Jim and I have arrived at the CORD center in Sidhabari. It is simply stunning. The retreat is set on a hillside overlooking tiered rice paddies, forests and villages with the Himalayas as the backdrop. It is verdant green with Mynah birds chattering away everywhere, cows and goats on the roads along with many dogs and some mighty cute puppies. We've even seen mongoose scampering across the fields and Jim has seen monkeys. They tell us there are leopards as well. We have not seen those.
We spent the day reviewing and visiting what CORD has been doing. This included meeting with the deaf people who create Kangra paintings (beautiful works of art created with fine brushes made of squirrel's hair), meeting and seeing women at looms, visiting the co-op shop and one site that is not working, and then visiting a village on the side of a mountain where we hiked to see composting and looms.
CORD truly touches the very, very poor. They have changed the lives of many women in villages but it has taken years to do this. It is emotionally moving and powerful to see some of their results and think about being part of it. Getting people to be self-reliant and empowering especially women is not easy and takes lots of time and effort but is core to what they are trying to do.
Dr. Didi is the visionary leader and inspiration for CORD. She started 25 years ago working to establish health care for villages and quickly realized doing this meant doing so much more. She had to deal with societal issues, political items, resource constraints, a very rugged environment and many other daunting obstacles. We've been privileged to spend time with her and get to know what a truly gracious, incredible woman she is. Her spirit in embodied in CORD and manifests itself through her genuinely, kind and gracious people.
Will post photos when I figure out how to....
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