Hard-hitting stories

People often come back from volunteering trips overseas and one hears that they had a life-changing experience that altered their perspective on life; that they are so motivated to do some good in the world and that they want to spread this great feeling to as many people as possible. I'm not afraid to say that the cliché applies to me. But let me tell you why...

The taste we got of the people of Uttarakhand, and especially of the great people working within Project Burans, is that there is something truly special about what is happening here. You've got to feel patriotic when you see something like this, a real force of positive change, within India that's making such a huge difference to people's lives, and it's an even better feeling to know that I can be a part of it.

The following are completely true and unadulterated stories of some of the many people we have met so far:

A 6-year-old girl being sold to families by her own parents for money and attempting suicide 19 times after being subjected to sexual assault, beatings, violence and abuse for the subsequent 8 years. A conservative Muslim rural town where the hafeez (religious priest) forbids the education of women past the 4th grade. A 60-year-old elderly lady living below the poverty line and suffering from treatable epileptic seizures, but unable to access free ration medications due to a broken government health care system. The men of local slums drowning their sorrows and months’ wages on cheap and freely accessible alcohol, whilst their more educated wives and children await the beatings at home.

The best part about these stories is that now they are able to be told. A link in the chain has been broken and now no longer is mental illness and the myriad of its causes being swept under the rug. All of these people have been reached by Project Burans, they have been shown a path they never knew existed and now they are so much better than they could have been without Project Burans. 

And what's more? These stories are just a snapshot of the work that we've seen happening here. There are more stories like these happening everyday for the staff of Burans, and every success story not only affects the one patient, but also five family members in the household who were at a loss before. And then the stories will spread in communities, villages and maybe even cities. The work of Project Burans is touching more people's lives than we know how to measure, and it's not a snowball that looks like slowing down. 

I'm excited because the work I've seen done has totally changed lives. I'm excited because this could be the start of something really massive. I'm excited because I'm so empowered that not only do I want to be more and more a part of it, I want you to join me. I really think that you and I have the power, with our individual voices and actions, to do something we can all be very proud of.

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