Trashion Show

October 29, 2010

Tea lights flickered on the desk, dancing to the sound of ocean waves & flute music. I smoothed the skin across her brow in an effort to press the stress away. Working gently over her scalp, down her neck & kneading my way towards her shoulders I traversed muscles like steel cables tightly strung.

It was "Spa Night" at the shelter and time to pamper our hard working designers who have been working day and night on their rugs, dolls, and dresses that will be entered into the upcoming "Trashion Show" competition. A local modeling school which is run by Michelle, a British lady, offered to teach the women dressmaking techniques using recycled materials, then put on a professional fashion show (which sadly they cannot attend since they are undocumented and at risk of arrest if they leave the shelter.) This show will be a benefit to the two shelters I am working with; tickets sell for around $40. The Holiday Inn here has agreed to give us the ballroom for free, other companies are kicking in donations for printing, special lighting, refreshments, etc. and they will all get exposure as well. Both local papers will report; the Kuwait Times is working on a story on Trash to Treasure now. They have a wonderful Filipino reporter who spent over an hour at my house, then came to "spa night" to get more of the story and photos (miraculously they have agreed without any qualms to let them publish pics.)

I was wondering how I could reward these 30 ladies who are pouring such creativity and time into this project when I got a call from a lady who owns a beauty salon. Rebbecca saw the Trash To Treasure rugs at the British Business Forum where one of our new partners Crown Relocation, was selling rugs for us. She bought a rug & tracked me down to see how she could help. After purchasing 10 rugs, she wanted to do more! She was thrilled to bring her staff to the shelter to serve these ladies who could never afford her services but could benefit so much. Once again, before I even knew what to ask for, God had the answer "in the wings" and Rebbecca came, as promised 2 days later to the women's pure delight.

We set up the room with a table for nails, hair, space to continue working on their projects, and Yolly (Welfare manager) let us use her office as a quite space where I could give a few massages. At their request, I now have Michael Jackson hit songs on my ipod and they grooved to the music while they were pampered & watched each other get prettied up. We got platters of cookies for them to enjoy with plenty of of leftovers. I get teary just remembering the looks on their faces when they broke into applause after I told them the plan for the evening. It was like Christmas morning.

I asked my first "client" if she had any pain or spots that really needed attention. She told me her left arm is partly numb, partly painful...how long? One year. Ever seen a doctor? "When I get back to Philippines I will."

I had to use a very light touch through her arms & shoulders as everything seemed to hurt. I noticed her teeth were crying for a dentist and suffering from lack of care. Within minutes, she began to relax into the mat like butter in the sun. She didn't want to talk, it looked like she actually fell asleep...this was only a 15 minute massage...could she be that tired?

This precious lady ran away from her employer and found herself ensnared for 2 months in a brothel before getting to POLO where she was at least safe. If I were in her shoes, living with 200+ women and 3 bathrooms, I fear I would be upstairs staring at the wall. I know most of them ARE. We get to work with the brightest, most motivated women although the profits benefit everyone in the house. I do wonder what more we could do for the others...

My next two ladies seemed to want to talk while I worked their scalp, face, neck, shoulders & arm muscles. I loved getting to listen one-on-one about the 3 yr old daughter, the 7 yr old son...

Josie told me how she came on a contract to work in business as she has a college degree, but instead was placed as a house maid and has not been paid in the past 4 months. Her arms were small; she thinks they got smaller and weaker as she had to constantly lift heavy objects.

Rosita talked fast as I worked, pent up stories & concerns bubbled to the surface. After a few minutes, tears erupted as well. She wants to see her children when she gets back to the Philippines but then needs to try to work abroad again in a new place so she can provide for them. It sounded like her husband had been unfaithful but it was hard to understand. She told me she does not get enough to eat there, no fruit or vegetables except for beans. She was worried that when she does get to Manila, she will have no means of transportation to the island where she lives since she has not been paid and has no money. (I since determined there is assistance for the overseas workers once they arrive in Manila.) She asked me if I was a "born again Christian" and was happy to discover I shared her faith. When I finished her massage I asked if I could pray with her and she said "that is what I am waiting for."

Before we left I was able to make "bonus payments" to the ladies whose work I had sold this week, give feedback to our top rugmaker on her color schemes, make a fool of myself dancing with the girls to Jackson tunes, and introduce the reporter to the work being done. My faithful taxi driver, Kalai, was waiting patiently outside the locked gate to wisk me away from this world to my "other world" and I wonder, which is the real world?

(I also did a facebook photo album from this evening.)

Hindu Doll Festival Oct 8, 2010

Last Friday, Emily & I were invited to her Indian girlfriend's home to celebrate Navratri Golu, a Hindu doll festival originating in Southern India. Navratri, meaning 9 nights is celebrated for 10 days. This is a display of dolls predominantly with that of the Gods and Goddesses depicting their mythology on an odd number of steps. This is mainly a festival for the women. Every evening, married women and girls dress up in their colorful silk sarees go to see this golu in homes.

