R.K. Charity Foundation, Bangalore

We learned recently of a group of 45 children in Bangalore, all epileptic, all without easy access to the proper care and treatment they need because they are among the millions of poor and afflicted in India. They live togther in one small facility, and they all sleep curled together on the floor at night.

Life is pretty damn hard in India already; I mean, God, it's hard for us and we're in the top five percentile of wealthy residents in this sprawling city. Even I struggle with the dirt, the heat, the stench of streets with overflowing gutters, the lack of civil service; I can hardly imagine what it is to live here and try to deal with all the human discomforts with literally nothing to speak of in the way of food, clothing, education, support - the programs and services for poor people, particularly disadvantaged children, are few and far between.

We recently visited one of the charities we will be donating our housethings and extra clothes to when we leave the country in less than two months (the other is CUPA - one of a very few animal rights/no kill shelters/medical facilities in Bangalore, let alone India.)

We spoke with Sumathi, the woman who runs the entire show at the R.K. Foundation, covering a list a mile long that must be managed solely on donations.

Sumathi is a simple woman; we found her sitting behind her desk dressed in a t shirt and jeans. She was surrounded by a gaggle of teenage boys, all originally from the street. She told us how these boys help run the office; four of them sat kneeling on the floor sorting clothes for the clothing bank, our own initial donations added to a colorful pile. I was redfaced with a mix of severely overheated joy and shame as one of them brought us each a glass bottle of cold Maaza (mango drink) to sip as we took a lesson from Sumathi and her project.

I have lived in India for over three years and fully intend to leave the place better than I found it - the R.K. Foundation and it's mission for 'Energizing Progress' is the perfect place to invest that intention.

We have already made arrangements for those 45 afflicted children to each have a new mattress to sleep on but the list of needs and the programs that are serviced is endless. A dollar in India equals 45 rupees - and it can go a ridiculously long way toward a ten kg bag of rice or ragi (a local, indigenous grain), a pair of shoes, a mattress, a school book, a vial of insulin....but it is of course, not nearly enough.

India has been something of a nemesis for me, but it has also given me the most precious things in my life: my darling Iranian husband and our little Indian street dog. It is from within India that the concept of karma arises, and keeps tabs on our good deeds and mistakes - this, at least, is one way to help even something out; the incredible disparity between the haves and have nots - a cliche, maybe, but a very real, very sad reality.

It begins and ends with each of us, and I am reminded yet again of the true meaning of gratitude.