Indian Violins

In India's remote Himalayan foothills, schools founded by Christian missionaries have traditionally served the middle and upper classes. But at the newest missionary school in Kalimpong -- Gandhi Ashram -- Jesuit priest Father Thomas McGuire is trying to change that by seeking out students from the lowest rungs of India's rigid caste system -- and transforming their lives through music. Fred de Sam Lazaro looks at Father McGuire's efforts to help these students fight poverty and illiteracy, and, more importantly, gain self esteem by learning to play an instrument most of them had never heard of: the violin. His mission, as Father McGuire explains, is to help students find a purpose in their lives: 'Go out and develop your talent,' he advises. 'God created you for a purpose... I have great hopes for some of our good performers that they are going to go out and spread the message to others that very poor children don't have to sit back and be just, well, zombies. They have ability.'