Today was special. Over the last couple of days I have been in Udaipur. Where poverty unlike any other I have seen is right there in front of you. But somehow this country continues to amaze me. The beauty of the people shines through it all. Everyone is so happy, when you wave you are greeted with a smile and a wave. Not just any smile, but one that seems to tell you that your simple action has lit up someone’s day. I would love to think a simple wave could have that affect on people when I get home. We have become so jaded, that our own neighbors in our own country, have become too much to even look at, let alone greet. We are all strangers and it seems we want to keep it that way.
As we drove into Lai, the village where FTC is building another school, children in the distance would race from their homes, running across the field just to say hi. The further we drove the more smiles we seemed to leave behind. It always seems that those with the least seem to have the biggest smiles and cherish simple human interaction. These reactions are just on the way to the village. We didn’t even get out of the car. If it seems like we have this celebrity status, well it does feel like it. But don’t be confused, we are not overpaid actors, musicians put on a pedestal and worshipped for no reason. This group of cars brings kids, mostly half my age, which have decided they want to make a real difference. They bring education to a village that most don’t even know exists. I use the celebrity reference for one reason…What if we all strived to be difference makers, to bring change to the world, to live a selfless life helping those less fortunate than our selves. What if on the cover of People magazine, there were people who actually did something to better our world. What if we chased down school builders like Craig Mortensen asking the questions everyone wanted to know, “who are you helping next?’ “How can I help?
But that is not the way our culture lives. I’ll come home to people caring more about who Jennifer Aniston is dating or what colour is in this season; this is the way it is.
Back to the trip. We arrived in the village to the sound of drums. Everyone had gathered for the welcoming ceremonies. Upon leaving the vehicles we were greeted buy the women of the village, dressed in vibrant colour and even more colourful smiles. They presented us with flowers and painted our foreheads with traditional red dots. Soon after it seemed everyone was dancing. Not me, I was taking pictures, though if there was ever a time I wanted to put the camera down it was then. Seeing the group dancing with the women of the village was amazing.
The opening ceremonies were a moving experience. To be honest, I had a hard time controlling my emotions. This is a village that doesn’t even register in Caste System (a status system in India where people are unjustly classified). They are in essence, unknown. The original school was nothing more than a few bricks, and a dirt floor, with no roof. Corrupt government officials had taken the money intended for a new one. FTC has since build two buildings, and are now working on a third.
One of the participants was honored because he raised over 10,000 for this project alone. He is still in high school but almost single handedly raised enough money to build another room for this village.
The rest of the day was spent playing games with the children. I cannot describe how honored I am to be a part of this. It is a special feeling knowing that what I do/am doing is in some small way helping this great cause.
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