Michigan-born Father Eugene Homrich sits in his office at the Holy Cross Mission in Pirgacha. Father Homrich founded the mission in 1960 and it now caters to the needs of the area's 8,000 Catholic Garo community. 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.