"Aujo!"...

…means (literally) “Come again!” but is really used for “Goodbye!”.

Apologies for the lack of posts this time around…The last week in India was spent finalizing the report on my findings and trying to relax a bit. I got back to work on Monday and walked over to SEWA Bank which is where the micro-lending division of SEWA is based. I met with a small group there that is heading the micro-“pensions” initiative. To be honest, I think we’re a ways from being able to provide a truly viable pensions group. However, this is more like a long-term savings account. There are about 35,000 members and they save about 100Rs a month on average. Unlike a bank account, this is with an understanding that the money should remain there until the member turns 58 (the “Normal Retirement Age”). SEWA began this product after noticing the trend away from caring for elders in their old age, in combination with the underprivileged being literally forced to continue working in their old age in order to survive. However, there’s no regulations or excise taxes / disincentives for people who withdraw their funds before retirement, so they are finding a fair number of members request the funds back before age 58. And ethically speaking, it becomes difficult because it is holistically unfair to charge members who withdraw their funds early – the simple reason being that they likely are withdrawing the funds with good reason. The product offering is fairly new – it was only started during the latter half of 2006. The main issues are going to be educating members on the value of keeping the funds there until they “retire” (i.e. are no longer able to work), and how to invest the funds (similar issues that the US has with 401(k) / Defined Contribution plans). I may be working with them later this year in order to put together a case study on the initiative. However, there are so many questions that need to be answered before micro-pensions can be practical. Should our focus be first providing adequate health and asset insurance? Should saving for other purposes come before pensions? Will the trend away from elderly care by children continue? How do we convince members to continue to save for the long-term while they are struggling in the short-term? How should the funds be invested? Should this be determined by SEWA or the member? How do we effectively educate the members?

On Friday I gave a presentation on some financial statement projections I had worked on, and my findings on the claims analysis. We spent a long time going over the impact of pricing and premium rates on the outlook for the next few years, and discussed pros / cons to differential pricing based on rural / urban. It’s a difficult conversation to have, even more difficult to convince the sales team. There were discussions on the best incentives for Agewaans, and how to motivate them to sell coverage. Laura (a woman from the US / France who has been working at VimoSEWA for a few months now) brought up the point that there is a market for this insurance in Ahmedabad West – which is not as drastically impacted by floods (and their resulting claims), and which has a large number of the housecleansers / dishwashers / etc. that would be able to afford insurance. They do not work through unions so VimoSEWA does not have as many ties to that community, but it is a niche worth investigating further.

Friday afternoon I said my goodbyes. There are some people, Falguniben in particular, that I have grown rather fond of. There is a quality about her that I just find so soothing – an aura about her that is so calming. She’s about my age, and even though we have completely different backgrounds, I found myself never at a loss for words when I was with her. For me, that has been rare in India – even when I lived with the nursing students at Goraj. While sweet and very nice, I didn’t find myself able to talk to them freely, or for any length of time. The conversation would inevitably end if not abruptly, then awkwardly. With Falguniben it was different – I could actually relate to her.

I do truly believe SEWA is a great organization, but I also think there are some shortcomings. For one, they have to “move with the times” – handicrafts and embroidery provided an effective means for their members to generate a fairly stable income over the last twenty years. But times are changing, and there needs to be more of an entrepreneurial aspect to the way they conduct their organization. Training members or providing information on how to learn other skills that will be more valuable in today’s world is a serious shortcoming. In addition, as with any NGO (I am quickly learning) – it’s just not as productive and efficient as it could be. Sofi and I once had this conversation while deciding whether we wanted to pursue a non-profit rating agency (i.e. a system to “rate” non-profit companies on their effectiveness, honesty, etc. so that when people donate funds they have a system with which to compare different organizations, and so that non-profits themselves would be motivated to improve their own processes). Eventually we decided against it – mostly because we don’t have the time, but also because Sofi brought up the (valid) point that non-profits do not have the same resources / funding that a private company has, and thus shouldn’t be held to the same standards of efficiency. It’s hard though – when you’ve worked in the private sector – to come to an NGO setting. You expect the same environment that you are used to but it’s very very different. The same political games become exponentially more complex.

