2018 Gomia report
by Tom Riddle
In early March of 2018, I made my third trip to Gomia, in India's Jharkhand State. This time I went as a computer consultant to teach Adobe Photoshop. I was invited to do this by Sister Louise Mary, who was interested in learning Photoshop and hopes to open a computer-based vocational training school one day.
The class was a great success. As the class ended the students gave me the shirt that you see in the class photo and they gave Louise a sari.
While I was there the other sisters of ASK were all extremely busy. That week there was a group of lay women visiting from faraway Gujarat. They were interested in observing the small loans project that Sister Stella runs. And there were other guests as well. Somehow, I was made to feel comfortable and always felt well taken care of.
I was able to observe World TB Day there. It is particularly important in Gomia because so many people suffer from tuberculosis. Mining the coal and cooking it is extremely dirty and dangerous work and of course, conducive to tuberculosis.
Unfortunately, I had to leave just weeks before the new health care center was to be dedicated but I was able to observe some of the finishing touches as they were put on the center as well as take some pictures that will give donors a sense of the facility.
The new health care center seems to be very well built, the rooms get plenty of ventilation, and it should be reasonably easy to maintain.
A few things in the healthcare center need more work but there are plans to finish off all of the little details that always are missed in the initial construction.
I remain very optimistic about the program there. The sisters are well organized, frugal, and, from the beginning to the end, have the best interests of the people they serve in mind.
The class was a great success. As the class ended the students gave me the shirt that you see in the class photo and they gave Louise a sari.
While I was there the other sisters of ASK were all extremely busy. That week there was a group of lay women visiting from faraway Gujarat. They were interested in observing the small loans project that Sister Stella runs. And there were other guests as well. Somehow, I was made to feel comfortable and always felt well taken care of.
I was able to observe World TB Day there. It is particularly important in Gomia because so many people suffer from tuberculosis. Mining the coal and cooking it is extremely dirty and dangerous work and of course, conducive to tuberculosis.
Unfortunately, I had to leave just weeks before the new health care center was to be dedicated but I was able to observe some of the finishing touches as they were put on the center as well as take some pictures that will give donors a sense of the facility.
The new health care center seems to be very well built, the rooms get plenty of ventilation, and it should be reasonably easy to maintain.
A few things in the healthcare center need more work but there are plans to finish off all of the little details that always are missed in the initial construction.
I remain very optimistic about the program there. The sisters are well organized, frugal, and, from the beginning to the end, have the best interests of the people they serve in mind.