Our very own Elizabeth Davis is finally home from her trip to India! She made the long journey to hire two new directors to manage our orphanages. Suresh Mehta will be living at Sooch Village, and Subash Koul will oversee Rourkela and Bhawani. Their focuses will be to further the implement the standards and programs necessary to ensure that our children are receiving the best in terms of education, health and support.

Elizabeth tells us that Mr. Mehta is very much a grandfather-figure, with all the love and wisdom that comes along with it. He has two daughters and one of them has adopted two daughters herself. He tutors his children and grandchildren, as well as other children in his community. He attended the India School of Mines and has 50 years of administrative and managerial experience.

Mr. Koul has held positions at the National Human Rights Association India and the SOS Children’s Villages of India, which is an extension of an international organization that began after World War Two to house orphaned children in Austria. The MF orphanages are very much adhere to the SOS model, but with small changes to meet the needs and focus of our children in India. Mr. Koul has degrees in engineering, business management, business administration and psychological counseling.

Both Mr. Mehta and Mr. Koul will start on March 1^st and we are so excited to have them! What great additions to the TMF team!

Elizabeth also pointed out how excellent the nurse and social worker are at Sooch. We love hearing updates like that and making sure our children are receiving the highest quality of care.

While at Sooch Village, Elizabeth and Katelyn worked on various projects together, like updating the photos for the TMF database. Elizabeth also snapped some photos of Katelyn (our intern) mowing a running path along the side of the village. The mower was just a “spinning blade”, as Katelyn puts it, so the task was somewhat labor-intensive! No problem for a former marathon runner, though.

The housemothers dressed up in the uniforms – yellow and orange saris – and waited patiently for Katelyn to take their pictures. Some of the candid shots of the mothers and the children are particularly heart-rending. There’s so much love in their faces!

On her last day there, Elizabeth, Katelyn and Suresh (from Sooch Village, not to be confused with Mr. Mehta!) were treated to a meal at a hotel buffet. Elizabeth was especially excited that meat was on the menu! And now Elizabeth is back in Austin, safe and sound, with pictures to share and a pile of work beaconing her.