We felt very honored to be the only non Indians present along with Tonya (Thai/Canadian) who is like another daughter to me. She looks like she could fit in but actually has more of a Buddisht background. These friends are actually Canadian but honor and keep their culture alive. We did not realize the extent her friend's family practiced their religion. In a closet type space there was an altar where they burn incense and pray daily. In the same small room, there were stairs set up to display the characters. The "dolls" represent the many different faces or attributes of God; knowledge, justice, love, etc. There are 3 main female dieties considered the "trinity" who are especially worshiped during this festival. On the lower shelves are dolls from vairous countries they have visited; ones with personal memories attached much like our collection of Christmas ornaments from places we have visited. Surrounding the display were Christmas lights and burning incense. I had to bathe & wash my hair to get the sweet, strong scent out before I could sleep.

There was great attention to detail in the preparation for this open house. To "keep ants from coming indoors," corn flour is sprinkled (free hand) outside the door in decorative patterns and candles are lit in the designs. Beautiful! The food was artfully prepared and much of it was symbolic & special for this occasion. Each night one vegetarian dish is made as an offering to the goddesses, then served with the meal. The food is served with a delicious variety of breads which double as utensils. Eating with our fingers seemed to work out okay until a new guest arrived; shaking hands while eating without a fork left me feeling a bit...messy!

Our hostess greeted her Indian guests with a touch of 3 different spices applied to their foreheads & throats. One of them stood for purity, I forgot what the others meant. She also had individual gift bags for each of the many guests who called. There was a very respectful rhythm to the evening and it felt rather formal. It seemed more cultural to me but I recogized it was deeply religious for some. Our desire for the sacred is so universal, its expression so varied.

Emily, Tanya & I felt so under dressed! We didn't realize how dolled up the ladies would be. It was actually the first time for her friend to wear a "half saree" so it was a very special occasion. We were told that young girls get to wear these less cumbersome dresses first; when they are older, they get to wear the full sari which has something like 6 meters of fabric to learn to navigate in! The women & girls were stunningly beautiful and Emily was remorseful that there is no "American traditional dress!" In addition to the clothes, many ladies had placed carefully laced jasmine flowers into their hair, so when giving a hug, there is this heavenly scent of jasmine! This was really lovely.

Having spent and evening with this family with whom we have a growing friendship, puts Hindu practices into such a different light. As my brother, Don, explained to Molly in regards to going off to university; there is still a sense of cognitive dissonance in situations like these. The "old tapes" still play, though muted...idol worship, false gods, etc. To use a British expression, they sort of "take the Mickey out" of themselves by they way they describe the stories of their goddesses as "mythology." To me, myths are all human concoctions to explain the unexplainable as opposed to the Truth we have come to know about God through Jesus Christ. More and more, I find myself wanting to say to people dear to me who are such God-seeking, devout, loving people: I would love for you to meet Jesus, he has so much to say that is relevant in every culture! I desire to discover a way to do this that does not judge or condemn for that is an arrogance I cannot afford.

Jail

My contact at the P embassy gave me the thumbs up that I could join her for a visit to our stranded Filipino maid at the deportation center (fancy word for jail complete with high barbed wire fences.) I was sooo happy to get to go to jail! A 45 minute drive through jam packed roads brought us to the big gray complex. My friend took half an hour or more to get past 3 guards & finally get permission to bring me in with her to see "the general." I scooped up the bag of goodies I'd brought her and joined the conference in the lovely office with A/C & wall mounted TV. Our dis-sheveled friend was brought in wearing a tee shirt with holes and ratty jogging pants; she had obviously lost weight and was sick with a cough. The man asked her "why are you still here?" "I don't know." "Did you steal money?" "No sir." The rest of us were seated comfortably, she was left to stand the entire meeting.

After much running after files & conferencing, they said she must have a case against her & promised to look into it. The word on the street is that her sponsor is related to the immigration official and is trying to extract more money before letting her go. In other words, "wasta" is needed for this case.

We were hoping to visit the ward where other Filipino women were kept but were told to come back at three o'clock for that. It was obvious this was a delay tactic meant to make us lose interest. When my friend told them she needed to see her Filipino women, he relented, but said "only you may go"...unsaid: not the westerner.

I was thrilled to be able to give Gina a hug, say a quick prayer with her, and leave the bag after it had been searched. She said she prayed for someone to help her then looked in her phone and found my number. I pray just by being there, somehow, that will help her hold on, help the ones in power to act with integrity, send a message that we expect justice to take place. A report will be filed at her embassy and once again, we will wait...