Biking for Kids in India 
A Team Working to Help Educate Rural Youth in India
Lauren Brown and A. V. Samuel
A. V. Samuel was teaching agriculture at the same school. They became life-long friends and ever since have continued in various ways to be actively involved in supporting the Methodist schools and dormitories in Andhra Pradesh, This photo was taken in February 2009 on the occasion of the dedication of a science hall at Chandrakal Methodist School, a sister school to the one at Zahirabad.
Several years ago A. V. Samuel began challenging his peers in India, who had benefited earlier in their lives by obtaining an education in the Methodist schools, to make donations to help ensure the next generation also had an opportunity for a similar educational start. Sam and his large extended family set their own very strong example and are providing scholarships for over 50 children from his home village of Metlakunta to attend Chandrakal Methodist School. Sam's example has inspired Lauren Brown to build on those efforts by undertaking a bicycle speaking tour across the United States, aiming to attract donations along the way.
Lauren was born on a farm in Meadville, PA and was educated at DePauw University in Greencastle, IN. In a life-shaping experience, Lauren then served in the Peace Corps India from 1964 - 1967. Following his Peace Corps service, he returned to the U.S. and earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at University of California, Riverside. Lauren proceeded to co-found a biochemical company in San Luis Obispo, CA, and pursued a career as an entrepreneur in the biotech arena. He is now retired with more available time and now intends to ride a bicycle across the U.S. while speaking at Methodist churches and interested organizations along the way to raise money for this scholarship fund. Lauren met his wife, Susan, while she was visiting the Zahirabad Methodist School for a month in 1966 as part of a Methodist Work Team from CA. Lauren and Susan live in San Luis Obispo, CA and have three daughters and four grand-children.
Samuel was born in Metlakunta, a very poor, small farming village about 80 miles southwest of Hyderabad in the State of Andhra Pradesh. Thanks to the Methodist mission schools in this area, he fortunately was able to receive a good elementary and high school education. He then went on to earn his B.S. at Allahabad Agricultural University (India), his M.S. from Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS, and his Ph.D. at the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University (APAU) in Hyderabad, India. He then pursued a career as an Associate Professor at APAU. He is now retired and currently lives with his wife, Suchi, in Hyderabad, A. P., India. Once in a while, they get to enjoy visiting their son and daughter who live with their families (4 grandchildren) in the U.S.
