On a visit to the nearby Brahmakumari Hospital in Abu Road, some 60km away from the school, we heard an antipodean accent hark out, “Are you OK, guys?” We’d been visiting to try to get a couple of our unwell teachers seen by doctors, but the voice was that of Steven, the manager of the hospital.

Since then we’ve formed a strong bond with Steven, who has been nothing but generous toward us and the whole team in India. With Steven’s help over the last couple of years, the Brahmakumaris have run a couple of health camps in the community and we hope they will also run some some eye clinics at some point.

Though a couple of camps doesn’t sound like a lot, and it certainly isn’t enough in an area with a non-functioning government health system, it’s a positive start. The burden of disease in the area probably represents the single largest economic burden on the community, with massive out of pocket health care costs ensuring people have little possibility of becoming socially and economically mobile; constantly remaining in poverty.

The partnership with Steven and the Brahmakumaris is also representative of our approach to integrated and holistic development extending beyond just education and using our capacity to represent the community and use the school as a hub for holistic development.