Bisram's grandfather had journeyed from India to then British Guiana as an indentured laborer and remained in Guyana upon completion of his contract term. The paternal family members were located in Jokhara Village in Azamgarh District, and the maternal family members in the Kusmi Village from Ghazipur District.

 Bisram and his US based family completed the trip to their ancestral villages on July 16, 2007.
"I visited the two villages with my sister and her husband and it was quite emotional meeting our family there for the first time after so many generations" , said Bisram who now resides in the USA. "We sponsored a bhoj or feeding in both villages involving over 200 people each in each village on separate days.

 

My brother-in-law Jagjeet Persaud found his maternal relatives in Mau District and he also visited two separate villages during this trip. Altogether they visited four villages and donated money and gifts to the poor and elderly. The villagers were quite excited and happy about their presence, and they were glad to know they have relatives outside of India, especially in America, observed Bisram.

Bisram said that finding the relatives were made possible through assistance from journalists in the nearby villages in India. The ship documents (also known as passes) were given to indentured laborers and information on the passes were used to trace the villages. They spoke with elderly people who told them they were informed by their parents that people left the left the villages a long time ago. "Our newly found families are poor villagers, yet they seem content and humble. They lack some of the basic necessities but went out of their way to make us feel comfortable" , observed Bisram. "Overall, we are very excited that we found our relatives; on their side, they would like to obtain help so that their lives can be uplifted as well", noted Bisram.

Tracing Our Roots was initiated by GOPIO at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 205 in Mumbai where GOPIO's Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran chaired the Tracing Our Roots session. GOPIO is actively engaged in discussions with groups and governments in several PIO countries to access, preserve and document the arrival records so that current future generations can have the means to trace their roots to the ancestral villages in India. Currently, GOPIO is collaborating on a proposal to the Government of India's Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs for a global database of all Indians who left India from 1830 thru' 1920.