Message from the president

Summer 2020

In this age of endless video conference calls, I thought I’d start by answering two icebreaker questions I’ve heard in various Zoom meetings.

1. What have you learned during the pandemic?

My list is long . . .  

Walking: It turns out there are many long, beautiful – and almost empty – trails in the parks of Washington, D.C.

Transforming: I knew how good Sambhali Trust was at its core mission of empowering women and girls in innovative and effective ways. I also knew how hard it is for founder Govind Rathore to turn away those in need. So I wasn’t surprised when Sambhali Trust embarked on its emergency response to COVID-19 in the rural Thar Desert. 

What I learned was how brilliantly the Sambhali Trust team would be at reinventing the organization during a crisis – quickly turning into an efficient and effective relief organization, reaching over 1100 families, providing health information, preventing hunger, and keeping hope alive. Under harsh conditions, surveys were developed to determine the need, supplies were procured, teams were deployed. When the lockdown lifted another survey determined ongoing need. Read more about this impressive effort here. 

2. Name something that has brought you joy during the pandemic.

Here again, I am fortunate my list is long. And even within Sambhali, I have a hard time choosing just a few things to mention.

Graduating 

In June, some of the girls came back to the Sheerni Boarding Home to take their all-important board exams. In July, the good news arrived: the two graduating students, Manya and Saanvi,* passed their 12th class exams — which less than a third of all students do. They didn’t just pass, they passed “First Division” or in U.S. parlance “A”! I can imagine two of the biggest smiles as they learned this news. But not just their smiles, the smiles of all of the girls from the Sheerni Boarding Home as well as their tutors and housemother, the smiles of every Sambhali Trust staff member and volunteer and, across the many miles, all of us at Sambhali U.S. and at the other international organizations that support the Trust’s work. When they were born 18 years ago, the path ahead had them married by now, mothers by now, and barely literate. As I write this they are taking computer classes at Sheerni as they wait to begin college.

Invading 

A few weeks ago my home was invaded by a herd of elephants and camels and horses.  It is sheltered by beautiful scarves. Sambhali logo pins huddle together like women from the Graduate Sewing Center sitting in a circle sharing their lives and their stories. And gorgeous photo frames stand proud — each its own story of color and creativity.

A box arrived from India with an order from the Sambhali Boutique I’d made while I was volunteering at Sambhali Trust last winter – a time of hope and progress. In it were items I’d bought from the regular stock at the Boutique and items Kavita Bihal, who manages the Graduate Sewing Center, and I had developed together. Shortly after I left India in mid-March the once busy Graduate Sewing Center became a large deserted room – no needles flying, no sisterhood bringing strength. In June, some of the sewing tutors were able to return and a few weeks later the box arrived at my door. Each item is beautiful, but beyond its physical beauty, each brings the vision of the threads of Sambhali slowly coming back to life. I’m in awe of how in these difficult times the women of Sambhali are so able to create beauty and demonstrate love through their needles. Each item in the box is a treasure and a monument to perseverance. 

Zooming 

The Sambhali U.S. Board held its fourth meeting in mid-July. It could well have been a meeting in which we dwelled on all the understandable reasons that we couldn’t do this or that during such a terrible year. Instead, my biggest challenge chairing the meeting was how to keep things moving on schedule with all that is going on.

We were joined by Ginka Poole, our Social Media Manager, and Dina Baker, who put together our Communications Strategy Plan. We could have spent our whole meeting talking about these two key efforts to grow our organization and our ability to support the programs of Sambhali Trust. But we needed time to talk about the progress – and challenges – in areas from volunteer recruitment and engagement to finances and fundraising – as well as to celebrate having raised funds for our COVID-19 emergency grant. What an amazing group of talented, passionate, and smart people who are there to stand with the women and girls of Sambhali no matter what.

Rising During Hard Times 

Yes, moments of discovery and joy, but no getting around how hard these times are for everyone. Sadly, one of the many things we hold in common with the staff, women, and children of Sambhali Trust is that, as in the United States, the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase in India at a terrifying pace.  

The future is uncertain but we head towards it with great faith in the Sambhali Trust team and how they are navigating that uncertainty. We are impressed by their thoughtfulness and excellent stewardship of resources. Plans provide for reopening each type of program as it can be done safely, using the time until then to train key staff on skills to make the programs even stronger, and conserving funds for when they can be used most effectively to empower the women and girls of Sambhali. Two of the programs Sambhali U.S. is currently funding: the SOS Helpline and the Sheerni Boarding Home, are currently operating. Two others: the Fatima Empowerment Center and Fatima Primary Education Center, cannot reopen yet given space constraints and the need for social distancing. In response, the Sambhali U.S. Board has developed a plan to provide the maximum flexibility to allow donations to be redirected either to respond to new emergency needs or to other programs as they are able to reopen

We are all tested in different ways during these hard times. I’m pleased to report on how Sambhali Trust and Sambhali U.S. are rising to the challenge.