My primary purpose for being in India was to attend Partnering for Change a development project organized by my professor Dr. Aradhna Parmar. She brought together academics from the University of Calgary, the University of Rajasthan and the Univesity of Jammu along with representatives of several NGOs and the Indian government.
We gathered in Jaipur to explore ways in which we could contribute to the enormous work that is being undertaken to assist the most needy people in India. While I learned a great deal at the conference, the two days I spent with the people in three rural villages in Rajasthan were truly transformative. My life, my entire sense of who I am and the responsibility that I carry have been changed forever.
In the photo above I am surrounded by some of the children in the last village we visited along with one elder. They endure with great joy under conditions few of us could bear to contemplate. The monsoon rains have not brought sufficient rains to fill the dhoras that act as reservoirs for the. They have not planted a crop in over five years and the men of the village are forced to travel to other villages where they can earn a share of crops to feed their families.
Yet despite this hardship our host brought us glasses of sweet chai and glasses of liquid yoghurt. It is impossible to not be humbled by this experience and to be drawn to serve them in some way.
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