History In the Making

In My dream, the angel shrugged and said, "If we fail this time, it will be a failure of Imagination" & then she placed the world gently in the palms of my hands.  -Brian Andreas

We talked about Charity tonight on the rooftop after dinner. About the meaning, the examples we see in our lives, and our friends and families lives. We talked about how charity is giving of ourselves and reaching out to help others- regardless of how it will affect us- charity is the ultimate selflessness. The fact is...we can be selfless in any environment and any place- not only India. Quotes, stories, and verses were shared- all about being charitable. Mother Teresa said (courtesy of McCall) that "if you are too busy judging others, then you do not have enough time to love them." Mother Teresa also said (read by Reagan) "We cannot do great things- only small things with great love." One of the basis of charity is also imagination, and I think that is important. The ability to see a need and to respond to it, change it, or work to inspire the change for it.

Becky is a board member for Rising Star and she came into town today to be able to spend a few weeks here and to see the kids, watch the dedication of the school that is being built right now, and to take care of some house keeping here. We sat on the rooftop after dinner and after our talk about charity we sat exactly as the children have been sitting all week to hear her stories. She explained the caste system in India. The idea that many people who live in India say that the caste system is no longer in effect, yet the way life is lived here declares otherwise. People who have been impacted with leprosy are still considered untouchables. People will scoff in their direction and refuse to acknowledge their existence. The law works in that a person is murdered, a price is owed instead of going to court and the price is determined by what caste the person happened to be part of. If a person murders a neighbors dog, the payment for that crime is higher than if a person murders someone afflicted with leprosy. Shame is brought upon entire villages who have one resident visit a leprosy colony. It breaks my heart... the children are treated the same way as their parents simply because they are associated.

We visited a colony this past week called the Moote colony. Their are only 7 residents- but those 7 make a lasting impression on your heart. One of the men, Girash, sang and danced with us for nearly 2 hours. He barely knows English, but his affirmation of acting like he knows what he is saying is clear. He and one of Steele's children, Oaks who is around 6 years old, had an entire conversation made up of going back and forth with strong facial expressions and babbling noises. These people are so gentle, and loving towards anyone who will pay them attention. The women would sit and smile for the entire time that we were there.

The children at Rising Star are from these leprosy colonies. They are learning English, which can promote them to a higher ability to be given jobs after graduating here. We were told tonight that a doctor in India will average about $500 U.S./month- and this is considered to be a high class job. Since outsourcing has been allowed within India's borders-such as those that work for Dell and other companies. Those people who are given jobs as an outsourcer average an income of $1,200 U.S./month. The children here at Rising Star, even with a high school degree and the means to speak English- because of the harsh caste system they will still often be denied jobs because of their role of being associated with a person suffering from leprosy. Rising Star has managed to build a relationship with these outsourcing companies, and as long as the children are qualified- they become eligible to get a job after they graduate. 

Imagine a child transforming from an untouchable to the highest caste system. Imagine their lives and those that they will influence! This summer here...this place called Rising Star is literally being part of history in the making! People will always say that our children are the upcoming generation to change the world. But LITERALLY- these children that I am falling in love with and spending my evenings reading to and the days tutoring with... These children are going to change an entire way of life because they will suddenly defy a caste system that declares them as an untouchable.

These children are powerful and Beautiful!