GCJ India 2017
Would you like to meet your global neighbors, be a citizen diplomat and peacemaker? Take this journey of discovery. As a GCJ delegate you can be part of a life changing adventure in sharing, learning and building.
WHAT: Delegation of 12 U.S. and 8 Indian delegates to Pune, Maharashtra, India plus Maher staff
WHEN: 16th- 23rd January, 2017
PROGRAM: Our focus will be gender equity in support of education, safety and opportunity for girls and women. We will work together at Maher to build a project –a vermiculture installation for composting at one of the main facilities. We will also co-host community meetings and introduce the use of large group dialogue processes (World Café and Open Space).
PARTNER & ASSOCIATES – We are doing this program in India in association with 2 most wonderful organizations – Pragati Foundation & Maher. Big Thank you to both of them.
LOCAL HOST: Come experience the Power of Love on this journey in Mother India. Maher, founded by Sister Lucy Kurien, serves very poor, abused or orphaned children and adults in residential and village-based
programs. Nearly 800 children, 300 women and 30 men live in 36 homes around India. Children go to local schools, then take extra-curricular classes at Maher. Women learn vocational skills and literacy. Some return home or marry or start their own small businesses, while others stay on to work as housemothers or social workers at Maher. Most significantly, Maher is a community of unconditional love and incredible vision, with a social change model that is unique, powerful and sustainable. Village programs are fundamental to Maher’s mission, giving local residents tools for education, child development, public health, job development and women’s rights. It is through village programs that Maher helps end the cycle of poverty and domestic violence to achieve their mission of eliminating the need for residential facilities. Over 500 self help groups have been sprouted by Maher.
WHO: Half of the delegation will come from India and have from delegates living in Puget Sound. They will be diverse in age, gender, ethnicity and faiths, as well as professions and skills (e.g. teachers, health practitioners, entrepreneurs, water specialists). We will match delegates as closely as possible, so we can share networks and interests, perhaps generating future projects. No matter what your background, we urge you to apply if you feel passion for these goals.
COSTS: Program fees (est. $3200 plus airfare for US; Rupees 3500/- for Indians) cover all ground costs and a contribution for the service project.
Please don’t let the costs be a barrier: many delegates have raised their full program fees. Our vision includes the outreach that occurs when delegates gather support from friends and organizations. We provide fundraising materials.