India 4 - RodneyOlsen.net

Scenes from Distant Lands

January 24, 2013

As I’ve mentioned several times, late last year I traveled to Bangladesh and India to see the work of SIMaid’sGirls off the Streets project.

As well as seeing the great work being done in those countries I managed to take in a few sights and snapped hundreds of photos. Below are some of the pictures from the trip. Just click on any of the photos and you’ll be able to browse through the gallery.

A Bangladesh Building

Delhi Airport

Old Delhi

Fruit Sellers in Old Delhi

A Roadside Bike Shop in Old Delhi

Old Delhi

A Fashionable Goat

India Gate

Police at India Gate

Musicians and Dancers outside Dilli Haat

The Jama Masjid Mosque (Completed in 1656)

Prayers at the Jama Masjid Mosque

Jama Masjid Mosque

Prayers at the Jama Masjid Mosque

Entrance to the Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

Reflections of the Taj Mahal

Me at the Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

Walkers at the Taj Mahal

Outside Red Fort, Agra

Entrance to Red Fort, Agra

Inside Red Fort, Agra

If you haven’t already, let me encourage you to check out Girls off the Streets and find out how you can be part of this project which is bringing hope to those who had lost hope.

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Stories of Hope and Healing

January 22, 2013

by Rodney Olsen

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Can I tell you a story? Do you have a few minutes to hear about some amazing things that are happening to release girls from abuse and exploitation?

While in Bangladesh and India last month I had opportunity to see the work of SIMaid’s Girls off the Streets project.

I’m amazed at what’s being done to bring hope and healing to young women who have been rescued from human trafficking. Young women who have been sexually exploited and sold into prostitution are now growing in confidence as they learn to trust again and develop life skills that will give them a strong foundation for life ahead. Girls off the Streets is giving them a future and importantly, letting them know that they are truly loved.

If you haven’t already, let me encourage you to check out Girls off the Streets and find out how you can be part of this project which is bringing hope to those who had lost hope.

Please take the time to click the play button on the audio player below to hear an interview where I explain some of the journey. The interview was recorded just before I returned to Australia and it’ll give you a much better idea of what can be done to create a brighter tomorrow for girls who have experienced a devastating past.

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Wish You Were Here

December 20, 2012

by Rodney Olsen

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It’s almost 8 years since I was last here in Delhi, India. I’ve said plenty of times that I love India, and I do, but there’s something missing this time.

I travelled here with a great team. I’d be more than happy to plan other trips with Kieran, Emma and Alan. We’ve had wonderful times and experienced some amazing things that both broke and lifted our hearts. I wouldn’t want to swap that for the world but somehow this trip, my third to this incredible country, just hasn’t been the same.

Today that difference was brought home even more as I met up with many familiar faces from previous journeys here. The people were welcoming, as always, and I was more than happy to see them, but the joy was tinged with sadness.

The last two trips to India were made with my good friend Mark Simpfendorfer. Mark passed away a little over three years ago.

We first travelled to India together in 2003. Mark was here to capture my ride from Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, to Delhi. It was an amazing experience for both of us. Neither of us really knew what to expect when we set off for India but we loved our time here and were more than happy to return two years later with a small team of Aussie cyclists. We were talking about returning in 2010, around the time of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi but sadly that wasn’t to be.

The last time I saw Mark he had dropped in to my home capture some video for a project he was completing and we shared a Limca, the lemon lime drink that we enjoyed so much together in India. Several months earlier Pauline had found a shop nearby that imports Limca from India so when I knew that Mark was to visit I made sure there was some ice cold Limca in the fridge.

I’ve enjoyed plenty of Limca on this trip and it’s brought back memories of shared times. This afternoon I walked to a local shopping area. It’s a walk Mark and I had taken together many times. It felt weird walking on my own.

I’m finishing my time here catching up with some very dear friends and I just know the happiness it would have brought Mark and those here in India if he was here on this trip.

India has made a huge impact on me over the years and there’s not a day goes by that I don’t think of this country. Usually those thoughts centre around experiences that Mark and I shared. It’s not easy being here without him.

Mark was a true friend and thoughts of him are never far from my mind but this week those thoughts and memories have flooded my head.

One day I’ll take another trip, a more permanent trip, and I’ll catch up with Mark again.

I wonder if they serve Limca in Heaven.