The last few days in India I felt pretty ill. I think the problem with such a short trip here is that by the time you actually get used to anything, it’s time to come home. Mind you, a fever, sore-throat and blood-thirsty mosquitoes did not keep me from having the best chaat I’ve ever had in my life (and the most spicy) and enjoying my last Butterscotch ice cream cone for a long while.

Every year or so for the last three years, I go on these little trips by myself – but in all honesty, travelling alone always seems better in theory than it does in execution. I always make the mistake of expecting to come back just a little bit wiser. I leave thinking that when I return, I’ll know exactly who I am, who I want to be, and how to get there. I am excited to continue to work with VimoSEWA and other micro-insurance initiatives. The great part about this trip is that there is a lot I can do and learn once I am back in the US. It’s been an interesting intersection between various aspects of my life – Gujarat, volunteering, and actuarial science.

Strangely, it occurred to me in my last days in India that I had not taken a single picture.

I didn’t need to. I know I will be back.

Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead...

Okay, well maybe not dead, but gone at the very least! Neema Masi is no longer at Goraj (for those that weren’t reading this blog when I was on hiatus in 2004, Neema Masi was the caretaker at the orphanage I worked at in India – long story short, she used to beat the kids). I visited the Ashram where I spent a month volunteering at the daycare (taking care of 50 – yes 50 – kids under the age of five) and the girls’ orphanage. I looked around not really recognizing any of the faces till I heard “Reshma Didi” from Moxy. The younger girls (Usha, Varsha, Gangu) were still there, but so grown up now! The middle girls (Moxy, Mangu et al) remembered me though. All of the older girls are now staying at a hostel in Anklewar now (Sonal, Anita, Rashmi, Pinki et al) which was so disappointing – was really looking forward to seeing them. The best part of my visit? When I asked where Neema Masi was, Usha got this mischievous grin on her face before saying “She’s gone!!!”. Classic.

That was all yesterday – spent most of the day visiting random family in random cities all over Gujarat which was completely exhausting. I never want to drink tea again. Visited my ba (grandma) in Karamsad – was nice to see her.

Last week I went with Falguniben to Mehsana – a (very) rural district about a three hours journey (by foot, rickshaw, jeep, and bus) from SEWA’s headquarters. I have never been in such a jammed pack vehicle in my life; seriously, I thought I was going to fall outside the jeep (there were no doors). In any case, we finally arrived and the women in the district gathered along with the Agewaan (literally, “leader” – the Agewaan is sort of the organizer for VimoSEWA for the district and takes care of getting the premiums, filing claims, etc.). Falguniben explained what insurance is, what VimoSEWA is doing, why it’s important, etc. She even went into great detail (the words “pre-existing condition” did leave her mouth and we spent some time explaining what qualifies and what doesn’t, when and how a claim is filed, etc.). This is part of VimoSEWA’s annual campaign to obtain members. They do this quarterly, but this campaign right before the start of the calendar year is the main one and traditionally enlists the most members. The office staff goes to all of these far-away districts, meet with the Agewaans, find out if there are any causes for concerns, and then go out into various villages in the districts.

Oh, and you know those commercials that always show little Indian and African children with flies all over their faces which don’t appear to be causing them any irritation whatsoever. It always looked like the World Vision people superimposed the flies afterwards – but I stand corrected. I’ve never in all my life seen so many flies in such a condensed space. I tried to blend in and pretend they didn’t bother me, but really, they were crawling into people’s eyes! Ew.

The area we visited was a tough sell, in terms of insurance. There had just been an instance where a woman filed a claim that was rejected by the insurance company due to a pre-existing condition, and well – bad news travels faster than good news does. The Agewaans have a tough job trying to mediate between providing care and sticking to the “rules”. There’s a lot of insurance fraud, especially in the areas that are more urbanized.

The rest of the week I spent mostly in the office scrubbing and analyzing the data (F-U-N!). VimoSEWA offers two insurance schemes with one providing substantially better coverage with a higher premium. We’re finding that there’s a ton of adverse selection with the higher coverage that’s making it somewhat unstable. In addition, areas that are more urbanized have a higher claims rate in general (variety of reasons – mostly due to easier access to medical care). So what ends up happening is that rural areas are essentially subsidizing their coverage. One solution is to have higher rates for more urban areas, but VimoSEWA is considering other (more desirable) options.

