My move towards girls and education

Im posting this just for my own self to have all my thoughts in one place on the topic. Feel free to read anyway. I'd be flattered.

My current passion/calling lies in educating girls. It's ever evolving and I imagine my feelings might be redefined in some years. In fact, the current state has come as a result of about 15 years of experiences, some random, some not. I think I'll do this bullet point style

1. It started when I was 19 in 1994 when I got to know an Indian family very closely for about 5 years. India and its culture was now slightly on my radar.

2. In 1996, I decided to volunteer for Action Aids. My motivation was Jesus. I was inspired how he always moved towards the outcast. In my mind at the time, the person with AIDS was an outcast of our society.

3. In 2004, I joined Vineyard Community Church in West Philadelphia. The church has played a pivotal role in my life as I was just starting to think more and more about the poor, which is something that is on the Pastors heart.

4. In April of 2005, I traveled to India for the first time, for 10 days. My interest in India remained from earlier and increased as I started reading about the caste system and 'untouchables'. These were now the outcasts that I was choosing to seek out as I attempted to follow Jesus. While there, I didn't experience the caste system much. I did however, have an amazing opportunity to spend a day in a slum area that changed my life. It was around two girls, maybe 11 and 12, who lived in a shack. They were filled with so much joy as they gave to us even though they had nothing(according to our standards). This day made me realize that what I want to do with my life is be around children from disadvantaged or poor backgrounds. Although it can seem like a hard calling, especially since I prefer to live among the poor, the poor(not regular poor but really poor) have so much joy that being around them makes me feel like I'm with God.

5. In November of 2005, I go to a JFCI(now love146) conference which talks about sex trafficking. During this conference, I felt like God gave me a vision. This was the start of things getting more particular of focusing on not just children but girls.

6. January 2006 - Start at Temple to pursue a degree to become a teacher. I felt like being a teacher is a nice way to put myself in the midst of the stuff. I didn't realize how much a few years later I would come to believe in education as a huge factor in rescuing girls from oppression.

7. In the summer of 2006, I volunteered at a camp that works with children who have HIV/AIDS. Still bent on the outcast thing but now honing in particularly on children. My experience here affirmed to me that I am going in the right general direction.

8. In the summer of 2007, I took a SE Asian geography class. Through this class, I became aware of some of the oppression happening in India to girls and women. One class highlighted an orphanage/hospital that would take baby girls from parents who don't want them. Without this option, the girls might be killed(either through gender selective abortion or infanticide). This moved my heart as well and things were starting to connect more for me from previous experiences - children, girls, oppression, India,

9. In the fall of 2007, I moved into a community house, partly motivated by trying to live more simply and share things. It was such a benefit to my life as I was in the midst of several life changes, The community really helped shape my thoughts around this stuff but also other meaningful things such as going through a really hard breakup and also the death of my Father.

10. In December of 2007, I started researching some possible schools/orphanages in India to go to the following summer. I remember vividly looking at many of the pictures, most of which focused on the education of girls(something very much neglected in India), feeling overwhelmed and repeating the word "Fuck" in my head because I knew what I was looking at was for me and I was to go there.

11. In January of 2008, I went to a photo exhibit at Princeton University entitled Beloved Daughters The focus of this exhibit was girls and women in India who have been abused or oppressed in some way. Surrounding myself with walls of these images and stories, again I felt at home and where God wants me to be.

12. In the summer of 2008, I had the opportunity to go to India with my friend Patti to spend about 5 weeks at an orphanage. A majority of the children at the orphanage were girls, partly because of the previous mentioned neglect thing. We spent time teaching and preaching and I felt so much peace and joy there. One of the highlights of that trip was on the way back we had an opportunity to visit the slum area from when I had first went to India 3 years previous. The two girls who changed my life were there and it was such a joy to see them again.

12. In the summer of 2009, I got married to a woman who has a heart for the poor and for children. She has worked on Native American reservations and currently teaches in West Philadelphia. We are planning to go to India this summer to see some more of what God wants to show us. It's been an awesome ride and I look forward to doing these things with Megan Dougherty


During this journey , I've tried to expose myself to some resources that would continue to move my heart into this direction: These have included the films: Born into Brothers, Trade, and Holly. It has included the books: Three Cups of Tea, Banker to the Poor, and Half the Sky. Much of the data in these books talks not only about education as the key but to focus particularly on girls. There are countless reasons for this, one of which being that woman pour back into community more than men due. As a result, educating women has more of a chance of lessening the effects of poverty. More convincing arguments here in this short video