Reasons To Be Optimistic

My last two posts have been pretty critical of the way things work here. For a country that's only been independent for sixty-two years, India is actually in astounding shape. Where was the US sixty years into our nationhood? Women couldn't vote, many people owned slaves, and we were on the brink of civil war. Students at my KV school might not know much English, but they know a hell of a lot about Gandhiji, and about Martin Luther King, and the civil rights movement in general.

So, in spite of the things that are hard to understood, the cultural traditions that feel immovable, there are lots of reasons to be optimistic. Here are a few:

1. US-Indian relations. The State Dept. just gave USIEF (the US-India Educational Foundation) a large chunk of money to play with, and that money can go a long way here. One plan is to help Indian universities develop and staff Master's programs and undergraduate concentrations in some of the most important areas: food security, agriculture, public health, etc. At present only 10% of all 18-24 year olds are enrolled in higher education. Doubling that number would make a huge difference. (I know: not everyone needs to go to college. But here, more people definitely *do*).

2. NGO power: on Monday, our group is going to visit Manzil, a free after school program that's more student-centered than what kids get at their regular schools, and from the looks of it, more informal. There are probably thousands of non-profits operating in different places in India, and the work they're doing is in the service of helping Indians live more sustainably. (And ultimately, NOT need NGO support). It's so exciting to know that there's so much good stuff going on.

3. There's so much love. The family structure here can be so grounding and lovely. People live with extended family, and there's always a place at the table for a visitor, even when the table is actually a bed where three people sleep. My friend Renuka referred to me as her 'daughter'; her brother-in-law Jagdeep calls me 'one of the kids'. I've been blessed by grandparents, kissed by people I barely know, and encouraged to eat more. Maybe because my own family is small and scattered, I've felt so moved by these small acts of kindness.

The family structures here are so important, that I wonder if sometimes things can feel sort of clannish. The key to moving forward, in India and in the US, may have to do with the love we give to people we don't know, the way we feel accountable to those who *aren't* part of our clan. That's something we're just learning how to do in the US.