Some time ago Dave and I met Banri, the principal of the Inclusive school started by the KJP, a church body we have worked with many times.  I was especially interested because my daughter is a special education teacher.  Banri had done an incredible job of replicating equipment for special needs children with very little to work with.  We met again when Dave spoke at a Disaster Preparedness conference. Meghalaya (the state we live in) is on a major tectonic plate convergence.  Banri was one of the particpants.  After Dave's presentation she told me "I want one of those for my children".

One year later the group from Stanley KS returned bringing two purifiers, one for the village on the Bhutan border and one that had been donated by the family of Lance Hodges.  Our project on the Bhutan border took most of the time they had so we had to designate a project for the Hodges family purifier.  As we walked to a nearby cafe the last night I asked Lance if he thought it would be okay to install it at the school.  To my amazement he told me that was the perfect place.  He said his mother and sister believed they had been led to donating a system.  He then told me that another sister, Barbara Hodges, was one with "different abilities" herself.  

When we informed Banri that the Hodges family had donated a system for her school she had to call me back to be sure she had heard me correctly!  As it happened, the weekend before our installation local businesses sponsored the first, "Run Shillong Run"  with the proceeds going to the school for a new building.  Banri and the staff and students of the Mairang Inclusive School know that prayers were answered in a big way.  Seven thousand people participated in the run opening the door for construction to begin.  And, the staff and children can move forward knowing they are drinking safe, clean water!

India Mairang School