This was an absolutely heart-warming, eye-opening experience that I cannot recommend enough. Anwesha was a great guide- helping to translate, answer all my questions, and provide background on the program and how it has helped the community. The women of the village welcomed me with open arms into their community, showed me how they weave their rugs (they even patiently tried to teach me some basics), how they make bangles from clay, gave me mehendi (henna) and cooked me an amazing lunch. I was so impressed by their work, especially the designs they’ve created on their own- these women are truly inspiring artists. Another thing that struck me was how happy they are- I joked to Anwesha that no one at my job ever looks that happy to be working! I honestly wished I had a whole day at the village to spend more time getting to know the women. They were some of the kindest, most open hearted people I met during my travels. If you are at all considering this experience, I can’t recommend it enough. I felt uplifted afterwards, knowing that progress is being made to empower women in India, and I am grateful to have had this opportunity to see it firsthand. I will come back, and hopefully I will have learned some Hindi by then! Thank you to Shanti for hosting me, her daughter for cooking me an amazing lunch, Anwesha for guiding me and to all the women for sharing their time with me. 💜