Fifteen Tenri University students spent two weeks from February 21 to March 5 carrying out activities aimed at supporting local residents' reconstruction efforts in the village of Balachadi, one of many communities still recovering from the January 2001 earthquake that destroyed or damaged more than a million houses in the Indian state of Gujarat.

The students, accompanied by a faculty member and three technical assistants, were part of the "International Participation Project," organized by the university's International Center for Regional Studies. The project, now in its third year, aims to provide opportunities for students to take part in international activities that allow them to dedicate themselves to furthering the well-being of others.

The previous two groups worked with Indian NGOs to build an irrigation check dam and construct a quake-resistant library building for an elementary school. It is this library that this year's group helped to complete. The group also donated books, book-cases, and other equipment to the school.