There is another Ashram in the heart of Ahmadabad and it is where I had one of the most moving interviews yet. One of their projects is dedicated to educating children of the slums. We met with the co-founder who began with one other person twenty five years ago by serving 4 slum kids on the sidewalk outside the ashram. They basically started with washing them and combing their hair and repairing their clothes. The next day 10 came and so on--now they feed, educate and provide health care for 9000 children from the five slums in Ahmadabad. They take no federal, state or grant money because it wouldn’t be sustainable and without strings. All support comes voluntarily from benefactors mainly in the US. He, like so many others we have met, has dedicated his life to serving these kids in need, leaving behind a lucrative career in Chicago as a gifted engineer. He said, "I want to look back on my life and know that I did what I could".
This is another place for doctoral study-touching the minds and hearts of slum children-personal, direct and so rewarding.
Another overnight train to Dehli and we’ll see what tomorrow brings.
Dear Prof Blair, I hope you remember me from our short meeting in Ahmedabad at Manav Sadhana. This may ring a bell - I had cycled through 6000km of rural India in search of all the amazing things happening around the country. I called the ride - The Glass Half Full (www.tghf.org).
ReplyDeleteI had sent you a mail the same day (kalyan@tghf.org), but I am not sure if it could escape your spam filters :). Anyways, just wanted to say hello and to tell you I thoroughly enjoyed reading through your blog.
Warm regards, Kalyan