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Dear Friends, Carolyn Schmitz is a very special person with an enormously kind heart. She’s led numerous trips to Nepal, introducing dozens of people to a landscape and culture she treasures. Carolyn’s love for the HIO community has inspired many people in her circle to become HIO sponsors themselves. After tirelessly serving at different times on the HIO board for about fifteen years, Carolyn is stepping down this month to devote more time to her dear mother Elsa, also an HIO sponsor in her early 90’s, and her new granddaughter, Row.  We’re so grateful for the personable, creative, generous, positive and brave energy Carolyn has brought to HIO’s work over the years. In 2009, Carolyn’s life intersected with young Jyoti Kapali’s when she became Jyoti’s HIO sponsor. The loving connection Carolyn and Jyoti have nurtured from half a world away is truly remarkable. Jyoti was raised in a small neighborhood in Kathmandu close to the fetid Vishnumati River. Her father passed away when she was a young child, leaving Jyoti and her younger siblings in the care of their mother, Thuli Maya, and their aunties, Tara and Kanti. We respectfully referred to the adult care-givers as the Kapali women. From Carolyn’s 2010 journal... After homework we walked Jyoti home. When she reached out for my hand crossing the dusty, garbage lined street, I almost started crying. This warm little girl so quickly opened her heart to me, a complete stranger. Amidst the noise of construction and traffic, we climbed over piles of debris leading to her one room living quarters, home to Jyoti’s two aunties, her mother and younger sister and brother. Her aunties greeted us with smiles and a snack. No furniture was in the room except for an old Singer treadle machine. Blankets were rolled up and stacked in the corner, to pull out for bedding. We sat on the floor, as Ram interpreted our conversation. It was easy to get a sense of how little money this family survived on. I couldn’t help comparing the vast differences of our worlds. It’s a very strange feeling when one contemplates the fate we're all born into. My experience with Jyoti and her family will forever continue to remind me of how fortunate I am. Jyoti had the unusual benefit of growing up with three strong women acting as role models and mothers. Hard-working and diligent care-givers, all three Kapali women, though illiterate, fiercely valued pursuing the dreams an education could provide. Sadly, Thuli Maya passed away from cancer just a few years back. Carolyn’s role as an additional mother figure and friend became ever more vitally important to Jyoti at this time. Jyoti is an equally astonishing young woman, with a wealth of potential to succeed in so many profound ways. She recently completed her first year studying economics at the Asian College for Women (AUW) in Bangladesh, having never before stepped foot outside her small neighborhood in Kathmandu. Jyoti’s full scholarship to AUW is a spectacular achievement. Most of the credit, of course, goes to Jyoti for being such a dedicated student. But it probably would not have happened had Carolyn not mentioned the thought of AUW to HIO’s co-director Laura Hunt.  How proud Jyoti’s mother, Thuli Maya, would have been to live these precious moments in Jyoti’s life as she reaches for her dreams and embraces new opportunities. Together, Carolyn and Laura did the research and hatched a plan. Jyoti, though quite frightened at the prospect of leaving home for the first time, put her trust in her mentors and agreed to embrace the difficult application process. When the acceptance letter came some months later, the two remaining Kapali women were also frightened about Jyoti leaving their home. Ultimately, they gave their blessing to Jyoti, and encouraged her to pursue her education at AUW. Amazing! We can’t thank Carolyn enough for her selfless commitment to our HIO community. She will forever be a face of HIO. How wonderful that she will also forever be a mother figure who Jyoti can count on to share her joys, challenges and successes in years to come. Carolyn Schmitz is such a beautiful inspiration for us all. With deep gratitude - Ricky and Laura Carolyn continues to travel to Nepal, visiting as many sponsored girls as she can. Her warm, caring spirit helps each of our girls feel truly special. 
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