Finding family
Geetha Peters creates a community in the streets of India and the city of St. Paul, Minnesota.
By Taylor Hanson | Reporter
Geetha Peters sat in a plane full of strangers with tears running down her face. Whispers filled the air, the cramped seating was uncomfortable and her stomach longed for something other than airplane food. Peters’ daughter Lian was the only familiar thing around her. The plane would land and her new husband would greet them and take them to a new house. The plane would land, trading the India heat for Minnesota cold, and streets full of familiarity for streets full of strangers.
Peters works as the cashier for Bethel University’s Dining Center, but before she was telling students to have a good lunch, she was a daughter, a wife and a mother.
In 2003, Peters and Lian moved from India to St. Paul, Minnesota after the death of her first husband, Robison Peters. America was a fresh start. A new beginning that left behind culture, loneliness, death, heartbreak and 100 girls that had become Peters’ family.
Peters grew up in the small village of Tirukoliur as an only child. Her mother had cancer and passed away when she was in 10th grade. All she wanted was to surround herself with people, so she would never have to feel lonely — that’s when Peters decided she wanted to be a teacher. When she met Robison, all those plans changed.
“He asked me to marry him, and I said I have ambitions to become a teacher,” Peters said. “He said no. After marriage.”
They got married in 1991, when Peters was 18, and one year later she gave birth to her only daughter Lian. But having a family didn’t make the dream of being a teacher go away.
A year after Lian was born, Peters and her husband decided they wanted to open a school. With help from a German sponsor, they opened the Karunya Girls School in India. 100 girls were able to attend, coming from poor families and hardship. The school was filled with laughter, singing, music and color. The walls barricaded struggles that came with living in the streets of Tirukoliur. It protected the students, and provided a Christian education, a bed with clean sheets, food to eat, sisters to hold and a chance for a better life.
Peters woke up at 5am every day to prepare meals for the girls. For special events and festivals, she would cook goat biryani, a one pot recipe with meat, rice and all the spices — it was the girl’s favorite food. She would take care of them when they got sick, lay with them when they couldn’t fall asleep and talk with them after their studies.
“They were always calling me ‘Akka,’ ” Peters said. “It means ‘sister.’ ”
“I told God I don’t know anything about America. But I’m going to follow you, God, because you will stay with me.” — Geetha Peters, Sodexo staff
For 10 years, Peters and her husband ran the school and cared for the girls, but in 2000 Robinson passed away from Jaundice, a disease that occurs when the liver can no longer process red blood cells. After his death, Peters was forced to shut down the school. Once the school closed, there wasn’t much left for her in India. Her mother-in-law told her she needed to get remarried. She was 27 and had an entire life to live. Peters’ late husband, Robison, had a brother who lived in America that had just been divorced. Her mother-in-law told her to marry Robison’s brother, Vincent and live with him in America.
“I told God I don’t know anything about America,” Peters said. “But I’m going to follow you, God, because you will stay with me.”
She had no friends, she didn’t speak English, she didn’t have a driver’s license and she had never worn pants. She was used to wearing a long sari everywhere she went, but in Minnesota, she only wore it to church. Life in Minnesota was lonely. Her second husband worked as the dean of the study abroad program for Bethel, and his job required him to travel very often, leaving Peters and her daughter at home. Peters missed the girls’ school — the conversations, the laughter, the food — she missed her family and most of all she missed India. She longed to be around students again, to serve them and ask them about their lives.
“I have so many memories. If I could go back to my childhood in India, I would do it in a heartbeat. Every time I think about my school life in India it makes me smile.” — Lian Peters, daughter
Lian was ten years old when she moved with her mom to America. She left behind her friends and her family. She left behind memories, like the time when she was in kindergarten and her mom would bring her lunch and sit with her on the playground. Or all the time spent with the girls at her parent’s school laughing with them and helping with their studies. A life in America gave her a college education and opportunities that India couldn’t provide.
“I have so many memories,” Lian said. “If I could go back to my childhood in India, I would do it in a heartbeat. Every time I think about my school life in India it makes me smile.”
In 2014, Peters’ asked her husband if he knew of any positions she could apply for at Bethel to occupy her time and begin to surround herself with students again. He was able to get her a job in the bookstore, and soon after, a cashier position at the Monson Dining Center became available. She didn’t have any experience with American money, but she knew God was calling her to serve at Bethel. For the second time in her life she was able to be part of something bigger, create a family and find a way to pour into student’s lives once again.
“We need sisters and brothers to share our sadness and our happiness,” Peters said. “I don’t want to miss this place or the students that make me so happy.”
Bethel students file in and out of the DC throughout the day. Peters’ stands by the register in her light blue uniform with her hair pulled back and a smile on her face. She takes time to greet each student by name and ends the conversations with “have a good meal.”
“She is such a light and has proven to be a light to everyone she meets,” Bethel student Aubrey Baker said.
Peters will wake up each day and put on her blue DC uniform instead of her sari, she will smile and ask students about their day and she will bring love and warmth to the Bethel community. And the girls in Tirukoliur will always be in the back of her mind.
Timeline of Peters’ transition to America
- 1991: Geetha Peters puts her dream of being a teacher on hold & marries Robison Peters, she was only 18.
- 1992: One year after Peters got married, she gave birth to her only daughter Lian.
- 1993: Peters’ & her husband open up the Karunya Girls school for 100 girls in the village of Tirukoilur, India.
- 2000: In 2000 Peters’ first husband passed away, causing the Girls School to shut down.
- 2003: After her husband’s death, Geetha remarried & moved to St. Paul Minnesota with her daughter Lian.
- 2014: After a few hard years in America, Peters found a job at Bethel University as the cashier for the Dining Center. She has been there ever since.
