A Few Words from Raj

It has been about 9 days since I arrived in India, give or take a time zone or two, and this has been my first moment to write a few words about my experience thus far. We all have been very busy... Trying to get organized, supplies procured and visits arranged has been a challenge, but one that we all have worked through very well.

First, my hats off to Mike and Kevin for being so dedicated to our team effort. Initially, I was worried that taking two Americans to India and getting involved would have been a difficult challenge to overcome. Not because of the lack of desire but mainly because of the culture shock.

Overall, they both could not have done finer... Well, ok.. 10 days in to the trip and Mike is craving a Big Mac with Large fries and Kevin a steak. And I admit, I miss my Starbucks Venti Americano...

Overall the experience with all the facilities we have visited has been truly unique. We visited 6 facilities and committed in kind goods to 4 so far. We were also able to help a couple of small orphanages near to my parents residence on the coast in Chennai. These two smaller facilities service the local villages by providing housing, education, and medical treatment for significantly disabled orphaned children. In fact, many of these children were simply abandoned, which is sad to say.

I don't think my words can express how hard it's been on me to see these kids with disabilities. My first thought seeing these kids that could not fend for themselves, walk, or even eat was of great sadness. I could not believe that these kids existed with no hope and or potential way to obtain an improved quality of life. With that in mind we started our mission 10 days ago. Getting the right supplies including medical supplies, food, basic hygiene items, and educational supplies was on my mind as the core mission.

What is my hope? Perhaps with some well needed food or medicine 1 child can become healthy, have a sliver of hope, and in the end 1 child's quality of life has been improved.

To that end, I believe as we start to wrap up our effort in the next few days we have been successfully. As we deliver supplies and goods, we see smiles, hope, and heart. It's all that you need....

Most important, in the last 2 days I've seen smiles on children that are worth a million bucks... Handing out sweets and chocolates to several hundred kids -- able bodied and disabled alike -- they all smile.

We will continue in the next few days and provide a closing blog report soon.

Raj Narayanan