Thanks for giving me the opportunity to speak to american students, but be indulgent with my french accent and be understanding because of my mistakes. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude towards Arun Lobo for welcome us in New-York and towards Nirav for welcome us at Fordham University.
By the way, we carry in our heart a project, an idea, a journey. A lot of dreams which give sense in our life. And as far as we look through the past, we can observe that anything comes by chance, that Providence is always doing its work and that's why we are together today.
For me, India was an unexpected encounter. My personal experience of sharing started in 2004 when I decided to sponsor a child in India. Vishalakshi, a little girl, was eight and she was living in Ugire, a small village in the southwest of Karnataka, between the Ghats along the coast of Mangalore and the plain of Bangalore. For three years, we exchanged letters translated in kannada, the local dialect, by the Indian association which was our link in this country.
When I decided, in April 2007, to visiting her and her family, I couldn't imagine that I would enter into such a nourishing and fruitful world and that my life would be changed. As soon I landed, I had the feeling of being at home, that this country invited me to discover it step by step. On this occasion, we were particularly touched by the good work of the Capucin Krishik Seva Kendra overseeing the Ugire Project. "You have seen the Project with your own eyes and you can share what you have seen", my friend Alwyn said, when I met him in Paris, a few months later.
After this unique experience and encouraged by the leaders od the Indian association, we wanted to become more involved in this special adventure of sharing. In creating the association "ensemble, agissons", in 2007, ( a non-profit and a non religious association, developing an humanitarian project for families in the respect of differences, independently of race, beliefs, culture, to find a better way of sharing within the human race) we wanted to pool our respective resources, to launch and to support educational and health programme for the sake of the children in and around Pothnal.
Pothnal is located in a very poor area in the North of Karnataka, a territory where the disparities between the rich and the poor are very flagrant. The Dalits, a part of Untouchables, earn less than 50 rupees a day (lees than 1 dollar). In this part of the world, which was partly destroyed by the floods in 2009, most of the people have no drinking water, no electricity and the children are usually considered as a burden as long as they are not able to earn money.
With the members of Vimukti association (the social part of the Capucin community) we have developed a programme organized around: sponsoring children, family and educational support, sessions on healthcare and medical check ups, creating clubs for children and teen-agers, cultural programs and libraries... Our ambition, our commitment is to contribute as much as we can and with our skills, to carry out micro-projects initiated by the local partners for the welfare of the disadvantaged, underprivileged and marginalized people.
Every year we go to India for a month, to meet the social workers and the educators who are responsible on the field. To day more than 700 children are supported thanks to the help of "ensemble, agissons" and 30 children are directly sponsored by the members of the association. We have developed a very intense relationship with these men and women who are now as a part of our family.
In France we collect funds through a diverse programme of activities, partnerships and events. All the members are volunteers and the totality of the funds are given to the Pothnal project. Assessments are communicated every year to all the supporters. I am a very lucky President because the french association is regularly growing thanks to the generous attitude of his members. As you know, a very single drop of water makes a mighty ocean.
Every year we go to India for a month, to meet the social workers and the educators who are responsible on the field. To day more than 700 children are supported thanks to the help of "ensemble, agissons" and 30 children are directly sponsored by the members of the association. We have developed a very intense relationship with these men and women who are now as a part of our family.
In France we collect funds through a diverse programme of activities, partnerships and events. All the members are volunteers and the totality of the funds are given to the Pothnal project. Assessments are communicated every year to all the supporters. I am a very lucky President because the french association is regularly growing thanks to the generous attitude of his members. As you know, a very single drop of water makes a mighty ocean.
