A Letter To My Supporters

To My Family and Friends,

I wanted to take some time to thank you for supporting me during my time with Oasis India. I am humbled and encouraged to see your names on my financial update each month.  It means more to me than I could express with ink and paper. You’ve put a roof over my head and food in my stomach. Thank you so much.

I also wanted to tell you what it means to me to be out here, doing this work.

Part of my job is writing the stories of the men, woman, boys and girls who come through our various programs. These stories all begin the same way, steeped in some kind of tragedy.

"A 13 year old girl was sold to a brothel by her uncle."

"A young man joined one of the local gangs."

"An infant was born with its mother's HIV already in its blood."

About halfway through each story though, I get to write the words ‘but then’ and, my friends, they are the sweetest words to write. 

"A 13 year old girl was sold to a brothel by her uncle, but then Oasis was able to rescue her and invite her into our shelter where healing could begin."

"A young man joined one of the local gangs, but then he enrolled in our graphic design class and now he's graduated and has a job that brings independence and dignity."

"An infant was born with its mother's HIV already in its blood, but then it was brought to our shelter and received much needed medication and now it will grow up and have life."

These two words change everything. They are a new beginning, a reversal of fate. Within them is a hope burning like a flame underwater. It should not be able to endure in these stories, each one so overwhelmed with chaos and pain, and yet there it is: an impossible light, refusing to die.

I see God in these two words. I see Love moving and acting and fighting more fiercely than ever before. Just to witness this has been an indescribable experience.

Thank you for supporting me and for joining me in this endeavor.

Though we are 9000 miles apart, we work side by side.

With humility and gratitude,

Daniel Tozier

Monsoon season begins on a Thursday evening as we gather on the rooftop after work. The storm appears as a grey wall east of our building,  but within 15 minutes the clouds have stretched out and over us, a low covering reaching the sun that sets in the west. 

Massive gusts of wind sweep through, kicking up the dust of India and buildings on the skyline, once visible in detail, are now nothing more than blurry silhouettes. Socks and shirts fly off the clothes line and fall slowly into neighboring lot. Black clouds soar overhead like invading zeppelins.

The air around us changes and then it begins to rain. A trickle and first but within two minutes the sky is furiously pouring itself out onto the earth. A wall of water surrounds us. I've never seen anything like this before.

The sun takes cover in a different hemisphere but the rain continues falling with persistent intensity.

Lightning begins flashing every five seconds, illuminating the wall of clouds. When a big bolt hits it refracts throughout the entire cloud cover, lighting the night sky up so brightly it stings your eyes.

By the time this night's storm is over 50 trees will have been uprooted throughout Bangalore.

I wonder how this city has any trees left.