more practically

More practically. This is what is about to go down. The Kati, Katie and I...or as I refer to us...Katrati...will be going to India at the end of this year to lay some groundwork for this organization. There is a lot of steps that needs to be taken in India once we have the organizational framework set up here. We will have to go through the process of registering all over again in the state that we will be working in. Fortunately we have an amazing group of Indian friends overseas who believe in what we want to do and are just as excited as we are about getting this project off the ground. And this is all happening fast. A week ago this was only an idea. Now we are incorporated, are proceeding with getting non-profit status, and have friends in India looking at properties for us.
This is what will happen once we are in India. We will be meeting with local orphanages, community leaders, government officials, trafficking victims, and commercial sex workers to network and perform a needs assessment for our program. While we are creating a clear-cut plan for our work we want to adopt an approach that can adapt to the local needs and issues that of our community. Many development/aid organizations frameworks are contrived outside the country's borders and without sufficient understanding of local cultures and issues.
The plan for December:
Perform needs assessment in New Delhi and Calcutta for our children's rehabilitation center.
Visit and work with several centers, orphanages, and red light districts....take lots of notes
Drink my first real Indian chai tea
Meet and network with local community and government leaders
Visit communities and decide on a site for our first center
Look at and possibly purchase property
Begin organization registration in India
do some filmwork and photography so we can show our work in India back to our friends in America
Change lives

After this the Kati(e)(s) and I will be returning to the US to make preparations for a more permanent move to India. I will be completing the last of my PhD coursework (yay). Then we will return to India as soon as possible to oversee the program. We have set the goal, and I think realistically (although idealistically) at having a center running with 40 to 50 children within a year of startup (September 10th). We've got a lot of ideas for this program that I'm completely stoked about and to be quite honest, almost giddy about, that I will hash out next time. Lastly, we have some of the most amazing friends in India and the United States that anyone could possibly imagine who have really rallied around us and this cause and quite honestly blown our minds. We could not do any of this without you. We're so psyched about what is happening we haven't been getting much sleep the last two weeks. Seriously. Which reminds me. Its after midnight. Peace and love.