In the twenty years of its existence, IIF has seen scores of visitors come and go as part of its many activities . ‘Present’ comfortably glides into ‘History’,and for the most part, all trace is lost of our erstwhile visitors.

Every once in a while though,somebody turns around and goesthat extra mile to let us know that we are remembered, fondly. We were pleasantly reminded of this when a few days ago, we received an email from Thomas K.J., an old friend and associate of IIF’s. Forwarded was an email from the Principal of the State School of Masera, Padova, Italy whose children specially prepared a patchwork quilt and even donated their pocket money towards the cause of IIF’s Cleft-Free Chhattisgarh Project.

Thomas had shown these children a short film made by the BBC on the Lifeline Express and spoken to them of his own experiences working with IIF. Enthused by his accounts of the work IIF does, the children instantly decided to paint a quilt for the LLE. The students were free to design any message they wished; many had painted PACE – which means Peace, Peace in the World. Thomas even went so far as to send each of the student-artists a special ‘Thank You’ card, putting to pen and paper most poignantly all that IIF wanted to say: “Every Art …every person …every idea and vision of the person is unique. Every idea, as every colour, has its own beauty. Creative expressions form a beautiful patchwork; this world is also formed of creative expressions of humanity. Creative ideas and visions grow as each person grows, leading to the progress of the Universe. Thank you...” This has been one of the most touching instances of love and support for our work from across the globe. They say, “ what goes around, comes around” – Thomas and the lovely students of State School of Masera are living proof of its truth. Thank You!