India's infanticide

NEW DELHI - The Indian government plans to set up a series of orphanages to raise unwanted baby girls in a bid to halt the widespread practice of aborting female fetuses, according to a senior government official.
Dubbed the "cradle scheme," the plan is an attempt to slow the practice that international groups say has killed more than 10 million female fetuses in the last two decades, leading to an alarming imbalance in the ratio between males and females in India, Renuka Chowdhury, the minister of state for women and child development, told the Press Trust of India news agency in an interview published Sunday.
"What we are saying to the people is have your children, don't kill them. And if you don't want a girl child, leave her to us," Chowdhury told the agency, adding that the government planned to set up a center in each regional district.
"We will bring up the children. But don't kill them because there really is a crisis situation," she said.
On Sunday, police arrested a gynecologist and janitor at a hospital near the central Indian city of Bhopal after the discovery of nearly 400 bones from fetuses and newborns in a pit behind the hospital. It is believed they are the remains of unwanted baby girls.
Many districts in the country of more than 1 billion people routinely report only 800 girls born for every 1,000 boys. According to the latest census figures in India, the number of girls per 1,000 boys declined from 945 to 927 between 1991 and 2001.
Asked if the scheme would not encourage parents to abandon female infants, Chowdhury said: "It doesn't matter. It is better than killing them."
Discrimination against girls stems from the low value attached to females in Indian society. Girls are seen as a burden on the family, requiring a large dowry which many poor families cannot afford. Females are generally the last to be educated or to get medical treatment.
Tests to determine the gender of a fetus are outlawed in India and the government says it is clamping down on doctors who break the law.
But social activists say there are many loopholes which allow those who provide tests to remain free. Since the law was enacted in 1994 only one doctor has been convicted.
Chowdhury did not say how much the orphanage plan would cost but said money had been allocated in the next budget for it. Officials in her office could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday. It was not clear when the first orphanages will open

I just copied this from the associated press and pasted it here.

PGO retreat

PGO stands for Preparation for Global outreach, only the 'P' is silent. Last weekend was our PGO retreat. The term "retreat" is far beyond misleading. We began by sharing our stories of how we came to know HIM, while eating rice with our hands Indian style. Later that night as a team we went to a local movie theater to share "our story" with anyone who would listen. The outcome was very encouraging. Although nobody made any form of a profession, it was a blessing to begin to see how this team functions.

By the time this was all over, I was tired and very excited to get to bed. However this excitement disappeared when the security guard woke us up and made us move to another place.....immediately. I didn't care I just wanted my precious sleep. We were transferred to another classroom, and to my great surprise a bored student earlier that day had decided to pick his toenails where I was now trying to sleep. I began to brush away about 12 clippings, but with each stroke it seemed the nails would only cling tighter to the stain ridden carpet. I was at a crossroads. "Should I put my bedding down, hoping they don't poke through to my chest? Or should I continue in futility trying to move them?" My body was too tired to continue, so I placed my thin bedding down, and began to sleep.

The next morning we had a gourmet breakfast of peanut butter and jelly burritos. After looking in the box, and finding no utensils, we unanimously decided to use the 10 gifts God gave us (fingers) . Just as we finished making our burritos, we found the forks, knives, and spoons. Stupid stupid stupid. 1 hour later i found myself licking the skin between my thumb and pointer finger, trying to finish up the last remains of jelly residue. mmmmmmm.

This is only the beginning.