Mama Helen with one of  her daughters Rogathe and one of her grandchildren, Shirley. The first time I went to Africa was in 1993; that seems like two lifetimes ago.  Since 1993 I have been back to Africa well over twenty times (thank you MSCF!).  Most of these times I have stayed in the home of […]

On November 10, 2009 my British Airways flight (BA179) brought me to JFK and my final destination after six weeks of travel to the UK/India/Nagaland/Sweden. As the South Asia Director of projects for HOPE FOR CHANGE INTERNATIONAL www.H4Cinternational.org my purpose was to visit and evaluate the development and needs of schools and orphanages. My review of prospective partners and […]

For many of us music and, in particular, certain songs mark moments in our lives, both happy and sad. When reheard many years later, the song evokes memories and awakens imbedded emotions. One of “my songs” is the hymn “Morning Has Broken”. In 1930, Percy Dearmer, editor of Songs of Praise (published in 1931), approached and […]

A lovely evening breeze is billowing in through the double doors opening to the terrace balcony here in Gurgaon Haryana, India. Sarah B. & I settled in here on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 twenty-four hours after deciding to change our itinerary.  The home belongs to a young Indian couple in their mid-thirties. Until six days […]

Hello friends and family and blog-followers near ‘n far! Tonight is Sunday, October 11, 2009 and we are marking eleven days since our departure from home and Ulster County. We’ve been staying in Bangalore for five complete days and we’ve experienced comfortable sleeping arrangements, delicious Indian food, and good times spent with old friends, new […]

To the right is a partial shot of the “welcome tray” sitting on the table in our newest room on our journey throughout India.  It is late in the night here in India; we are 10 1/2 hours ahead in time zones. I am tired but I wanted to let everyone know that we arrived […]

After riding Adirondack Trailways bus from Kingston, NY to Port Authority, New York City, on Thursday, October 1, 2009 Sarah Bird and I made our way through the bustling terminal with the help of a Trailways luggage porter to the Airport Shuttle pick-up on 42nd Street which transported us to JFK International Airport. Our Korean driver navigated […]

I cannot answer that question in one blog posting but I will tell you that my heart has been enlarged to embrace the women of India. Look at the faces of these women. I met them in October, 2008 and listened (through an interpreter) to some of their personal accounts of both dealing with hardship […]

Spring cleaning began at our house today; okay, I admit I’m a slacker when it comes to cleaning even though I DO ENJOY stepping back to admire the transformation from dirty to clean. My trouble is that there are so many other things I’d rather do (than cleaning).  Nevertheless, today I began with the windows and while hands […]