A Garo school girl during a lesson at a school established by Father Homrich, a Michigan-born Catholic priest who has been living with the Garo since 1952. In that time the literacy rates for the local Garo population have reached 85%, higher than the national average. The Garo (or Mandi, as they refer to themselves) are an ethnic minority thought to be of Tibeto-Burmese origin. Prior to British rule they were mostly anamists but missionary work led the majority to convert to Christianity. The Garo of the Madhupur forest have long been under the threat of eviction by the government and the forest that they gain much of their livelihood from is being rapidly destroyed by unregulated logging.