On Friday, there were a ton of meetings going on – the main one being that about 70 Agewaans from a few districts came to the centre for some training and for general discussions. I have to admit, I didn’t understand all the conversations – some words in Gujarati I just don’t know the translation for. But one of the main topics that came up was the use sonograms in private vs public hospitals. The problem is that while public hospitals are prohibited, private hospitals usually do give sonograms. And what SEWA is noticing is an 11%+ discrepancy in the birth rates of boys and girls – indicating that a fairly large number of people are going to private hospitals, getting sonograms, and aborting the child if its female. This all seems reminiscent of what I had heard at Sewa Rural when I volunteered there back in 2004. And even worse, there were instances where they found private doctors were telling patients they were carrying girls (even if they were carrying boys) so that they could also collect the fee for the abortion. I don’t even know what the solution to this is. The idea that a son is more desirable than a daughter is so ingrained in Indian culture, customs, and history that it’s going to take a lot of work to take it out. Beyond that, daughters still mean dowries, weddings, and extra expenses for most families. SEWA tries to educate (and so did Sewa Rural) while the government tries to intervene by disallowing sonograms in public hospitals. I don’t agree at all with the latter, but the former is slow-going and an uphill battle.

In all the things I love about India – there are some things that I just can’t stand. Most irritating for me, this trip, has been the desire of both friends and family to show me things that are “just like in America”. Schools, hospitals, hotels, bathrooms, air conditioning, internet – everyone wants to give me a tour of their town and point out everything American. It upsets me not because I hate America and think no one should want to be like it – but because I didn’t come to India to see all the ways it is just like America. I want to see what sets it apart. I want to see what is different.

That’s all I have for now – unless of course you want me to go into great detail on how it’s kind of cool that you can cross-section the data I have by urban/rural, sickness, district, etc. and find all sorts of neat patterns.

I know.

I’m a nerd.

:)

Horn, Ok, Please...?!?

…Never gets old!

India the second time around is so much better. Apologies for not blogging earlier – there just hasn’t been time! I arrived to Ahmedabad on Thursday night and met Denis Garand – the actuary from Canada that I have been speaking with and who has been assisting SEWA for over five years now. For those that don’t know, I’m here in India volunteering with the insurance branch of SEWA (called VimoSEWA – literally, Vimo means “insurance”). This involves a look at their current processes, exposures, claims, etc. in order to help advise the group on changes and / or recommendations that may make the plan more viable in the long-term. Yes, I am a big nerd. Denis calls it “Actuaries without borders”, which – for anyone that knows me – fits my personality completely.

What have I been doing? Actually, a ton of excel / access database work, and some analysis on their current claims and exposures. VimoSEWA provides a low-cost insurance for its poor and underpriveledged members. About 75% of them are members of SEWA bank which provides small business loans to those that for years have been thought of as “un-creditworthy.” Quite the contrary, SEWA (and microlending in general) have a higher repayment rate than the general population! Some estimates are conservative at 95% but others go as high as a 98% repayment rate. A number of theories exist for why exactly this is, but one of the most prevalent and convincing is that these people’s lives depend on these loans. Also worthy of mention is that almost all of the loans are to women and the primary insured for VimoSEWA is likewise women. I’ve said this so many times before – both on this blog and elsewhere – the real change, the real movement, the real progression in India, in South Africa, almost anywhere – is coming from women. Time and time again, I’ve seen that despite their social repression as a sex, they continually find a way to empower themselves – to find strength amidst the weakest of circumstances, to seek revolution amongst the most stagnant environments. The men (sorry guys) are continually absent, drunk (sorry to stereotype…) and otherwise non-existent.

