11 years of freedom.

Mid-September, Freeset celebrated its eleventh birthday, which is truly an amazing thing - for 11 years, this business has been working for the freedom of women who have been trafficked, exploited, and sold into the sex trade.

11 years of community.

11 years of providing women with a choice.

11 years of returning dignity to those who have been abused.

11 years of working towards breaking the cycle of the roles passing from grandmother, to mother, to daughter.

11 years of a reason to smile.

Daily I remind myself just how lucky I am, that I have been given this opportunity to work alongside the most incredible people, both the women Freeset hires, and the close-knit group of international staff.

To be around a group of people who have been called from the corners of the earth by God, who have sacrificed years of their time, money, and skills, is really quite inspirational.

Not only am I blessed to be here, but when I have lived in an environment that is an assault to the senses, I really begin to be thankful for the privileges I have back home in New Zealand... I could list the differences in the quality of life back home in comparison to here, but each is on a completely separate scale. It is easier to just acknowledge these differences, and understand that the society of the life we all live today is the way it is, and there is no immediate 'fix'... which is why we are working towards freedom, for a greater quality and equality of life, and for His love to enter the homes of the oppressed and voiceless.

This is why Freeset is still 11 years young, and will continue to fight for the freedom of the women our hearts have been captured by.

Here are some photos of the celebrations that took place at Freeset - colours, sarees, music, dancing, and plenty of food! Initially the music + dancing side of things wasn't going to happen as we felt that it might be too soon after Shanti's sudden death (two weeks), but in the end it was decided that the women needed something to enjoy and be happy about - a chance to celebrate their freedom.

x

I love this city.

We are reaching the time in October where there are more days off work than on; there are an abundance of Bengali + Hindi festivals and pujas (worship), the largest of them beginning next weekend - Durga Puja, which lasts for multiple days.

During this time I honestly have no idea what to expect! I am told different things with each person I ask, but I have been encouraged to go out at least one of the nights to have a look around and experience one of the largest cultural festivals I will encounter while I am here... Durga Puja is like Christmas to Westerners, so it is a huge deal.

On Saturday Emma took me to a local market to buy more yarn for my knitting, and while we were walking about, there was a notable atmosphere of anticipation, and there were many items and objects being sold for the celebration. The one that intrigued me the most was dresses upon dresses of mini traditional West Bengali-wear, to dress the idols that the Hindu believers hold in their homes.

I am told to expect that there will be difficulties when it comes to attempts at sleep during the upcoming Puja, as there will be loud music, drums, large, noisy worshiping crowds, and fireworks (that sound like bombs going off!).

The metro will be opening late in the day, and running to around 4am to get late-night worshipers home etc.

I know that I am going to take the opportunity to go out with a few friends to have a little peek at the goings-on, as I am sure my curiosity will get the better of me; but for the most part I am planning on spending my time knitting, baking, and resting, (I'm such a nana).

Here are a few photos from my week: baking lemon curd,  exploring new streets of Kolkata, watching the fim Barfi for the second time in a beautiful old theatre (4th photo down), and taking photos of our local grocery guys - the sweetest men we have met here. They treat us to cha, give us extra kismis (raisins), act a bit cheeky, and always greet us with a smile.

 

This week we were invited over to our neighbours for brownies, fruit salad, cha, and doi (yoghurt), and we sat around talking about some of the histories behind Kolkata, and it just completely opened my eyes to how deeply rooted the culture is, and how certain things came about.

The man who is regarded to have founded this city (debated) began it not far from where we live, and his tomb is also quite near; from what we were told, this man (Job Charnock) was mocked for his idea of building in this area, but he made money off passing boats by slinging a chain across the Hooghly River, and charging the right to pass.

We also learnt a great deal about the men and women who construct the giant idols for festivals such as Durga Puja (they have been working like crazy lately to get them all finished), and their community is of the caste of 'Dom', the people who historically have dealt with the dead - and are quite low in the caste systems. But as it goes (don't quote me on it), there were too many of their people, but not a high number of dead to be dealt with, so they were given the opportunity to work in the business of making these bamboo sculptures (which are a work of art!).

In this area (the Dom work right outside Freeset) there used to be a large slum, but Queen Elizabeth paid to have a few apartment buildings built to house them. When the British still ruled India, this district was where the Brits would come to be entertained by female dancers, and as time went on, it slowly began to form the sex-district we know today as Sonagachi.

Pretty interesting huh? I was super intrigued, and I am going to make sure I invite myself over again to learn more and more!

Having learned about many more historical sites around this city, I am inspired to go venturing out, now that the temperatures are cooling.

This city continues to amaze me.

x

Here, I am.

I had a moment today where I felt the same peaceful contentment that I have experienced only back home in New Zealand, where it ('it' being the life I am living) just seems right. You know that feeling? Peace settles in, and being here and living in the now, is all that needs to be done.

Myself and my flat-mates often spend time dreaming of our first meals when returning home, or listing the foods/places/people we miss, but as my time quickly diminishes, home doesn't seem so far away.

