Exporting Youth and Energy

My age has become very obvious to me in India during this trip. I am travelling with two twenty-somethings. Michael Shipe and Jennifer Reeves. We work all day in the villages, ride long disty bumpy roads, visit with tribal leaders and elders and work with artisans on products, production, etc...and do business over breakfast, lunch and dinner... yet they still they have the energy to go out to a 9:00pm "Bollywood" movie. I very vaguely remember that time. But seeing our Bajalia work and working with our Artisans from their perspective has been energizing, enlightening and exciting. When I am on the field I get to do what I do best, and I can see their heart for this work. I think mobilizing more twenty somethings for this work will be one of the most important tasks I do for BTC and the artisans as we go into the future, and if they are anything like Michael and Jennifer we will be in very good and capable hands. They are two amazing people and each have their gifts and will be a huge asset to our work. Michael has had several opportunities to use his MBA in International business and I see the Indian partners light up and receive him with authority when I tell them of his studies. That goes very far here as few people in the Non-profit world have this type of education, and it is so very needed. And Jennfer has an awesome eye and her creativity is astounding. She really has a talent for retail and knowing what she likes and loves the villages. I sent her out to interview tribal leaders of a new village we are planning to work in and she did an amazing on camera interview and met with artisans, leaders etc. Her "Walmart" family ties (dad and grandmother) would be oh so proud of her. She did comment at our lunch yesterday as we visited a retail store that one of the NGO's opened and began discussing retail space, rental, store design and average ticket that it was like Thanksgiving with her family with Indian curry added.