females. Divided by age: young girl, teenagers, and then the women's groups. All
support groups and each support group will communicate with each
other, like big brother and sister programs. Safety networks are set up
within villages to end child marriage and save women from abuse.
Women have also been given micro-loans and as you can see from the
photos are entrepreneurs with street food, textiles, pottery, etc. It
is impressive. A lot of money goes towards education, school uniforms, and hygiene kits. There is a feed the grannies program. Elders can be outcast in poor rural areas. 600$/ month will feed 100 grannies. Educating children of sex workers, giving daycare and physio to children with disabilities... It is a tremendous organization
This was so key for me. It was actually Prilita Das' husband who
was a village physician that said to her back in the early 70's we
need to do something for these women as after marriage, they are so
isolated and living conditions are so poor. So it was initiated by a
man that gave it to his wife as gender issues were big back then. Now
Mina Das, Pirlita's daughter and her granddaughters run Nishtna. I met them all except the husband. He passed years ago. The fact that
Prilita is still alive is incredible. She’s in her mid 80's and for India she is way past the average lifespan for a woman. When I met her I burst out crying, and bowed to her feet.
7. When Covid struck, I know you were trying to figure out what to do about staying or leaving, how did that all play out? Can you please tell us about how Covid is affecting India?
With the dense population of India and the high percentage of those living in poverty I refer to India as a powder keg in terms of COVID. India went on lockdown suddenly with barely any warning, which meant no domestic or international flights, no trains, no buses. All state borders were closed for nearly 10 weeks. Only essential shops, hospitals and government jobs were open and for limited hours. Literally the country came to a screeching halt. Pretty devastating.
By the time we were given repatriation options it was way too risky. As a global health student and my training in medicine I knew i needed to stay put. Flying meant putting myself and too many others at risk. I call the flight now the COVID CAPSULE. Repatriation flights were going from Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi, all hotspsots! We are very lucky here in Kerala. I mentioned before there were no domestic flights, no trains, or buses etc. so a private driver and the drive time made no sense. Too dangerous. My global yoga community was also telling me I was better off in India as they gave me a peek into their countries;
Italy, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Russia, England, Ireland, Scotland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the USA.
8. Where are you? Are you safe?
I am safe in Kerala. Our Health Minister is a rockstar. She has done a tremendous job. The case numbers are rising as we have all the Non- resident Keralites (NoRks) returning from other countries and other states. But for now local transmission is very low.
9. I first heard about the cyclone that hit India from you. Can you please tell us what happened in India? How does this affect the
organization you have been working for? (For those like me who did not know, a cyclone is what we call a hurricane in the U.S.)
Cyclone Am phan hit West Bengal May 20th. Total devastation and destruction. It took a few days before I could even reach my organization by phone. It was very, very unsettling. 80 % of the homes in the villages I support were destroyed. All agriculture lost including COVID rations, and there is no access to clean drinking water. As you probably know with COVID and lockdown there was a rise in domestic violence globally. In Kolkata, girls were not able to go to school and women could not go to work. Now girls are being forced
again into early marriage and women cannot work as the cyclone destroyed what basic infrastructure they had. So it is really a dire situation. I do know how strong and resilient these women are however the girls are my biggest concern. Nishtha has made such strides for equality in many arenas but our situation is really critical at the moment.
10. What can we do to help?
Mina, as you recall, the Director of NIshtha, asked me to raise money for clean drinking water. I am now channeling my efforts for this basic need. Nothing else can happen without such needs met. There are still over 63 million people in India without access to clean drinking water. She wants to install Water ATMs. We will start with 2 villages, each water ATM serving 20-25,000 people. We hope to reach our goal of 15-20 water ATMs.
11. What is a water ATM and how much does it cost for one for a
village? Last year I raised money for drinking water in Kenya. When
people know what they are buying, how much it costs, etc, it's easier to raise the money for such an important cause.
A water ATM is a purifier of an already established water pipe. They are like a cash machine but dispense clean safe drinking water. For every rupee invested in clean water 4-12 rupees are made back. With the water ATM one liter of water is one rupee. My organization priced one at 700 USD. Initially we are going to install a water ATM in 2 villages. One village serves 20,000 ppl and the other 25,000ppl. The director of Nishtha would like to install a total of 15-20 water ATMS.
12. Please share anything else that you think would be helpful to thework you are doing?
Tricia, what can I say? India is a country in a development bracket with Brazil, Russia and China. It is no longer a developing country but it still has a very large percentage of its people living in poverty. When you work in
human rights it is important to see the big picture because we are ALL connected. The most marginalized take the biggest hit. I was sexually abused as a child and I come from privilege. I want to pay it forward.
Help these women and girls have a voice, ownership of their bodies, pride and joy, and equal opportunity. Education is key and a strong support group. Building community resilience to trauma is something
NIHSTHA is doing very well.
13. Any word on your ability to travel in the future?
NO regular international flights as of yet and not until after July 15th at the earliest. It’s been mentally draining playing out scenarios in my head. I was supposed to go out for visa formalities and have been on an exit permit since March 29th! I had a ticket to Sri Lanka mid-March but India banned all visas suddenly so if I left I would not have been able to get back in. Immigration will give me 30 days once international flights do start. Until they start again, immigration will give me monthly extensions for my exit permit.
Update since original rough draft was written: I “spoke” with Randa last night. She feels she did the safe thing staying in India. She felt if she traveled she would be part of the problem. At the time her state side medical professional friends told her India was safer. Now Covid has arrived in India and where Randa is.
To help support Randa’s mission please consider donating to https://yoga-gives-back.networkforgood.com/projects/98836-randa-chehab-s-fundraiser