Caleb Hope Foundation

An Utterly Unique Phenomenon By Susan Seto

June 26, 2010

Love is an utterly unique phenomenon.  Sometimes love is a choice that one makes—a conscious decision to commit to a person or to a cause or to a country.  Other times love just happens – a mysterious element (chemistry?) occurs causing a person to be attracted to someone or something—and from there, love can be built.  The latter of the two happened to me on my trip to India. I was completely taken in by India’s beauty – captivated by the people, the vivid colors, the rich history, and even the chaos.  Here is a brief summary about how India captured my heart.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to go to Bangalore, India on a pioneering trip led by the Caleb Hope Foundation with a team of four incredible individuals.  Although our team was small, we represented the world with our different ethnic backgrounds.  This was an ambitious trip as we sought to work with different populations within Bangalore: from the wealthy and educated sector to the impoverished living in the slums.  This was CHF’s first trip to South India, and we were encouraged and inspired by the individuals and organizations we encountered.

One of the highlights for me during this trip was the opportunity to spend time with some Dalit youth through our work with Baghya – an organization that was birthed a year ago by an amazing woman named Renuka Jeyakumar.  Baghya, which means, “Blessed,” is composed of 72 students that Renuka has offered hope to through educational services.  Our first encounter with the youth (who range in age from 16-24 years old) was on an unforgettable excursion to Nandhi Hills.  Along the hike up the hills, we had to deal with aggressive monkeys and wild dogs – the experience drew us together with some terrifying and humorous moments.

Afterwards we met with the youth two more times.  We gave them an assignment inspired by the Oscar-winning documentary, “Born Into Brothels,” and handed them disposable cameras to take pictures depicting aspects of their lives. A group of boys we termed the “fabulous five” took this project to heart.  They were willing to expose their lives/their stories to us through these pictures.  Some photos spoke of the harsh conditions of the slums, like the corruption that leads to many unfinished (and dangerous) street projects; while others were filled with hope, like ones taken of a local park where children could play.

Bangalore is home to the second largest slum in Asia.  An exciting grassroots movement is building to reach out to this community.  There we met a twenty-one year old man named Gracewin willing to go out on a limb to love the children of these slums.  We also met a young, forward-thinking couple named Prince and Susan who seek to reach out to the disenfranchised, and partner with Gracewin and Renuka to bring hope to the children of the slums.  Caleb Hope Foundation can serve as an outside organization that helps to provide the necessary resources to these groups to transform this particular region of India. It was exciting to dream about how these different individuals could partner together to bring lasting hope and renewal.

Prior to this trip, I wrote a letter to God about my hopes and expectations for this trip.  One of my requests was to “open my eyes to love your people in India,” and that is exactly what happened.  “Let this one week leave an indelible imprint on my life…” were words that came to fruition in the seven days I was in India.  It’s hard to describe, but it seems without any effort on my part, India has left her mark on me and I will be forever changed because of her.  It was a memorable and truly life-changing experience for me.  I thank CFH for giving me this opportunity to serve and be served.