Balo Italia launched in 2006 under the dedication, impetus, and care of Elisabetta (Betta) Ravaioli (Italy), but the Global Balo story began in August of 2005 when Betta, Liam (Ireland), and I, Anne, were all volunteering with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity.
Betta was busy in the Shishu Bhavan, Howrah orphanage; Liam was Prem Dan, a long term convalescent facility, and I was working at Nirmal Hriday, Kalighat, the home for the destitute and dying. We were all staying on Sudder Street, and our paths crossed often at the Mother House and in the streets. We gathered more solo travelers and shared lovely meals and cold beer together in the evenings. Conversation flowed easily and our friendships blossomed.
In 2006 Betta returned to India to continue her work in the orphanage. Two children had won her heart, Puja and her baby brother Bharot. They were not orphans, but their mother was mentally ill and could not take care of them, and their father was away working. When Betta returned, she was devastated to learn that the orphanage had closed, and the children had been returned to the haphazard care of their mother. It was the stimulus that started Betta in motion.
Betta is intelligent, organized, competent and efficient. She is an independent Italian family practice lawyer who loves to travel with her partner Magni. Betta devotes half of her day to the Balo work. She cut back her clients and cases to focus her time on starting the Balo community and projects. She endured the loss of income and strain on her relationship, but she made it work.
Every day she is on the phone with Sony and Rehana in India. She is available to answer all questions, and she is quite precise and meticulous in her expectations. As a lawyer, and with her experience, she understands the challenges of working in a developing country, she is diligent and fastidious in the organizations operations. Betta manages all of the accounts for every penny spent in India. She keeps scrupulous records which are evident in her annual financial reports