The basic structure of VimoSEWA provides life, accident, asset (ie. Flood) and health insurance. For the most part, the other sectors are in a more-or-less viable position, meaning they have reached a point where their premiums can cover their claims each year. The main problem, and the main area of my analysis is the health side, which is also the most important to its insured. Without boring you, so far I’ve been collecting and scrubbing data regarding the 2006 claims and attempting to project 2007 claims (including Incurred But Not Reported – IBNR claims). For any actuaries / fellow Waterloo alumnis – think Robert Brown, Actsci 363 and that little white textbook (in fact, the two things I wish I had brought the most are that textbook and my HP calculator). As Denis explained to me, VimoSEWA has come a long way since when he first started. Their data collection has improved substantially (which is important when it comes to setting rates), they’ve made large advances in communicating and explaining the concept of insurance to their members, they have moved to a cashless system in some urban areas (this allows the hospital costs to be paid directly by the insurer at the hospital, rather than have the member pay the amount and be reimbursed later), the list goes on. The important thing to note, however, is that they’re slowly proving their opponents wrong – that there is a way to make a viable system of insurance for a low premium and high-risk individuals. Microinsurance is receiving some of the same resistance that microlending first received, before it reached fairly considerable notoriety and approval when Grameen Bank’s founder, Mohammed Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize. And VimoSEWA continues to be the example to which other microinsurance projects turn for best practices and ideas.

My guess is that I may be boring some of you – these aren’t as fun as the stories about Naledi, Wandele, Nokubonga and the Agape kids, or even Anita, Sonal, and the other Goraj girls for that matter. For the most part, it’s a lot like working in an American company at a cube (I even have a cube at SEWA!). But for me, this is a more powerful difference – less fun, but certainly, more powerful.

I started to remember all the things I used to love about India. How the scariest rikshaw and scooter rides can somehow be thrilling and peaceful at the same time. How family that you barely know and people that you’ve just met can welcome you into their home and their lives without a second thought. How the little tailor in the tiny store in Alkapuri will remember not only you but the sari blouse he stitched for you three years ago. How strangely efficient some of the most random tasks can be when you least expect it. How strong – how resourceful – how resilient Indian women can be despite the direst of circumstances. How that butterscotch ice cream cone from any corner store in India is better than any dessert I’ve ever tried after three years of living in Manhattan. How you can be in the midst of a sea of people, of cows, of rickshaws, of scooters, of cars – of any and every vehicle possible – and still somehow feel at peace. How good the paw bhaji off the street tastes (and how sick it can make you afterwards). How the intensity of the traffic makes you feel as though accidents must happen all the time, but that in India, these things tend to work themselves out most of the time.

Anyways, tomorrow I am off with Falguniben to Mehsana – a fairly rural district to help with their “Zhumbasha” – the yearly campaign to get people to sign up for a year’s worth of insurance coverage.

Until then – take care everyone!

Love,
Resh.

PS - Yes, mom and dad - I have been riding Hamendrakaka's scooter. And no - I have not been wearing a helmet.

Pictures...

...are up...

http://reshthestar.spaces.live.com/photos/

:)
Resh.

iKaya...

...means "home", although sometimes South Africa feels more like home than New York does.

After two really long and miserable flights -- I'm back, and already missing the kids.

The Study Room is really working out great. Some kids that always said they had no homework are now coming because there are volunteers there to help. Nalede came the other day and had some English homework -- she is so bright! I never realized until I was watching her do her homework...And Siyabonga has just stolen my heart this trip (see "Siyabonga's essay").

Zodwa (the head of Agape) was really devestated when she heard that the building is all wrong...apparently inspectors were supposed to visit every month but haven't come at all. It was sad just because Zodwa said something like "You know, I tried to give the work to my own people because I thought they understood our struggle -- but now they have taken advantage of me. Next time I will just give the work to a white man." It was crappy :(

On the bright side -- I spent a whole afternoon with Angel! I had rented a car, so I drove down to Durban to see her -- a bit of a mission but totally worth it. She has a boyfriend now...who wanted to see me but instead I talked to him on the phone as he was "sick." I tried to find out if it was HIV/AIDS but Angel said it was just the flu...so I don't know what to believe. They're getting married next year or the year after, and she asked me to be her Matron of Honour, since Zanele is no longer here. We talked about Zanele, and what she was like before she was sick. Angel also told me that Zanele's kids are living with Sindi (their other sister) now and not with their abusive grandfather. Apparently no one in the family talks to him really anymore. Sindi's husband passed away last year, and another of Zanele's brothers as well...all of them were "sick" as they say...which means HIV/AIDS. But we had a nice lunch, I did some groceries with her, bought her gifts for the kids (hers and Zanele's).

Also took the donations I had collected to Bobbi Bear and to Lindewe -- both were overjoyed! (Thanks Wendy and Catherine!)