I am currently in the limbo between desperately wishing the months away, and of wishing the time to slow down. It's a perfect balance - I can see that the few months left here in India still holds many opportunities to be taken advantage of, yet I know that this will pass by quickly now that I have just 12 weeks until I have my family joining me in these foreign lands.

The milestones I used to get me through each month, and past the bought of homesickness are quickly sneaking up and passing me by without so much as a 'hello', and christmas seems only just around the corner (thanks to helping with the designing of our Christmas stock bags)!

I do not want to be the person who upon arriving on familiar shores thinks to themselves, "I wish I had done more; wish I hadn't taken each day for granted; wish I smiled more and worried less."

I am learning to take a moment every day to be thankful for where God has placed me, for the people that I have around me, and for the priviledge I have for working alongside the most incredible women.

My heart already cries for the day I must farewell this place for a period of time (for I know I will return again), and occasionally I must tell myself that it is ok to grow friendships here when there are only months left to live in them, and that it is not selfish to allow them to flourish, only to leave in a short time. I am hoping that my furutre self will be diligent in sending some form of communication back to the women of Freeset, to let them know I often think of them, and I will return one day.

But that is in the future, and to dwell on that will only suck the time that the days have now.

As I have in my sidebar, here, I am. 

~

Visiting one of the Freeset ladies in her home.

 Little John Robert 'Bobby/JR' Lander was welcomed into the world. Below is the embroidery I finished for the event.

 Spot the little creature below, his black eyes ever-watching.

I have been very inspired creatively recently, as you can see above! Rachel sent me a letter all the way from Germany, as she begins her own foreign adventure - and so Rach, I am making you this embroidered Eiffel Tower as an 'I am so proud of you' token. And the above image is just some knitting I have been doing - I am making a blanket for winter!

x

An update.

Hello everyone! Again I have taken my time to get around to supplying you with an update of the times spent here in Kolkata!

Unfortunately part of the reason there has been a delay this time around, is that we have all suffered a loss of a friend and collegue, and I didn't think I could summon the energy to really accept it.

It has been just past 2 weeks since the beautiful Shanti, a friend to so many, and the owner of the most incredible smile, ended her life due to circumstances we can only guess and wonder about.

Many questions have crept into all of our minds of, "Why?", and the initial devastation and shock completely consumed us for the first few days. Yet Freeset is such an incredibly supportive and strong community, and it is truly one of the most heart-touching experiences I have had, to really be able to see those support systems that only death can make visible to the eye.

The day after Shanti's passing was her funeral, and was the first (and hopefully last) Hindu-style funeral I have attended. It felt very strange and numbing to be attending a funeral for a 22 year old friend, when I was unable to be at home for my Grandmother's just a few weeks before-hand. Very sobering.

The way that funerals operate here are very overwhelming, and I found it easier to numb myself to it, and just watch - it almost felt like I wasn't there in myself - as the wailing, sobbing, fainting, and intense incense smoke around me really hit the senses. Back home, grieving seems to be more of a private affair, and here open grieving is expected... it is all very raw.

What made it all seem very surreal was that when we were down at one of the ghats for the funeral to take place, is that it is a public funeral site, so we were in a large room with about 4 other deceased people. It was all just too much to even begin to take in, really.

We continue to grieve for Shanti, still question why, but we will always think of her as being one of the kindest, most sweet people we have known.

~

Despite all of this, we have still managed to smile through other occasions, such as a final girls-night-out before Maire and Dan welcome a little baby to the world!

Anna, Annie, Judy, and Deborah.

Our delicious Italian food!

Sarah, Pip, Maire, and myself.


The following photos are from before Shanti's death:

A lovely lunch date with Judy - reminds me of this time... here.

We even swapped half-sandwiches! Yumbo!

And then it was Kerry's 50th birthday, so we celebrated by smearing everyone with cake!

Lovely Annie!! I adore this woman.

Justin. What more can I say, huh? :)

Erika, moi, and the old-fella in the background.

The second cake, that was 70% used as face 'paint'.

A week or so before this, we had Mai's baby shower! This here is Sasha, she is awesome and lives in Thailand!

A slightly creepy looking baby...

This is inside the Freeset creche - I love this wall so much!

Sari-wrapped gifts.

Before the 'feeding'.

Beautiful Esme about to be spoon-fed...

...by Anna!

One of the games was to draw on a plate, and mine was one of the two winners! Yay! (I won henna - yussss).

Maire opening her gifts, aided by Mikayla.

The yummy cupcakes that Sarah baked!

This was the weekend following our return from Sri Lanka, and we had Monday off, so Justin, Anna, and I decided to venture to Science City, where many stations you could play around and experiment on were broken or poorly functioning, but overall the park exceeded my expectations, and I loved it so much! I especially loved going into the dome and watching a caving doco whilst nearly lying flat in reclining chairs.

Another night we decided we needed a night out for dinner at Macambo's, so we whisked Sasha off with us and enjoyed a great meal together! (I especially loved being in the company of a Kiwi around the dinner table!).

Judy and Erika.

Anna and Justin.

Nate and myself.

Using all the toothpicks for their REAL use - beard decorations.