Great news! Today Thomas arrived and so did Amy’s bags; both had long circuitous routes to Hyderabad. Thomas started in Santa Fe and traveled via Albuquerque, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Dhaka, Kathmandu and Delhi before arriving in Hyderabad. We’re not actually sure where Amy’s bag went on its two day solo journey but we’re glad it’s back with us before Amy went on a shopping spree.
Today was a bit more of yesterday, and a long meeting in the afternoon. We started this morning by scouting two more of our stories that the students will be working through. Our first story is a comparative lives story and the second is the story of a small health clinic that services a small community with a physician, an ob/gyn, and a dentist. Our first stop had us visiting an accomplished but modest widow and mother of 8 in the old town of Hyderabad. She warmly welcomed us into her home, offered us food and drink and told us of her husband, some of her work and of her children. The second visit of the day was just as sweet as the first, though they lived quite differently. In a middle class neighborhood, a teacher and social worker lives with her youngest daughter while her husband is working in Africa and her oldest daughter is away at university. We snacked and drank and were shown around the neighborhood. Before long, we were back in the van, our rolling office, and we were off to visit the clinic. A small but diverse clinic at the entrance to an apartment community, this office has an ob/gyn, a dentist’s office with room for two patients, a physician’s office and examination room, and a small dispensary. In a modest space they are able to serve all their patients non-emergency needs. It will be a challenge to have 6 students shooting in here, but it’s an impressive space.
We finished the day today with lunch at the Aga Khan school canteen and a long afternoon of production meetings. We were able to meet with the staff coordinating this travelling circus, no small task, and with the teaching faculty who will be learning from us and carrying the torch after we leave. We visited the classroom and the hall where we’ll hold the graduation ceremony. The campus is beautiful, the teachers and staff are warm an dedicated to their students and the logistic support is more than we could have hoped for. It will be a long week, with lots of travel all over the city (and lots of crazy traffic) but as of now it’s looking already like a great success!