Went down to Siyajabula which is the orphanage we helped build in Lower Molweni. It's all done, but it's locked up and no kids are living there, presumably some Lean On Me issues are still outstanding. It's unfortunate though because the cottages look so great...

Saturday was Siya's birthday so I let him drive my car for a bit (he's 18 now)! He's so funny...he kinda scared me a little but was really good. Then I said my good-byes. It's usually easier to say good-bye to the older ones, but even this time, I felt like I had gotten so much closer to them. And Naledi just looked sad. I held her in my arms for a long long time until I finally had to leave -- she waved good-bye and then sulked away...

Leaving again just makes me want to come back more, and quickly!

I did have a thought though -- I was sitting on the plane for hours, when it occurred to me to ask...Where the hell have all the Zulu men gone? All of the people who are working there to help make a change/difference -- all of them -- are all women. Zodwa, Lindiwe, Pamela, Winnie...where are all of the men? It almost feels like the political struggles during apartheid were male, and now the social struggles in post-apartheid South Africa are female...Does the distinction have to be so definite? Lindiwe said that Zulu women are so big because they have such big hearts, and they have to in order to deal with it. But Zulu men are strangely skinny -- maybe there's some truth to her argument! Does it have to be that way?

Anyways, I'm back in New York now so I guess the blogging is over...

Take care all!
Resh.

Siyabonga's Essay

Siya had to write an essay for school on "The World of My Dreams"...there are small errors which I've left in...the first sentence pretty much broke my heart.

Name: Siyabonga Mthethwa
Grade: 10
Date: 7/9/06 (Sept 7, 2006)

In the world of my dream I want everybody to be with their families. In this way, happy, loved, comfortable, everyone must rejoice. Everyone will have home with water, food, electricity, telephone, tap, swimming pool, flushing toilet, and big soccer field. Everyone will have equal rights and responsibility. In the world of my dream will be free education.

Each an country will have good president not president like Thabo Mbeki who is not helping the country. If the president does not help the country he/she will be fired from the work that he does. Country must have strong president.

No wars must be in the country; each an every country will have peace. In an every country will import goods to each an every country. All of the world will talk one language so that we can communicate easily. There are people who only know one language at all. We can talk English only.

In my world there will be no such thing as TB, HIV, and malaria.

No one will kill anyone else because you can get punishment to go to jail for the rest of their life. The police can take care of that.

The weather will be sunny and there is no night. Everyone will wear shorts and tank top and go to the beach.

U'loxo alube nawe...

...means "Peace be with you"...
Had an exciting few days here -- in the last few days Gunter (one of the Be-More volunteers) set up a Study Room at Agape which we've been using with the kids after school...it's fabulous! The kids are actually getting into a routine now! Been helping them with homework which is great -- but it means less time with the little ones.
Went to the Dream Centre and saw Mabongi -- she's still knitting away. Her treatment finishes in October so she can finally go home!
Spent all day today with Lindiwe -- her orphanage is looking great! The building that we helped build looks fabulous and kids are living in it and everything. And they're using the sheets we sewed!!! How cool. She was happy to see me, and she took me all around Lower Molweni to other orphanages...it was awesome. Unfortunately two of their computers got stolen yesterday so then we went to the police station which took ages. But it was nice to spend time with her.
The building at Agape may be in some trouble -- since the builders dealt directly with Zodwa and Pamela, they overcharged them and have made so many mistakes. There was supposed to be an inspector but he never showed, and when the Keep a Child Alive people came to see the building, they went through all the mistakes and are trying to figure out how much it's going to cost to fix. But it is looking like the main building and the 5-6 cottages will be ready by December! The kids are overjoyed.
Tomorrow I'm going to see Angel in Durban, then on Saturday going back to Lindiwe's for a bit and then to Agape and then to Jo-burg! Already!
Don't have much time now but I'll blog more later...
Love
Resh

Yebo...part 2

Bobbie Bear -- went there Saturday morning...an incredible woman named Erica gave us a tour
of the place. It is a centre for sexually abused children. Bobbie Bear provides a temporary home for the children, shelters them, clothes them, deals with the prosecution of the sex-offender, and finds a permanent home for them. She told some of the most disturbing stories I've ever heard. As children walked around the site, she would say..."That little girl...she tore a page out of a notebook, and as her punishment, her mom stuck a metre-long housepipe up her vagina...when I found her she was bleeding and couldn't walk.""And that one there...she was sold three times for 150Rand ($20 US) to different men who used her as a sex slave.""And those children there...their own parents used them for sex." It was chilling to say the least. It's been almost two years since I've heard such stories, and I was taken back in an instant...to Pinky, and Nalede...and all of the other stories.

