She Thinks My Tractor's Useful

Today was 'America to the Rescue' day. First, there was me, bringing school supplies and developing projects in the Anand district of Gujarat. Secondly there was that great American hero of industry and agriculture, Mr. John Deere.

On our way out to the first village of Devpura to inspect their need for a motorized handpump to access ground water we embarked on a desert road filled with, what do you know, sand. So the brave band of soldiers we were, embarked in our Mahindra Jeep down said road. Halfway through we got stuck. So the ladies said that the driver can deal with it and we can go ahead and conduct our work while he gets the Jeep out. So we walked up to this beautiful village and nursery. As we were walking we noticed a very large group of women meeting underneath a gigantic tree. No big deal I thought because SEWA regularly organizes large meetings with the village women. However, when we walked closer my translator told me that they were a group of women that SEWA had flown in from Kabul, Afghanistan and they were educating them on to start grassroots organizations. The women greeted me and the very first question they asked me was "What country?". At first I was a little hesitant to respond but being the true blooded 'Merican that I am, I proudly responded "America". They all began to smile and greet me one by one. It was a truly unique experience.

A little side story. In January of 2009 SEWA opened an office in Kabul to teach women about self-reliance and grassroots income so that they could provide for themselves and their families especially since many of their husbands had been either killed by the Taliban or their husbands were fighting with the Taliban and had gone underground to avoid coalition forces and continue fighting. Since January of 2009 three separate women on three separate occasions have served as suicide bombers exploding devices attached to themselves inside the SEWA office. Yet, the staff and members of SEWA remained undeterred and unwavering in their fight to enhance the status of women and enable them to become self-sufficient and independent if need be.

Now back to something a little less serious. We continued with our work at Devpura and finished up in about thirty minutes. When it was time to leave I learned that the Jeep was still stuck. The translator either said that we have to push or they will send someone. I said why not just use one of the tractors. At that exact moment, like the P-51 Mustangs coming over the heads of stranded soldiers in WWII, a beaming green John Deere tractor came over the hill and was coming to our rescue. So I hopped on board the tractor with my driver and the tractor driver towards our stranded vehicle (Which the notion of me doing was apparently funny to the women). Once we got to the Jeep the real fun began as you will see in the video. Also I helped dig out the video which was also funny to everyone. I will figure out why me doing labor is funny to people here sooner or later. Flat also made an appearance to try and help but he mainly just lounged in the shade.

Few of you may know that I have over 200 hours on a tractor both from my job at a golf course and my job last summer. But I left it to the experts on this one.