Every girl deserves to be treated like a princess. I’m not sure who said this—probably a Disney executive—but I like the sentiment, especially in India. In a country where girls are often discarded in favor of boys, beaten or raped without reprisals, even killed to protect some insane concept of family honor, the notion that
One summer night, on a family vacation in Cape Cod, I drew a treasure map. Logan and Jackson, maybe eight and six at the time, were asleep upstairs, and I wanted to create a bit of summer adventure for them. So I took an old piece of parchment from an old book on a book
The idea was to take the nursery kids on a bus trip. Most all of orphanage life is spent inside the Mission gates, so it’s a huge treat to venture out into the wider world. To sweeten the deal for the seventeen under-ten-year-old children, we promised them soda, chips, ice cream and chewing gum. Naturally,
The game is called Sardines. It’s the opposite of Hide & Go Seek. To play, only one person hides. Then, after ten minutes or so, everyone else goes out in small groups and searches for the hider. For maximum effect, play this late at night across a sprawling orphanage compound complete with mango orchard, creepy
When my children were little, Traca and I had a frustrating rule. On Christmas morning, they couldn’t go downstairs until we said they could. No matter how excited they were, they had to wait at the top of the stairs until we got a few things ready. We’d light a fire, turn on the tree
Running an orphanage is no easy task. Feeding, caring for, educating 100 children takes an amazing amount of dedication and love. But to do it for ten years...? While it costs money and takes huge bits of time, effort and energy, the real story in the end is the kids. In honor of the Shipways
Try to imagine the girls you are about to meet are not girls in a story. They are real, like girls you know. Their names are Malika and Jyotika. Malika is nine years old. Her younger sister is seven. They live in Rudrapur, India, an industrial center two hours west of the orphanage where I’m
This week we launched the first ever GSAM crowd-sourcing campaign on Indiegogo.com and it has been a huge success. Our initial goal was to raise $4000 for new desks at the mission's school. New students are coming soon and they need somewhere to sit. To get the word out, I put together a video. I
I visited The Good Shepherd Agricultural Mission three and a half years ago. My family and I took a six month trip around the world back then, volunteering in different countries as we went. I remember being in Thailand, teaching English, with nothing lined up for our next stop. We thought: maybe India...so I Googled