The rest of Saturday was better - had a party with the kids! It was Sphewe and Simphewe
(Nolwazi)'s birthdays. Played games, painted, had a brai...was awesome!!!Went to church with the kids on Sunday morning which was...well...interesting. Yesterday spent a long time with the kids -- they received these bikes as a donation and are playing all day long on them...except sometimes they fight over them...it can be tough.

Helped Zama with her homework but she was so far behind, it was difficult. I've never had
to explain privitization or economic development theories to a teenager before. It's tricky and with the language barrier...it's hard. Sphewe (big Sphewe) and the other older boys had
taken off with the bikes so we had to look for them for a while, got worried when they didn't get back...but Pamela talked to them and hopefully set things straight. I think she's doing great as the "head-mom" at Agape, when Zodwa's not there...What else...oh the kids. Saw Nalede which was great!!! She kept saying, this is my old friend...back again!!! She was excited. So was I. She is talking alot more and her English is so good now.Wandele - still the same!!! It was only after being in SA about two hours that I had to change his diaper...reminiscent of the days with Melanie and Alicia, bathing him and Sne, and Nokubonga! But this time he was in the crib, and he had actually stuck his hand down his diaper and started eating his own poo. So gross. He is almost four now but there is still something slightly off. He can't keep food down and is constantly throwing up but then is very hungry so you have to feed him. They sometimes keep him in one room all day -- I let him outside to play for a while but it was like two minutes before he had wandered off and was found eating the dirt. I guess some things never change.

It's strange being at Agape without Nokubonga. But there are a few new kids that are so
great.The new building is looking good -- lots of little cottages with bathrooms and kitchen in each! Oh and they have three huge greenhouses and have started growing vegetables both to eat and sell to make Agape more self-sustainable. They're doing really well!

There's some things I had just forgotten about South Africa...How beautiful the sunrise is over the Valley of 1,000 Hills...The feeling when you drive up to the orphanage and see all the kids at the gate...How mischevious Sphewe's smile can be...How shy Nalede can be when you've just met her...How Sne can use the hoola-hoop for hours! How smelly Wandele's diapers are...How much work it takes to feed all those kids! How sweet Siya, Sakhile, and Khumbalani and the other older boys can be...How much my head hurts after the kids have been playing with my hair all day...How fulfilling it is when their homework actually starts to make sense...

I'm going to the Dream Centre later today, Lindewe's tomorrow -- and I got in touch with
Angel!!! Seeing her Friday. Can't wait. Also saw Aaron but Sakhile has moved to
Jo-burg...

Take care all -- miss you!
Resh

Yebo...

..means.. "Yes" or an acknowledgement of "Hello".

I forgot how beautiful South Africa was.

Got here Friday and went straight to Agape – new building is going pretty well but has a long way to go…Saw the kids which was awesome!!! Most of them remembered me – Nalede has gone home to visit her mom so I won’t be able to see her until later today. The kids have grown so much!!! Sne is SIX, and Sphewe just turned EIGHT! I could hardly believe it! Some of the kids have changed since coming to New York – the difference is subtle sometimes and under the surface but there nonetheless. I sat with Pamela and she told me about how the kids were doing and why some of them were there or gone, etc. I learned things I wish I hadn’t learned – Nalede, and why she was there…Simphewe is now Nolwazi – she changed her name to mean “knowledge”. Not exactly sure why, but she still seems troubled. Sometimes she is so happy, and others…so sad. Nokubonga isn’t there now, and I think she still has some trouble getting along with the other older girls.
There’s a few new kids that are so sweet as well – in particular a three year old named Mbali who is adorable.
Had a party with the kids…was awesome.
Also visited a project called “Bobbie Bear” but I haven’t the time to blog about it now!!! It was – in short – phenomenal but really disturbing...

Lots of love to you all…
Resh