New School Advisors

Jory and Jarrett Vaucher arrived in India on September 1st, childhood friends of Scott and Kristen Mulhern ( the previous administrators) and have officially taken over as school administrators until the beginning of March. Jarrett Vaucher, graduated in June from Western Washington University (WWU) with a BA in International Business. Jory Vaucher is following right behind his older brother, also a business student at WWU with a focus on Marketing. Jory is undertaking an Independent study course – Non Profit strategy - that the Dean of the Marketing department and he developed. This will enable Jory to spend 2/3 of his senior year in India with OFI.

Both, Jarrett and Jory share a passion for Jesus, His global church and business development. The glorious fact is that these are not mutually exclusive. Business, implemented and maintained appropriately is a catalyst for positive change in the developing world. Blessed to be working with OFI, it is the culmination of all three.

A timeless truth as many can attest, theory and reality often diverge. Aware of this, Jory and Jarrett seek to use their education and experiences in a variety ways with OFI. Namely, the development of short term and long term strategic goals, formalization of processes and increased operational efficiencies for the schools that OFI operates in the slums of Hyderabad, India.

Jory and Jarrett believe in what OFI is doing. Through education, OFI is breaking the cycle of poverty, changing the lives of the next generation and ultimately, the kingdom life in Jesus.

First Impressions

One month into our journey with OFI in Hyderabad, India our impressions are of joy and excitement. Yet this land of paradoxes and harsh realities make the heart weary from such divergent emotions. For example:

At one moment, you are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude from Indian hospitality, and the next, you are confronted with reality for millions of Indians. The internal tug of war begins, you exit the humble one room house where you just ate, laughed and enjoyed relationship and you climb into your SUV. You depart and glance into your rear view mirror and what do you see? You see that same family of five return to the one room, cement block house with erratic electricity, no running water and a cement floor to take shelter for the night. You wonder is this right? Why such a disparity? The World Bank considers this family to be impoverished yet this family is not. This family was exuberant and full of life. I cannot help but think, then what is life? The amount of possessions we have? Is this where this family derived their joy? Impossible, so where was this joy coming from? Does this redefine our understanding of life? Am I missing the point?

This is a glimpse into the Indian experience and some of the questions life here provokes. One month is behind us now, we cannot imagine what the coming months will hold. With 1.2 billon people in this subcontinent, this country never sleeps, getting from point A to point B is not a nominal task. Roads are plagued with pot holes, pigs, pedestrians and of course the "Holy Cow". You are simply overwhelmed.

To read more about Jarrett's first impressions about India go to www.wordpress.vaucherbrothers.com.