Day 70, Oct. 19

Today was a day I long awaited. Fr. Xavier, the professor of Sociology had promised me a meeting with the principles of an outreach program the University developed for the poor. I had hoped that this academic piece could be sewn on to the cloth that would be a comprehensive solution to a perennial problem. I had spent several weeks witnessing the Catholic Church of India grapple with the ever present scourge of poverty. Most bishops recognized the solution centered on education. Now, I had a chance to listen to what Catholic educators, whose field includes poverty, are doing. From what I heard that morning, they were doing exactly what the bishops thought had to be done. Houston, we have a fit.
Actually, the day began badly. I was supposed to have concelebrated a 6:30 Mass at a convent with Fr. Xavier. He did not show. Only later did I realize that the head o the College’s father passed away on Saturday and was being buried today. Father Xavier, as vice-principal, needed to be at the funeral and not at my meeting. His absence was felt.
The meeting started out with a language problem. I couldn’t understand anyone. They all had doctorates and therefore were fluent in English (the language of higher education in India). Their accents made their words unintelligible to me. After a while, I stopped the session, confessed my difficulty and, taking out a notebook, began to put the input of the group into a logical order. I’m glad I did this. We had more than a problem of accents. They weren’t following each other. I was being bombarded with each professor’s full load which may or may not have related to the others’. My intervention focused us. Everyone there was already enthusiastic. Now, as I showed them my developing chart of what I was hearing, they seemed delighted. I was tracking them. And, it came out that they did want to play a part in a grander scheme to attack the problems that result in continued poverty. That was the final (almost) result of the meeting. The College could call together a meeting of representatives from all the fields involved. This, we hoped, would inspire those attending to see the problem from several points of view and, perhaps, start to develop a comprehensive plan. We’ll see if that goes any farther.
Then, we went out into the field, visiting what they call a slum. This is one of seven to which Loyola sends its students. It was by a river. Having seen slums before, it wasn’t a whole lot different from every other one. It was just a bit more intense. We saw the horrible effects of alcohol causing strife, division and physical abuse to the point of murder. Of course, there were a multitude of medical problems. The problem is certainly multi-dimensional and calls for an inter-disciplinary response.
As the meeting ended, I was handed a proposal that Love & Care grant Loyola funds for a very good project. I said I would hand it on.
With the meeting filling my head with all sorts o possibilities of what could be done, I went gift shopping with Dr. Anthony and ending the day with supper again with he and Jenny. It would be our last time together until he comes to the U.S. for internship.