General Assembly 2004 Event 3115A

This program is a celebration that immediately followed program #3115 ("9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights") presented by Kathy Sreedhar, Director of the Unitarian Universalist Holdeen India Program and Rev. Bill Schulz, current president of Amnesty International and one of UUA's past presidents.

Two tables were set up in the richly-carpeted area of the large lobby just outside of the hard-to-find room 302 in the Convention Center, one was for the signing of Schulz's latest book Tainted Legacy—9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights and the other held a huge birthday cake and bottles of ice-chilled champagne. The event is both a celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Holdeen India Program as well as the 70th birthday of Kathy Sreedhar, the director of the program.

In attendance at the celebration were: UUA past presidents Bill Schulz and John Buehrens; Rev. Olivia Holmes (Director of the UUA Office of International Relations); Rev. Meg Riley (Director of the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy); and many UUs who have worked with Kathy Sreedhar in various capacities on the Holdeen India Project. Special guest for the evening was Kathy's niece Sita Anand. Everyone who attended Bill Schulz's standing-room only program prior to this event were invited to stay for the party.

Amidst the flow of champagne and toasts to the program and to the program's director, many shared stories of their trips to India with Kathy. These stories wove a tapestry of a strong woman whose passion and energy changed the lives of many people in India, particularly those of women and children, through grants from the Jonathan Holdeen Bequest.

More information about the Holdeen India Project can be found on uua.org.

Reported by Kok Heong McNaughton; edited by Lisa Presley.