Diane Kirwin, Mount Shasta

After the recent box office and Oscar winning success of the film Slumdog Millionaire, about a poor boy from the packed slums of Mumbai entering the game show So You Want to Be a Millionaire, people are talking about how to improve the lives of the millions of children and families living in dire poverty in India.

Northeast of Mumbai in the Indian State of Bihar, 73 year old Diane Kirwin of Mount Shasta has worked for the past nine years to gradually uplift impoverished villagers living without adequate food, clean water, sanitation, education or medical services. Several years ago Diane founded KIRF INDIA, a registered Indian Charitable Trust, to insure long-term services for children and families living in rural villages around Bodghaya. A thoughtful and compassionate ambassador, Diane brings the fruits of the western world to bear on stark poverty.

With bright eyes, a cherubic smile, and suitcases stuffed with warm hand-made hats, toothbrushes, books, pencils, paper, art supplies, therapeutic toys, balls, racquets and anything else that is hard to come by in the villages, Diane arrives each year eager to make a difference - one child, one family, one village at a time. She travels the villages by scooter, arriving to cheers and some tears from her many friends and acquaintances. With faith and good humor, Diane perseveres, along with the families, through setbacks and uniquely Indian challenges. Her enduring relationships with the children, parents, teachers, doctors, community leaders and other non-government agency workers help sustain progress in the villages from year-to-year.

"When we first come to work in a village, the children seem rough and dirty," Diane says. "Once they get medical care, vitamin supplements, basic nutrition and learn manners at school, they brighten up." Having lived without essential nourishment or education, these children treasure the simplest gifts, like a first toothbrush, a piece of paper and a crayon to color with, or a tennis ball to play catch with. Every gesture of loving kindness, no matter how small, is worthwhile and appreciated. "With our children," Diane says, "there is such joy over so little. Giving a 10- or 12-year-old child their first book feels like giving bread to a starving person."

Last year KIRF INDIA purchased land, built a simple two-room schoolhouse, planted trees and a garden, drilled a well (with the assistance of Diane's son who also does international relief work) and quickly enrolled 40 local children. Filling an urgent need, the school already has a long waiting list.

KIRF INDIA also sponsors mobile health clinics and surgeries for treatable maladies (some caused by malnutrition during pregnancy) such as cleft palate, clubfeet, and deformities caused by polio or accidents. For children whose families are too poor to care for them, or whose parents have died, KIRF INDIA finds them homes with adequate nutrition, education and attention so they may thrive.

On her rounds at the school and the villages, Diane teaches colors and numbers to the children in Hindi, transports and comforts children through surgeries and medical appointments, and tenderly holds and grieves with children who have lost a limb or a loved one. She brings joy, love and affection to the children she meets. Whenever she starts to sing, Diane says she is immediately surrounded by a swirling mass of happy children. Awed by what she saw in the villages, Siskiyou County resident Lisa Unkefer recalls, "I learned the true meaning of compassion working alongside Diane."

In her humble style, Diane always reflects praise back to those who support her endeavor: "KIRF INDIA is a team effort from both sides of the world. I serve as a bridge and friend to many. I simply do what anyone would do in the face of stark need."

On returning to Mount Shasta from chaotic India, Diane rests and visits with family and friends before setting out to share the story and begin collecting donations for the following year's trip. She loves to visit classrooms in the United States to explain how other children are living halfway around the world. If anyone embodies Mahatma Gandhi's call to action, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world," Diane Kirwin does - she has throughout her whole life.

For more information about the work of Diane Kirwin and KIRF INDIA or to make a donation visit: www.kirfindia.org or send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Inspired by Diane's generous compassion, writer Kristen Meyer Stroud remembers that every person truly can make a difference with simple acts of kindness every day.

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