Dear friends and family,
It’s been another jam-packed week. We visited the Islamic Foundation Trust, an organization that provides support to Muslims, a minority which is under real and perceived persecution here in India. They were incredibly inviting and we had a two-hour roundtable discussion with seven of the members there. I’m amazed at the level of respect we get here.
Next was a daycare/orphanage/hospice for the poor. Then the Kalekshetra Foundation for dance and music. Then, a Buddhist temple. But topping them all was OfERR, an nonprofit that helps refugees from Sri Lanka to get basic services, especially education, in the state of Tamil Nadu, which is where we are. The folks there told us all about the conflict in Sri Lanka, about the impressive services they provide, and about all the difficulties they have faced so far in helping the refugees. I was so impressed.
One more thing. We bought our train tickets for travel break! That’s right – we all decided who wanted to go where over our two-week break in October, then we researched trains, and finally we rickshawed down to the train station and booked tickets the whole way through. Laura, Caitlin and I are going to Agra (to see the Taj Mahal), then to Mumbai to visit a friend of Caitlin, and then to Kerala on the western coast to see the backwaters and a national park there. The others are going to Darjiling, at the feet of the Himalayas. There will be pictures!
Anyways, I’ll try to keep these emails shorter. We leave Chennai on Tuesday for our rural orientation, followed by our research projects, so email may become more sporadic.
I hope you’re all enjoying the fall weather!
Isaac H.
pseudoisaac 