We Can State Assembly

Last week I was in Jharsuguda (western Orissa) for the 'We Can' State Change Makers Assembly. We Can is a campaign in South Asia to end violence against women. The purpose of this event was to bring individuals and NGOs of Orissa together to recognise the work they're doing to support the campaign and stop violence against women. We took an overnight train and arrived at 6am. I nearly missed the stop as everyone got off the train and forgot to wake me! It was a full day and a half of talks and workshops, all of which was in Oriya so I couldn't follow any of it.. So I just observed and played photographer:

Out of the 200-odd people there, I was the only foreigner, so everyone was very interested in me which was nice. I was a bit perplexed by all the attention, everyone wanted photos with me and some people even asked for autographs?! Maybe they mistook me for someone important.. The venue was on a school grounds, and a couple of times I found myself surrounded by a sea of adorable giggling schoolkids wanting to shake my hand! I seized the opportunity to get some cute photos:

In the evening there was a Candle Rally through the streets, which was a nice symbolic event to remember the women that have been victims of violence. Here's a video snippet:

After the rally I had to go back to the hotel, I had a killer headache from the altitude (not helped by the drums) but after a good sleep I was all better. The following night I had my first experience of a sleeper bus - a bus with an actual lie-down bed! I didn't really sleep but was quite impressed nonetheless.