My name is Katie Gilliam, I am 22 years old,
from Tennessee originally
and I am a recent grad from Pepperdine (Class of 12’!). After having
interned with White Rainbow last summer, I’ve stayed on board and have
been so blessed to continue to work with the widows of India. I also
have a fellow Pepperdine grad and best friend, Abbie Case, from
Concord, California working alongside me now! Abbie and I spent the
summer marketing for the White Rainbow Collection and now find
ourselves at the source. We are currently residing in Vrindavan and
are helping to kick-start a new chapter in the White Rainbow Story. We
are so happy you’ve decided to come along with us and that your path
has brought you to this organization.
Over the past month, Abbie and I have been teaming up with all the
gears that make White Rainbow Project possible. We started our journey
in Delhi, stocking up supplies for our necklace program and furnishing
the space we have now in Vrindavan for the widows to come work in
everyday. We are also continuing to serve widows living in the
surrounding village of Ramtal through the necklace-making program. As
we made our way to the City of Widows, I couldn’t help but think,
“How, exactly, is this all going to pan out?” But, I must say, God is
good like that. This past month has been a great transition. We went
from expanding our necklace making one widow at a time and we now have
a teeming house full of eager women, young and old, all of whom have
stories that have brought them to Vrindavan. Many are heartbreaking.
One has been cast aside as useless by her in-laws for being a mother
of four daughters (boys are preferred here in India) and two are less
than thirty-years of age and have marked abuse from their
late-husbands. This is commonplace in Vrindavan. All this is true, and
we have staggering needs to meet financially, spiritually, and
emotionally in this city. However, the first thing we notice after
Abbie and I greet our new friends in the morning: HOPE. It is in their
eyes, their beings cling to it. They are grateful, they are eager to
learn, and they want to improve their lives. It has been on our hearts
to no longer look at these women as pitiful creatures, but to empower
them and help them understand their worth and potential as humans, not
only as necklace makers or seamstresses. This is a beautiful thing to
be a part of. We do not want to feed into the existent cycle of abuse
by ashrams and temples. We want to be something different. We want to
serve these women as friends out of love.
Beginning this process is easy and difficult at the same time. Even
though the language barrier is great, we are becoming fast friends. We
make lunch and chai and the ladies laugh at our inept Hindi into the
late afternoon. There are many hugs, salutations, and mutual acts of
service in our household. If we make chai for the women, we HAVE to
sit and have some with the ladies or there is too much protest. We are
staying busy trying to meet the needs of an increasing number of
women. There is more to be done, more lives to reach, and so much more
love to give. Soon, we will be adding scarf-making to our agenda here
at the house/workshop. So, stay tuned!
Abbie will be here until late November, and I will be returning home
right before Christmas. I know this journey has just begun for us, but
we’ve already seen such an impact that we can only imagine what’s to
come. Thanks for all your love and support!
Love,
Katie and Abbie
