The Uniform Project = Brilliant

This is so cool. A woman named Sheena Matheiken has come up with an incredibly creative way to raise money for school children in India. Check out The Uniform Project here. And click this link to read her story.

I love how Matheiken uses her innate talents to make a difference in the world. We can't all be surgeons who fly to third-world countries for a month out of the year to provide medical care to impoverished children, but we can use whatever talents we have in positive ways if we'll just think creatively. What a cool and inspiring example.

I've long-been intrigued by Indian culture. And not just since Slumdog Millionaire, although I did find the film both deeply moving and terribly disturbing. I've read about the extreme poverty in the slums of India in poignant articles from The New Yorker (I found "The Last Drop" by Michael Specter particularly enthralling) and elsewhere. I also love the work of Jhumpa Lahiri, author of The Namesake and Interpreter of Maladies. She's a brilliant, Pulitzer-Prize winning writer, and I just have to say it, she's one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen if her book-jacket photo is any indication. (Not that it has any effect whatsoever on her writing.) That aside, my husband and I were both very emotionally touched by the film version of The Namesake, unexpectedly so in fact.

Perhaps this singular interest I have in India partly explains why I was so impressed with Sheena Matheiken's efforts, but I also love to see people working independently and creatively towards goals that mean something to them personally. So I just had to share.

What causes are close to your heart? And how can you use your God-given talents to make a difference? It's something to think about this Independence Day weekend.

p.s. For a few lighter-minded flicks (e.g., romantic comedies that your male relatives may or may not really hate) that are based in India or India culture, check out Bend It Like Beckham or Bride and Prejudice, the latter of which is quite silly and over-the-top in places, but I liked it anyway.