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The Pathi's were in Colombo this weekend so Madhu slept over last night. She is such a sweetie. We made Dhal and pasta and I helped her with her resume. In the morning, simply out of habit, she ironed my clothes and made my bed! She is used to living in a boarding room with 12 other girls and just 6 beds! And because she has a job while the others are still students she is the one who buys home rice and curry for the other girls to eat.

She is very good at English so I could chat with her ”very well,” as they say. The girls and Nilhu often say, after chatting with me, "oooh, we cover lot." I think they are used to discussing food, family and clothes, not arranged marriage, oppression and corruption. But because I am not here for long I have to cover a lot of ground so I get right in there with the sensitive topics. I know I can't change the culture but if I can give one girl even a spark of insight maybe they will develop a slightly more liberal way of seeing things, just as they have taught me a more united way to see things.

But these girls know that their culture is not the only way, and they know that in some cases it is not the best way, and still they respond to every issue with, “this is our culture.” Sometimes I think it is not unawareness I am fighting but their adamant belief in fate.

I feel like I have made some headway with one girl. Even as a University educated woman she says that it is a woman’s fault if she is sexually assaulted...what was she wearing & why was she walking alone? And if someone is abused by her husband she should be working harder to take away the alcohol and to create a “happy” family. But I think what she says is different from what she believes because I think she knows from experience that the “happy family concept” they teach is more condescending than helpful. She is just afraid to voice her opinion here about that to Sir.

Where many of our Universities teach you about how to challenge authority these teachers are still just coming in & lecturing facts without posing or answering any questions. During class my friend worked at INDECOS and would get filled in by her classmates later. She says she is very lucky to be able to get this job with INDECOS because many people from the village do not have these opportunities. She also had help from her brothers so she is now thinking about helping them as they come from a home with no water or electricity. By the way, not only is she trying to help her school friends, her mother, and her brothers, she is also sponsoring a girl she met from a far away village to go to University because the girl reminded her of herself. There is just no end to the generosity with some folks here.

She is also very eager because I told her if we wrote the story of these girls with pictures I could make a brochure to bring back to Canada to find sponsors. I know through World Vision sponsoring a child is $35 a month because a lot of that is going to the organization but because INDECOS doesn’t take any of the money, supporting these students would only cost $6 a month, or $60.00 for the year!