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The Beginnings of Reflection

December 20, 2012

by Rodney Olsen

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I love India. It’s unpredictable, mesmerising, beautiful and full of contrasts. You can see photos or video of India and get a little bit of an understanding for this country but you really have to visit India to even begin to see a true snapshot of what this nation is all about. This is my third visit to India and I still know so little about the country.

What a difference a day makes.

Yesterday I was walking across ancient, crafted marble at the Taj Mahal in Agra. Today I’m sitting in a guest room in Parliament Street in Delhi. Outside there are hundreds of unionists taking part in a protest. Leaders are chanting slogans though a P.A. system that’s been turned up to eleven and the assembled group is replying loudly. I have no idea what their cause is because it’s all in Hindi, but they certainly sound passionate. It’s now he middle of the day but the rally started early this morning.

Not far from here, at India Gate, a protest continues against six young men who raped and beat a 23 year old girl on a moving bus travelling through parts of Delhi. There has been a national outcry and there are demonstrations being held all over India calling for the perpetrators to be hanged. One of the rapists has already admitted his guilt and said that he should be hanged.

The events here are being reported around the world, including in Australia.

THE hours-long gang-rape and near-fatal beating of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi has triggered outrage and anger across the country as Indians demand action from authorities who have long ignored persistent violence and harassment against women.

In the streets and in parliament, calls rose for stringent and swift punishment against those attacking women, including a proposal to make rapists eligible for the death penalty. As the calls for action grew louder, two more gang-rapes were reported, including one in which the 10-year-old victim was killed.

“I feel it is sick what is happening across the country.It is totally sick, and it needs to stop,” said Smitha, a 32-year-old protester who goes by only one name. – News.com.au

It seems strange that against that backdrop I will be celebrating Christmas with a group of Indian friends later today. As I’ve said many times, India is a land of contrasts.

Girls off the Streets

While in India this time I’ve had opportunity to see the work of SIMaid’s Girls off the Streets project.

I’m amazed at the work that is being done to bring hope and healing to young women who have been rescued from human trafficking. Young women who have been sexually exploited and sold into prostitution are now growing in confidence as they learn to trust again and develop life skills that will give them a strong foundation for life ahead. Girls off the Streets is giving them a future and importantly, letting them know that they are truly loved.

If you haven’t already, let me encourage you to check out Girls off the Streets and find out how you can be part of this project which is bringing hope to those who had lost hope.

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Extremes of India

December 18, 2012

by Rodney Olsen

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How do you reconcile all the extremes of India? How do you get your mind to balance the utter hopelessness of a red light district where thousands of women, many of them minors, are trapped in a life of degradation and exploitation with the kind of hope offered by SIMaid’s Girls off the Streets project?

I love India. I love the food, the people, the sights, sounds and even some of the smells but there are many things in this wonderful country that are absolutely heartbreaking.

Just days ago I travelled with our team down a road (not the one pictured above) which is the most well known red light district in Delhi. I sat in a cycle rickshaw as we were taken past a long row of buildings. The ground floors give a sense of decency to the buildings with hardware, plumbing and paint shops lining the street. They hide the real truth.

Stairways to Hell

Between each building is a very narrow stairway. The stairways are numbered 1 to 96. Up each flight of stairs, to the left and the right, are separate brothels, each run by a different madam or pimp. Each brothel holds 5 to 20 women, though an organisation has recently said that some brothels have close to 400 women in them.

When you start to do the math, you realise that there are more than 12 000 women being prostituted in that one road. However, it is believed that it’s likely that there are many more minors hidden in walls and ceilings who are only brought out at night for certain clients.

As the rickshaw made it’s way thought the stench and filth of that road I saw women peering through metal grills, beckoning men on the other side of the street. If you didn’t look up to the floors above ground level, you might travel the entire street without knowing the misery and exploitation happening just metres away.

There is Hope

As with most things in India there is a contrast, a contrast of hope. Authorities in India, including police, are working to rescue young women who have been trafficked into prostitution. Once girls are rescued some of them can begin to find hope and healing through a home supported through SIMaid and their Girls off the Streets project.

I had the opportunity within the last few days to speak with a number of the people involved with helping these young girls. The turn around in the lives of some of these precious young ladies is nothing short of remarkable. Some would say miraculous.

There are many reasons that girls end up being trafficked for sexual exploitation, and I’ll write more about some of them at another time, but for now just be assured that when you support Girls off the Streets, your support is making a very real difference in turning young lives around. The change is real. There can be hope. There can be healing. Will you support this vital work by giving to Girls off the Streets?

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