I am writing from Bangalore, India where I recently visited Sneha Care Home, a “home away from home” for HIV infected children. Sneha Care Home is a part of the Sneha Charitable Trust, an initiative by the Brothers and Priests of the Roman Catholic Order of St. Camillus who are collectively known as Camillians. Today’s International Red Cross originates from the work of Camillians.
The purpose of the visit was to listen, observe and exchange ideas between Sneha Care Home staff, volunteers and students. Over the course of four days, I was fortunate to gain valuable classroom teaching experience with children between the ages of 6 to 13; observe extracurricular activities such as student clubs; introduce new physical education elements emphasizing dynamic stretching and exchange ideas with Brothers, Priests and staff.
Sneha Care Home orphans Playing Sports
At the end of my stay, I met with Father Mathew Perumpil, Director of the Sneha Care Home who just returned from a visit to the USA. He spoke at length of macro and micro issues and we brainstormed together about ways in which Sneha Care Home may have a wider impact in addressing HIV AIDS at the state, national and international levels. Overall, it was a very inspiring visit and again challenged me to find ways of connecting the dots with my experiences in the field of social enterprise.
Explorations in Sport for Development and Peace 