Friday, 20 January 2017

The fourteen Delegates arrived last Sunday and Monday. Depending on their arrival time, they had a day or two in Delhi to settle in and see some of the city. Lost luggage was resolved fairly easily. A hotel/hostel with mostly double beds was a non-issue. If you are following us on Facebook at “Building Bridges 2017” you probably saw pictures of the alleys of the Main Bazar, cows in the street, ten of them at a Sikh Temple in scarves and one turban (!) and videos of rides through traffic in tuktuks.

The Delegates are from Boston, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota and California. We have electricians, carpenters, operating engineers, a sheetmetal worker, a painter, a regional labor leader (the one guy), a contractor, a health and safety educator and a young logistics assistant. You will get to know them as they write here about their experiences. They are a diverse group, passionate about tradeswomen’s issues, committed to this experiment and coming together as a small community. They are figuring out India as people in India are figuring out them.

Let me share a few pictures, some words from Kansas Tradeswoman Marcus and a few pictures of our first couple of days.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Good evening everyone, India has been a blast thus far. Every day we have opportunities to see miracles. For example, I witnessed a 15 -16yr old young man tapping into a street light pole for power. The survival techniques that has been displayed by the Indian culture has been enlightening.

–Marcus McClanahan Laborers Local 1290 Kansas City, Kansas

At Sikh Temple

On the town

Our nagar (neighborhood) in the Main Bazar

We have just returned to Delhi after a two day conference in Noida at the VV Giri National Labour Institute. This morning we visited a naka, a corner where construction workers wait to get work from contractors. We had a visit– and a challenging experience– with ten women construction workers. Lots to tell in next post.

Love and peace.