2017 Colorado YMAD Expedition

Priyanka!

On Oct 25, 2017, at 10:03 PM, Lisa Palmer wrote:

Hi Marce & Tracie!

I have GREAT news! I just talked to Raj. He said Priyanka went to Chandigarh for her initial appointment 2 days ago, and will be going back for the first surgery on Friday. That might solve the problem entirely, but she may need to go back later for a more expensive/extensive surgery. They won’t know until she heals from the first one.

YAY! Thanks for getting this going! We can make a big difference in one sweet little girl’s life!
❤️ Lisa

Raj sent this today with the "after" picture below,
"This is how Priyanka looks now ater her first eye surgery. She has to go one more time for follow up & may require another surgery in her left eye."

It is heart-warming to see how our efforts with YMAD were able to get her some help. Thank you Raj!

After a very successful Expedition we are headed back to Colorado. We are scheduled to arrive in Denver at 4:25 Sunday afternoon. We'd love to see as many family and friends as possible at the airport to welcome these teens home. They've worked incredibly hard and done a lot of good for the children in the villages of Bandal, Chansarri, and Peccha India.

The teens are doing an incredible job in their schools! The bus ride back to the hotel after a long day of teaching is full of laughter, stories from the day, and suggestions to help each other be more effective. Tonight they enjoyed some much deserved downtime making bracelets for the kids in their schools, experimenting with new hair styles, and just hanging out! For more information on the Expedition and the teens activities visit our blog at www.ymad.org Our Expedition is Rangeeli Shuruata.

We are in Seoul! Fourteen hours in the air down and nine to go! We should arrive in Delhi around 3:30AM Monday morning local time.

Thanks to all for supporting our 2017 YMAD Expedition to Himachal Pradesh, India.

We are gearing up to start our adventure on Saturday May 27, 2017 --- a few members of our team will blog every day about their experiences, and we appreciate and encourage comments / questions to which we will be able to respond the following day.

You can find our Expedition's blog on the YMAD website here:

http://www.ymad.org/blogs?category=2017+Op%3ARangeeli+Shuruata

Early on in our YMAD training, our teens came up with the name of "Colorful Beginnings" for our first ever YMAD expedition from Colorado -- which was (very) loosely translated to be "Rangeeli Shuruata" in Hindi. The idea being this would be the beginning of many more successful Expeditions from Colorful Colorado.

We are starting now to recruit teens ( Juniors and Seniors ) for the 2018 Expedition. This year's trip was viewed as a "Trial Run" to see if Denver had enough interest in participating. We did get a lot of interested Teens, not all were able to participate this year, so YMAD is holding off on the commitment to support a 2018 Expedition from Denver until we again muster enough interest.

If you are ( or know ) an awesome teen from the greater Denver area, who is interested in participating in 2018, please have them voice their interest and commitment on the YMAD website here:

http://www.ymad.org/teen-applications

Note the 2018 Denver dates, and fill out the "Contact Denver" form to voice support for the 2018 Expedition.

Do you know a Colorado teen going into their Junior or Senior year in 2017? Applications for YMAD's 2018 Spring Expedition are currently being taken at www.ymad.org This is an incredible opportunity for teens to learn leadership skills and provide meaningful service to underprivileged women and children in Northern India.

Index Leadership Training

YMAD Leadership Value #6 "Compassion"

"Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well, can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity". -Pema Chodron

Great weekend with the YMAD teens. We learned the power of verbal gratitude and the importance of living a life filled with compassion toward our fellowmen. We also had a lot of fun with our talent show!

Packing Day was a success - 100 Education Kits, 100 Hygiene Kits, 50 Safe Delivery Kits, and teaching supplies packed for India

One of our Expedition Team members! A Junior from Chaparral High in Parker. Eric is an incredible young man!!

YMAD is all about providing the tools and creating an environment where teens can become the best version of themselves.

We love this family!! Raj is our liaison in India. He manages the logistics for all YMAD expeditions, works with the government to find the schools we work in, and is with us 24 hours a day to ensure we have everything we need throughout the trip. He is incredible and these expeditions wouldn't happen without his continual efforts and the support of his wife Nandini and their daughter Shelley.