By John Marshall | Project Leader
This past November, I had the true pleasure of visiting many of the current and former students of the Mission: University program. Before a stop at the farm for a quick week-long visit and then continuing south for some Teach Her work, I spent two days in Dehradun to check in on these amazing kids.
The highlight was a meal we all shared. All totalled, 22 farm kids got together for dinner at a roof-top restaurant. (Former M:U student Rosey set the whole thing up. Great job, girl!) I’ve eaten a lot of great meals in my life all over the world, but this was without a doubt my favorite meal ever.
Just seeing the kids showing up, one at a time or in small groups, coming from school or from work, dressed up for a party…it was beautiful. I’ve known all of them since 2010, since they were all young kids, and now here they were, making their way in the world. It’s a simple thing, I suppose; we all grow up—but to see them all out in the world as independent adults…I loved it.
The meal itself was unlike any large meal I’ve ever attended. I never once spoke to a waiter or had a waiter speak to me. I never ordered anything. After a prayer and instructions to order whatever they wanted, kids just ordered a few things here and a few things there. We shared plates. Appetizers. Got more if it was good. Tried something else if not. Changed seats. Took loads of pictures. Told stores. Talked for hours. Changed seats again. Caught up. More food arrived. More drinks. Hours passed.
We left around 11, five and a half hours after I first got there. I never even saw the bill. Some of the boys picked it up and paid. I paid them back later. Then most of us walked back to an apartment (recently purchased by Roma and Clifford), and hung out until late in the evening.
My take away from all this, other than: I love these kids…is that the Mission: University program is working. Graduates are getting better jobs than they otherwise would without degrees. They are growing in confidence. They are making us all proud. Not everyone is settled just yet; life takes time for some kids no matter where they’re from. But they are the living, smiling proof that this idea—the Mission: University program that you have all helped make possible—is changing lives.
Wish you could have been there.
By Clifton Shipway | Deputy Director
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