Tragedy struck our campus this past week. It began with beautiful 12 year-old Durga Devi (known to many of us as Anu) getting sick with fever, chills, and nausea. Medical staff treated her normally for stomach flu symptoms, but later in the day she seemed to be slightly disoriented. Dr. Susan immediately took her to the Sri Ramachandra Hospital where she was diagnosed with meningoencephalitis. Doctors put her on IV antibiotics and had around-the-clock care. Our board member, Dr. Anandan, the head of that department at the hospital, took personal charge of her care. In spite of herculean efforts on the part of the hospital staff, Durga’s brain was unable to fight off this pathogen. She passed away two days later.

Two of the other girls in Durga’s group also came down with the same symptoms, but, by the grace of God, both recovered within 24 hours. No other children have been affected.

Durga is fondly remembered by those who knew her. She went by many fun names because she so loved playing make-believe! She especially enjoyed pretending to be one of the Disney Princesses, however she was also known as Tinkerbell and Barbie—but to those who knew her best, she was Anu. Anu was a bundle of energy! She always loved to race volunteers and was one of their favorites because she loved braiding the volunteers’ hair with fragrant flowers.

Anu was very smart and was an excellent student. She did so well in school, in fact, that she tutored other students in English and science. She loved helping others. She was outgoing, fun and very often, the center of attention!

Anu lost her parents early in life. While there was much sorrow as she slipped away from us into the next life, we like to think that, on the other side, there was surely a joyful reunion of Anu with her loving parents. She will be lovingly remembered by her playmates, teachers, housemothers, sponsors, and the volunteers who were all captivated by her innate joy for life.




Becky Douglas

Some of my most cherished memories from India involve being swarmed by gentle hands and eager eyes as I told bedtime stories of my life and adventures back in America. Surprisingly, one of their favorite stories to hear was how I had ran a 45 kilometer race (a marathon) in the pouring, frigid rain with 4o C (38o F) temperatures just three days before I stepped on the plane to meet them in India.

During one story time, I told the boys I was training for one of the world’s largest races, the Boston Marathon. It would have thousands participants, hundreds of thousands of spectators, and some of the fastest runners in the world. I told them about how the winner would receive more than 50 lakhs ($150,000). Although I assured them I wasn’t planning to win, the boys would fantasize about me clinching the race, shouting each of their names to the crowd as I crossed the finish line, and buying all sorts of fancy things with the prize money. At my last story time, the boys confidently told me, “let us know when you win that race.” I was inspired by the confidence they had in me.


The beginning of my long preparation for Boston started in India, with my morning run of a 32 laps (4 miles) around the black gravel track behind the schoolhouse. By 6:30 in the morning it was already 80 degrees and as humid as a sauna. I would walk out to the track with my dry clothes, and return to the Elephant House as wet as a whale, panting like a dog.

At 7:00AM I would teach piano to Vimalkath, one of the 10th standard students. I wouldn’t have much time to recover from my workout, and would frequently show up still sweaty from my run. In October, I received a letter from Vimal in which he reminisced about our fun time during piano lessons and the goodness of our friendship. At the end of the letter, he said “P.S. Good luck on your marathon race”. As I continued my marathon training, I felt inspired by young fan club on the other side of the world.



A few weeks before leaving to Boston, the Rising Star office asked if I would like to wear a Rising Star shirt during the marathon. Running a marathon can be just as much of an emotional, spiritual, and psychological experience as it is a physical battle, so it seems natural to expend your energy in the name of something that has personal meaning to you. I felt honored to run for Rising Star’s incredible mission on April 18th. The night before the marathon, I lay awake for hours in my hotel room without showing a sign of sleepiness. It was the night before the most impactful race of my life! At 1:15 a.m., I was still wide awake. As I lie in bed, I shifted my mind among different things that might lull me to sleep. As I did so, I thought about my journey to this point in my running career. I sifted through memories of my half-marathons in high school and my previous two full marathons.

The tragedy we experienced at Rising Star last month was heartbreaking.  Little 12-year-old Varalakshmi drowned in the river behind her colony while she was at home on her summer break.  The students at Rising Star all enjoy spending their one month summer break with their families during the month of May.  Varalakshmi and her two younger brothers went to the river behind their colony to bathe one morning.  The river was swollen from torrential rains that had come the week before due to a cyclone offshore.  Stepping into the river, Varalakshmi was quickly overwhelmed by the current and was swept away.

The thing that touched me about this tragedy was how the loss of a child in a leprosy colony of India has had ripples across America.  Most people in America aren’t even aware that there are more than 700 colonies of leprosy-affected people in India.  These are people that the rest of the world has basically forgotten.  Yet when little Varalakshmi drowned there were many hundreds who mourned her. All her school friends at Rising Star Outreach have felt the loss of her happy enthusiasm. Her teachers and housemothers also mourned.  On this side of the world, Varalakshmi had four sponsoring families in America.  Each one was called, and each one expressed great sadness and remorse in the loss of her young life.  The children in these families felt they had lost a good friend.  Monica, a daughter of one of Varalakshmi’s sponsors, had visited her in India and was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to greet her again in June.  The office staff at Rising Star was in mourning for a week.  We all felt her loss deeply.



The day after Varalakshmi died I had a need to call one of the dentists who has worked for us in India.  Upon hearing the news, his wife gasped, “Not Varlakshmi!  Oh, please not Varalakshmi!”  This dental  assistant and her husband, the dentist, had worked several times on Varalakshmi’s teeth, and like so many others, had been drawn in by her sweet, open personality.

Notes began to pour in from all over America from former volunteers who had spent special moments with her and who had sweet stories to share.  Pictures came to the office from many sources.  One thing was very apparent—Varalakshmi, this small girl in a leprosy colony in India—was loved by hundreds.  There was some peace in this knowledge.  Just a few short years before coming to Rising star, the story would have been very different.  If Varalakshmi had been swept away by the river, there would have been little notice by anyone outside her family.  Her life would have been quickly forgotten.



But the legacy of love that she has left has now touched many across the world.  As hard as it has been to lose her, there is comfort in knowing how her life was blessed by many who loved her.  Our lives were also blessed.  Her shy smile brightened many volunteers’ days, her laughter lit up the room, her giggles during nighttime reading were contagious, her unabashed laughter on the playground affected all around, and her eyes literally danced when she finally “caught” a new math concept.  All this will be missed.  But Varalakshmi spent years of her life loved and cherished at Rising Star Outreach schools.  She truly left a legacy of love.

At Rising Star we have a firm belief that every life in the world has equal value! As we see how our lives become interwoven as we reach out to lift and love others, we marvel at the love that we share in return.  Our own lives are enriched and ennobled.  The heartbeat of love, reaching across the boundaries of countries and cultures has reminded each of us how precious each life is and how honored each of us is to be connected to others.


Our hope is that we may expand our outreach so that the day will come when no child falls unnoticed in a leprosy colony of India—that each life, no matter how long or short, will be marked by acts of love and encouragement that lift and bring joy to both those who give and those who receive.

When a stone is tossed into a pond the ripples go out seemingly endlessly.  In like manner, the ripples of love that came from Varalakshmi have blessed so many of us and remind us all that each life is precious.