So This Is The Vision

There is a school in a remote village called Jordi that leaks whenever it rains. Thus, 60 children who hike 2-3 miles to school everyday cannot go to school when it rains. What can I do about it? I wasn't quite sure until mid-February 2009. I kept in touch with Satbir over email to learn more about Jordi Village's specific needs and how the school year was progressing. James and I both applied to return to India for a second internship. To be quite honest, the odds seemed slim considering there were three times the number of applicants as there were positions. So you can imagine how thrilled we were to receive news that we had both been selected! All of a sudden, India wasn't a memorable summer immortalized in pictures. Jordi Village wasn't a "it would've been nice..." anymore. It no longer was a matter of if or when I was gonna do it, it became a matter of how. And within the last week, 'hows' have been flowing from all directions. It's all coming together in such a miraculously smooth way that I can't help but sit back and smile because I know who's the one behind it all.

This is the vision. We want to see the school building completed, but we can't do it on our own. Even if we could, we would not choose to, because we have experienced the incredible blessing being able to give to the less fortunate, and we want everyone to share in this blessing as well.

How are we going to involve everyone? We happen to know an inordinate number of people who are as incredibly gifted in art, as they are passionate and creative. We envision a public silent art auction, filled with artwork donated by people who simply love creating art, the proceeds of which will directly directly benefit the completion of the school. The purpose of this auction is not necessarily to invite the famous and established of the local art scene, but to encourage YOU, who loves taking pictures, sketching, painting, making jewellery, furniture, pottery, etc. to contribute! We want to give everyone the opportunity to imagine how the very beauty you are capable of creating, can create a tangible and beautiful difference in people's lives across the world.

Along with the exhibition of artwork, we envision live music and ongoing art workshops held by the very artists that donated the artwork! Think of how many nifty tricks you could teach or pick up from Photography 101, Basics of Oil Painting, How-To-Cut-A-Swan-Out-Of-An-Apple demonstrations!

As James and I continue to iron out details about the venue and date, we ask all of you to do us one big favor. Take some time from your day today and imagine.