Bothell native Laura Grafham was following in her father’s footsteps when she traveled to India this summer.

What she found was a culture that hadn’t changed much since her dad toured the region in 1982.

The Inglemoor High graduate, now a sophomore at Seattle Pacific University, spent most of her summer vacation reaching out to children from the lowest class in India’s outlawed caste system.

Her role in India was to teach children from the Dalit caste, known as “untouchables.”

Laura spent nearly two months with SPU’s SPRINT (Seattle Pacific Reachout International) program, which sends students abroad each summer to assist with outreach efforts.

This year’s participants traveled to six developing countries, including China, Cameroon, Indonesia and the Dominican Republic.

Those who went to India worked at the Dalit education centers that Christian groups have established in an effort to provide “untouchables” with quality education in a safe environment.

Laura and her cohorts taught a little bit of everything, from English and math to creative writing.

Credentials didn’t matter. The schools just needed educated adults to staff their classrooms.

One of the centers had only two teachers for nearly 600 students.

“They probably would have let us teach Hindi, but they laughed and took the book away when we tried,” Laura said.

India outlawed the caste system after gaining independence from Britain in 1950, but the effects of centuries-long discrimination have lingered ever since.

People in rural India have clung to the country’s defunct social structure, and even in the city, “untouchables” must struggle to overcome disadvantage despite the numerous affirmative-action programs that are in place.

“It’s basically like their civil rights movement is going on right now,” Laura said. “The caste system is outlawed, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s so ingrained in the culture.

“It’s still a really segregated society. Even the cups you drink out of say something about your caste.”

The Dalits are known to be making progress, although the process of social transformation has been a slow one.

A growing number of “untouchables” are experiencing upward mobility, and some even hold high-level political positions.

“The social stigma is what really needs to change,” said Laura’s father, Ken Grafham, who spent time in the Punjab province of Pakistan while he was in college.

Ken traveled abroad to teach English and help conduct economic studies for an oriental-rug manufacturer near the village of Lahore, which is near the Indian border. He saw how the lower-caste “sweepers” of Pakistan lived, and later learned about India’s “untouchables” during subsequent travels in India.

“It was the best experience of my life,” he said. “It was radical in the sense that you start to appreciate what you’ve got, and you learn to respect other cultures a bit more.”

Laura and her father now share some of the same observations about India.

“She talks a lot about the cultural differences — the openness and friendliness,” Ken said. “That’s something I experienced, too. Even with less resources, people seemed more generous.”

“It’s a service-based culture,” Laura said. “People seemed to love waiting on you.”

Laura’s claims her trip also inspired some new thoughts about what she plans to study. She had been leaning toward graphic design, but is considering global-development studies and English these days.

Her interest in writing grew after friends and family provided positive feedback about her e-mail correspondences.

“I really liked writing home with tons of detail to explain the situations I was in,” she said.

Laura plans on participating in other outreach programs next summer.

“One thing about this experience is that it makes me want to travel more,” she said.

Bothell’s Grafham lends a hand in India

Bothell native Laura Grafham was following in her father’s footsteps when she traveled to India this summer.

What she found was a culture that hadn’t changed much since her dad toured the region in 1982.

The Inglemoor High graduate, now a sophomore at Seattle Pacific University, spent most of her summer vacation reaching out to children from the lowest class in India’s outlawed caste system.

Her role in India was to teach children from the Dalit caste, known as “untouchables.”

Laura spent nearly two months with SPU’s SPRINT (Seattle Pacific Reachout International) program, which sends students abroad each summer to assist with outreach efforts.

This year’s participants traveled to six developing countries, including China, Cameroon, Indonesia and the Dominican Republic.

Those who went to India worked at the Dalit education centers that Christian groups have established in an effort to provide “untouchables” with quality education in a safe environment.

Laura and her cohorts taught a little bit of everything, from English and math to creative writing.

Credentials didn’t matter. The schools just needed educated adults to staff their classrooms.

One of the centers had only two teachers for nearly 600 students.

“They probably would have let us teach Hindi, but they laughed and took the book away when we tried,” Laura said.

India outlawed the caste system after gaining independence from Britain in 1950, but the effects of centuries-long discrimination have lingered ever since.

People in rural India have clung to the country’s defunct social structure, and even in the city, “untouchables” must struggle to overcome disadvantage despite the numerous affirmative-action programs that are in place.

“It’s basically like their civil rights movement is going on right now,” Laura said. “The caste system is outlawed, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s so ingrained in the culture.

“It’s still a really segregated society. Even the cups you drink out of say something about your caste.”

The Dalits are known to be making progress, although the process of social transformation has been a slow one.

A growing number of “untouchables” are experiencing upward mobility, and some even hold high-level political positions.

“The social stigma is what really needs to change,” said Laura’s father, Ken Grafham, who spent time in the Punjab province of Pakistan while he was in college.

Ken traveled abroad to teach English and help conduct economic studies for an oriental-rug manufacturer near the village of Lahore, which is near the Indian border. He saw how the lower-caste “sweepers” of Pakistan lived, and later learned about India’s “untouchables” during subsequent travels in India.

“It was the best experience of my life,” he said. “It was radical in the sense that you start to appreciate what you’ve got, and you learn to respect other cultures a bit more.”

Laura and her father now share some of the same observations about India.

“She talks a lot about the cultural differences — the openness and friendliness,” Ken said. “That’s something I experienced, too. Even with less resources, people seemed more generous.”

“It’s a service-based culture,” Laura said. “People seemed to love waiting on you.”

Laura’s claims her trip also inspired some new thoughts about what she plans to study. She had been leaning toward graphic design, but is considering global-development studies and English these days.

Her interest in writing grew after friends and family provided positive feedback about her e-mail correspondences.

“I really liked writing home with tons of detail to explain the situations I was in,” she said.

Laura plans on participating in other outreach programs next summer.

“One thing about this experience is that it makes me want to travel more,” she said.