Once again from that very same day in the same Islamic School in Uttar Pradesh another portrait is being shared. The faces that emerged from only one village near Kairana overwhelmed me, and proved once again that such beauty and resolve exist in every village.
Here were people who had never seen me before, and some who had never seen an outsider in their young lives prior to this day. Yet they stood in front of the lens without hesitation and expressed themselves with an honesty that is many times missing in parts of the world where the camera has become ubiquitous; where everyone has one and where images are made endlessly.
This little girl is without access to traditional education, lives in an area where the government schools are considered so useless that the parents would rather keep their children at home. So my host from last year has set this school up for almost 200 children, and has begun teaching the basics of the Koran to the children of this community.
He yearns to also present a traditional curriculum to the student body and has the resolve to do so, now working on the financial end of the equation to hire more teachers. Yet he needs help regarding a curriculum, teaching materials and so on. We are working on arranging a relationship with another foundation whose strength happens to be this man's weakness, and whose presence would present a strong Hindu-Muslim unity in an area sorely missing such.
I hope to make the connection in the near future, to bring such a curriculum to this village and to see such unity flourish for the sake of all involved, especially this beautiful student.
Note: Anyone interested in helping in this matter may feel free to contact me at any time and through this forum of course.
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