To Bangalore and back

November 2 , 2011

I apologize for the lapse in communication but internet has not been readily available until now!

Returned very late last night from 4 full days on the go in Bangalore. We spent the majority of our time in rural Bangalore visiting several projects run by a dynamically run NGO called Karuna Trust.  www.karunatrust.com  The roots of this organization and their work to serve the poorest communities, the tribal community, is beyond belief.  I had the pleasure and extreme honor to have spent the past 4 days with a remarkable man, Dr. H. Sudarshan.  He is an MD, a native of Bangalore who has dedicated his life, not just his career, to the integration of rural development and sustainability.  I have many stories to tell you all about this remarkable man and his work.  He has been recognized worldwide as he was the recipient of the Right Livelihood Award in 1994, which is viewed as an

Alternate Nobel Prize to honor those “working on practical and exemplorary solutions to the most urgent challenges faced by the world today”.  The Right Livelihood Award is widely recognized as the world's premier award for personal courage and social transformation.
So much to share from my journey here....as the days progress and I return home, (tomorrow actually) many of the stories I have heard and adventures I have experienced will be shared with you as I reflect on my cherished experiences here in India.

I will share a  quick synopsis of our journey in Southern India:

We visited 2 of the 26 primary health clinics under Karuna Trust; a 20 bed tribal hospital; a school in the tribal sector of the Bilijiri Hills; vocation training and production centers; an orphanage for girls, an orphanage for boys; a rescue home for women, and a technology resource center providing job training/placement for the rural/tribal communities. We had the pleasure of staying 1 night at an amazingly unique project, the Gorukana, (http://gorukana.org) a beautifully built eco-friendly lodge, in which 100% of the benefits go directly to the development of the people and conservation of the wildlife of the Bilijiri Hills.  More on this amazing place and concept later……like many of the experiences here, each are more than worthy of their own blog.

Here are a few of the gazillon pictures I have taken....the first 2 pictures are of one of primary health centers we visited; here they do approximately 200 deliveries a month; 1 obstetrical MD; 1 medical intern and 2 nurses....and, did I mention that is the staff for the babies, NICU as well.  Also, pics of darling school girls and the beautiful girls of DeenaBandu , an orphanage for girls.  All heartbreaking and heartwarming.......