Village called Digraj

Went to a small village church to talk about Hospice. Crossed a big river on the way and stopped to observe cow washing time. Several farmers led their bullocks down to the river and in the river for a bath. I also saw some people washing their water buffaloes on the side of the road. Lot's of care for the bigger animals.

Teaching the Hospice Philosophy

Each time I teach a class about Hospice, there is an "arati" ceremony to apply the god's eye to my head and to thank me for coming and to basically treat me like a goddess. Pictured above is a girl of 15 with her daughter who turns 4 this week. They are both suffering with HIV infection.

Hospice Update

We had a ground breaking ceremony for the new Hospice at Prabhat Tara Sanstha. Unfortunately, it was purely ceremonial. There are many hoops to jump through in order to actually get started. Number one is water source. The plan is to dig a bore well in the next few days. I met with the engineer (builder) and Timothy and a board member and modified the drawings for the facility. The engineer is working on revisions. Then they must approve the project with the local village leader. All of this will take 2 weeks. I leave the area on the 21st. Timothy purchased 10,000 bricks with the money I sent in December from my Christmas gifts to my family and a large donation from my dear friend, Rebecca. Timothy and I are working on a name for the building, and on teaching the hospice philosophy to the local community, people in the redlight districts and people in Timothy's church.

My friends from Aurangabad District

Nandakishore, turns 25 on Feb. 16th. Rukhminibai is 57. Punklik is 65. He is the village blacksmith or "iron worker", making a repairing and sharpening farming tools.

Rukhminibai's Angiogram

Arterial puncture site in right groin; Cath lab with video image of dye in cardiac arteries; Rukhminibai, age 57, pre-procedure.

Rangoli

Even in the midst of the worst slums, people beautify the dirt in front of their shacks.

Redlight District, Sangli

So, Timothy took me to the redlight areas in Sangli and Miraj. He has several programs in 3 different slums in addition to his orphanage. Pictured above is an outdoor classroom where women and children are learning English and Marathi literacy. To the left is a game at the orphange where one child runs across the line tries to tag someone and run back before being grabbed and dragged into the clutches of the opposite team. The girl in pink and green didn't make it back. Far left is a gathering in the street in front of a clothesline.