Speeches
From Kitchen Table to Leprosy-Affected Indian Colonies—Founder Becky Douglas Shares the Impact of Rising Star Outreach
On Jan. 24, the Southern Virginia campus community gathered in the Knight Arena to listen to humanitarian Becky Douglas, founder of the non-profit Rising Star Outreach, tell the story of her foundation’s humanitarian work and service for India’s leprosy-affected members.
After learning that her oldest daughter had donated money to an orphanage in India before she passed away, the Douglas family raised money for an orphanage in her memory. Shortly after, Douglas traveled to India to see the orphanage and was shocked to find leprosy-infected beggars crowding the streets.
“When I got home, the images of those people haunted me. And I kept thinking, ‘Why doesn’t somebody do something?’” said Douglas. “And then one night I thought, ‘You’re somebody. Do something.’ So that day, I called three of my friends who also were housewives and my husband’s secretary. We met around my kitchen table and formed Rising Star Outreach.”
Reflecting on the foundation’s early days, when they couldn’t find medical help for the lepers due to powerful cultural stigmas, Douglas met Padma Venkataraman, the daughter of a former President of India and a woman’s representative to the UN for 20 years. Venkataraman, along with the United Nations, helped hire doctors and nurses to create a mobile medical clinic, which has since provided tens of thousands of treatments.
Wanting to also provide the lepers with business skills to rise out of poverty, Rising Star Outreach began a women’s self-help group. The women formed a microbank out of their begging money and used that bank to give each other loans to start a business.
“When they got enough to make their first loan, a woman would take that money and start an ironing business,” said Douglas. “And when it was repaid, the next woman would take it and start a little business, and before long, those five women would have more money than anyone in the colony.”
“At that time, the average beggar on the streets in India made about $20 a month,” Douglas continued. “And our average micro business was making between one and $300 a month, making a huge difference in their lives.”
Explaining that children were often used as beggars, Douglas shared how Rising Star focused on creating schools to take the children off the streets and provide an education that included learning English and critical thinking, setting them up for successful careers and futures.
“Our school is now listed as one of the elite schools of India, even though it is filled with leprosy-affected, affiliated, or formerly affected patients,” Douglas explained. “At all our schools, children from leprosy colonies are taught that they too can dream and are provided with the skills they need to achieve their dreams. This is how our program affects real people in real-time.”
“I want you to see what is possible when four housewives sit around a kitchen table. The power is in you to make a huge difference in the world,” continued Douglas. “ You just need to jump up and grab that opportunity and do something.”
The event featured a musical performance of Arnold Sevier’s “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” by the Chamber Singers and ended with the traditional singing of “Love One Another.”