b"PHOTO BY MIKADUN/SHUTTERSTOCK.In his goings andcomings, Santoshoften meets peoplepoorer than himself,including peoplewithout homes andchildren who scav-enge for plastic,metal, and othermarketable items.As often as possible,he buys somethingfor themfruit,cookies, blankets,and other items.Homeless in an Old Delhi street scene, India. Santosh and his family have been helped by gen- water from coming into the house. At that momenterous friends of mine, but, of course, it is never Santosh decided it was up to him to do something.enough. There is always the next crisis: a sickness, Now the family has a better house, yet bya debt or an accident. Something always breaks down. American standards, it would not be called such.The developed countries and the underdeveloped Since that rainy night, Santosh hasnt stopped makingcountries; the rich and the poor; the healthy and the things better: for himself, his family, his students, andsick; those who have and those who have not. The for me. From the days when he went to work at thestarkness between the two sides is shocking, the age of 8 with his mother in the fields earning 20 rupeeschasm growing daily. a day picking vegetables, he is now tutoring childrenThis is Santoshs lot; he has no other option. He who attend some of the best schools in Patna. It is hisshares his most precious gift with me: his friendship. mission. He is happy educating. I am happy to callThis is why I am not the real missionary; Santosh is. him friend. Brother Lawrence McBride, SMHe is a natural teacher, a treasure for the students Santosh, the tutor and Egg Man: a man with ain his tutoring classes. By teaching them, he helps missiona missionary.support his family. He's a treasure for his family, too. Marianist Brother Lawrence McBride, who professed firstWhen he was 12 years old, the thatched roof of his vows in 1963, served from 2011 to 2020 in India. He returnedmud brick house gave way and was leaking. He awoke to North America during the pandemic, but returned toto his mothers tears. She didnt know how to stop the India in April 2024.Help support the Marianist Missions Partnering with the Poor program, at marianist.com/India-Africa.marianist.com/donate 17"