Be the Change: June 2015

Women-to-Women Volunteer Session Dates Announced!

Monday, June 22, 2015
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"What a marvelous experience!"

What a marvelous experience it was to return to Rising Star Outreach after 7 years. This past April my 12-year-old son Sam and I spent the last week of a 3 month tour of Asia at Rising Star Outreach’s campus outside Chennai, India. It was a gift to be there and have an opportunity to serve and connect with people in a real way, which we hadn’t had an opportunity to do during this journey until this point. We had seen and done incredible things throughout the ten countries we had visited but nothing touched our hearts or was more memorable than our experience at Rising Star.

Our first trip to Rising Star Outreach was in 2008 and came as a result of me searching to find a humanitarian trip where our family could serve be reminded of how blessed we were. I wanted to travel in a whole new way where we weren’t just seeing the world but were interacting and in some small way making a difference. The stars aligned, and I ended up coming to Rising Star Outreach with 22 of my family members back in 2008. It was the most memorable trip we had ever taken as a family. After seeing what the vision of Becky Douglas, Amy Antonelli and Padma Venkataraman has become, I genuinely feel that this organization is divinely inspired and that through the service of many the future of generations of leprosy affected people is being changed.

The stars of the organization are the students at the Perry Matriculation School. To see the change in these children after 7 years is a testament to the effectiveness of the school. The new curriculum, the volunteer tutoring, and the extra programs and clubs are all working in strengthening these students. They are not only smart and nearly fluent in English, but also confident and talented. It was exciting to work with them during our volunteer tutoring sessions and see how much they are learning and how much their English has improved. It was a treat to be able to play with them and spend time with them during story time.

It was exciting to see how the medical program of Rising Star Outreach has grown. The new medical clinic they have on campus, along with the reliable vans and doctors and nurses they have on staff, allow Rising Star Outreach to more reliably serve their students and the students' families in the colonies miles outside the Rising Star Outreach campus. What a humbling experience to join the medical clinics to wash and care for the feet of those with physical ailments associated with leprosy. What a blessing it was to feel of their gratitude and experience their bright spirits as we served them.

We spent a day working in the fields planting trees and moving rocks for the new gardens that will serve the community and supply fresh fruits and vegetables to Rising Star Outreach. It felt good to work alongside other volunteers and locals building friendships through hard work.

On our last day as we toured the largest leprosy colony in the area. We had visited last time we were in India, so it was incredible to see the effects of the micro-grants and community support that Rising Star Outreach has provided. It was jaw dropping. This community of almost 400 people is now actively employed with help from the micro-grants. They also now have clean streets due to the permanent trash bins that have been built, a working clean water source, a community building where they can meet and congregate, and sanitary toilet facilities that improve health and hygiene. As we met and visited with people during our walkabout it was just amazing that we could not only see but also genuinely feel the difference in this colony.

I am grateful for the opportunity to return to Rising Star Outreach and am so glad to have brought our youngest son, Sam. What a blessing it is as a mother to see him find joy in serving and building friendships and memories that will always be a part of him. It has been inspiring to see how as a result of the support and efforts of so many, Rising Star Outreach has grown. It has not only lifted those that have been considered “untouchable” but provided a way for them to regain their self respect and stand on their own. Thank you for letting volunteers be part of this amazing work and for another most memorable experience.

- Karen Marriott and Sam Rafferty

Contact Heidi Lelle to learn how you can become a volunteer with Rising Star Outreach or share your volunteer stories on our blog at: hlelle@risingstaroutreach.org.

Saturday, June 13, 2015
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"There are no words to describe the level of happiness and love I feel everyday when I am at Rising Star Outreach."

Monica Bertha, a volunteer who has been to Rising Star Outreach's India campus many times, shares her feelings of joy to visit the campus and colonies again:

This spring I returned to Rising Star Outreach for the third time. Even though each time there are new kids, new buildings, and new directors, it’s the same feeling of pure happiness every second of the day. Going to Rising Star Outreach, I expected to spend my time helping and changing the lives of others. I didn’t realize until I was there, though, that those gorgeous children and loving leprosy affected people were really changing ME. I know it sounds cliché, but I don’t know if there’s a better feeling in the world than holding the children’s little hands or wiping the grateful tears of the face of a beautiful woman who has no fingers or toes.

My favorite lady in one of the leprosy colonies is named Saral. It is so amazing how love speaks no language. I know about four Tamil words, yet in a span of thirty minutes I loved Saral as much as a life long friend. After I helped her walk through the different hygiene stations, we sat and she would rub my face and repeat my name smiling. Saral was so happy, yet she lived with almost nothing. Saral, and every child at Rising Star Outreach, just made me realize how much I had at home, and how little I needed to be overwhelmingly joyous.

One of my main highs of everyday was having dozens of kids running towards me yelling, “Auntie Auntie! Come play!” and spending hours laughing the day away. Every day there were so many kids holding my hands, giving me hugs, yelling my name, and quickly stealing my heart.

Though I am happy at home, there are no words to describe the level of happiness and love I feel everyday when I am at Rising Star Outreach. The experiences I’ve been given are memories I will treasure forever.

Contact Heidi Lelle to learn how you can become a volunteer with Rising Star Outreach or share your volunteer stories on our blog at: hlelle@risingstaroutreach.org.

Thursday, June 11, 2015
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"I will be returning as soon as I possibly can."

I first expressed my desire to work in the developing world about a year ago. I first heard about Rising Star Outreach a couple of months ago through Amy Antonelli, a friend of my father's, and I knew immediately that it was exactly what I wanted to do. India had been a place I had desperately wanted to visit for years, so naturally I was ecstatic when Dad said that with Amy and Sally's help, we were going! In fact, India was all I talked about the months leading up to our trip.

The daily routine at Rising Star Outreach consisted of breakfast followed by morning conclave, where the daily events and announcements were issued and discussed. Each day, the group was split into three different smaller groups, each of which were assigned a different area of work; education, medical care, and community welfare. Everyone would work until the early afternoon each day, and then each group would return to the Elephant House for rest. I'm sure I speak for most when I say that playtime was the highlight of the day. It is time designated for hanging out and playing with all of the kids from the school.

To say that I connected with all of the children would be an understatement. I fell absolutely head over heals in love with every single child. All they wanted to do was to love you and play with you. The love that circulates the playground and the positive energy that is present is truly unbelievable. I feel so incredibly honored to have been given the privilege to love those kids and connect with them. Everyday a knew face would approach me and hold my hand and take me around showing me everything they were proud of. I realized that the volunteers were in fact their substitute families. Story time was the most emotional and special time of the day. At 9:00 in the evening, the children would get ready for bed and the volunteers would go over and tell them stories until bed time. I left the children in tears too many times to remember because I had experienced such love and affection from every single child. Saying goodbye to the kids was one of the hardest things for me to do. Every time I would start to tear up I would be stopped by "Aunty! No tears!" I think about those beautiful faces every single day.

My trip to India came at a perfect time for me. I was lost in the pressures of school and the confusion of being a teenager transitioning into an adult. I didn't know what I wanted out of life and was slowly losing motivation. Being in India and being surrounded by some of the most kind and caring people really helped me realize who I was and the kind of person I wanted to be. I found that through helping others, I was also helping myself. My life changed the day I arrived at Rising Star Outreach. My outlook on my life has been completely turned upside down. I feel so grateful to have been given the opportunity. Thank you, Rising Star Outreach, for everything. I will be returning as soon as I possibly can.

-Lydia Crabb

Contact Heidi Lelle to learn how you can become a volunteer with Rising Star Outreach or share your volunteer stories on our blog at: hlelle@risingstaroutreach.org.