[Oe List ...] Maliwada Visit

[Nancy Lanphear]

Dear Louise, Jack and Peter
What a great story and witness for those os us who know India, who spent a
year or more there with projects, the HDTS, and the incredible folks of
India.  It sounds like a trip of a lifetime!  Of course, you were part of
the experiment right!?
A few weeks ago, I had a call from Miriam Gibson bringing news and well
wishes from a family that Fred and I worked with and considered their
family ours. I can't believe that it was 32 years ago!  Thanks for you
story and experience.
Love,
Nancy

On Fri, Mar 20, 2020 at 8:20 PM Ellie Stock via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
wrote:

> Thanks for sharing, Louise.
>
> Ellie
> elliestock at aol.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Ballard via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
> To: 'Order Ecumenical Community' <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>; 'Dialogue' <
> dialogue-bounces at lists.wedgeblade.net>
> Cc: John Ballard <ballardica at gmail.com>
> Sent: Fri, Mar 20, 2020 7:08 pm
> Subject: [Oe List ...] Maliwada Visit
>
> *Words cannot express…*
> Words cannot express how we felt when we recently visited a village in
> Maharashtra, India named Maliwada.  Jack, and I along with our adult son,
> Peter, were visiting India for the first time.  We were guests of Sushil,
> Vinod and Kamela Parekh.  Back in the 90s, our family sponsored, Sangeeta,
> Sushil and Sarah Parekh‘s daughter, while she was attending college in New
> Jersey.  Some of you may remember way back in the late 70s when Sarah and
> Sangeeta were living in Kemper for a few years.  Sarah brought Sangeeta
> from India to Chicago to attend a school that would teach the little
> 3-year-old to speak aloud in English.  Sangeeta was born profoundly deaf.
> At that time, we became friends.  Then in 1994 Sangeeta began her college
> studies in the US.
>            We had not seen Sangeeta since she returned to India in 1996.
> It was a lovely reunion with her and her family and also with her uncle and
> aunt, Vinod and Kamala and other dear friends along the way.  We visited
> Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Nashik.
>            While we were visiting with Vinod and Kamala, they took us to
> visit Maliwada.  What an experience.  The residents were dressed for a
> holiday.  We were greeted in the Indian way with welcoming ceremonies,
> marigold leis, shawls, and the men with Gandhi hats.  There was an
> extraordinary gathering at the Grand Panchayat Hall, when elders spoke and
> testified to the amazing development that had happened in their village.
> Pundlik Dhangare began by recounting the journey of using the methods to
> create their dream for Maliwada.  He sang the songs of the village.  I had
> been crying before but his testimony (in Marathi) was so gratifying, one
> couldn’t help but experience the emotions of this large group filling the
> hall.  Other speakers included Shankar Davtkar, Dondiram Jagdhane and Ram
> Udavanti.   Shankar spoke in English!   Everyone was so excited to see
> Vinod and Kamala, who were greeted in such a loving and grateful way.  We
> found ourselves being witnesses to the accomplishments of the villagers
> over the last 45 years.
>            We visited several homes, walking under the Maliwada gateway
> arch on the paved road.  Not shacks, not small dwellings.  No, these were
> large two or three story concrete homes with indoor toilets, ant-proof
> kitchens and rooftop gardens.  The residents were so proud of the lovely
> dwellings.  We visited with three different families.  We also visited the
> sawmill, which makes wooden packaging for a local business.  The
> hardworking men showed us how the wood makes its transformation from tree
> to thin planks, ideal for the job. There is a new petrol station in town!
> Since a new highway is being planned to come nearby Maliwada, this provides
> another opportunity for business.  The women and children looked good,
> healthy, and happy with bright eyes.  We loved talking with them.  Some may
> remember Rukmani Dhangare.  She is vibrant and loved showing off their new
> home.  First, hosting us in their old small house, showing us pictures of
> the old days at the beginning of the project and showing us their notebooks
> full of planning and methods and then taking us to the rooftop garden of
> the new house next door with its grand view of the fort.
>            People gave us flowers, fruits, shawls, and great warmth and
> love.  It is something we will never forget.  We of course, were witnessing
> the gratitude of a place and people who for 40 + years have implemented
> their plans, together.  They could never have done it without the amazing
> sacrifice, care and human resources so many of you brought to that little
> dusty spot below the ancient fort.   We wanted to let you know that what
> you gave in those difficult early times has transformed a people and their
> community.  We met a son who is a college-educated engineer.  “India is a
> wonderful place, Maliwada is my home” sang Pundlik.
>            And so it is.
>
> Louise Ballard
> Picture taken in front of the Grand Panchayat Hall
>
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