The month of December has been a roller coaster one for the staff and children of Little Acorns. We have had plenty of visitors, many kind donations, friends who have come from afar and near, people who have offered their services, great results from the schools and most of all many more new children who have come to the Shelter for the basic necessities of life. Nearly 100 children attended everyday in spite of the holidays. An added reason for celebrations was the very good result our 47 children brought back from school. From the 18th till the end of the month it has been one long, joyful and memorable Christmas season.

Visitors and donations have gone hand in hand this month. Miriam (UK) donated towards the ‘Loan a Goat’ project and she also spent an hour everyday at the Shelter assisting the children with their studies. Jim and Elaine Cowper our faithful and long time Friends of El Shaddai came almost everyday to assist the staff and spend time with the children. Mrs. Clara Baretto also donated towards the needs of the Shelter. A special thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Harjeeth Purewal for the kind donation towards the school uniforms of the children. The shelter took on a new look and it is all due to Gail and Colin who along with their friends painted Little Acorns. They did a wonderful job and brought the spirit of Christmas early to LA. They also donated some Christmas decorations.

Jaya, one of our college going boys lends a helping hand to the staff in the afternoons. Laxman training to be a chef at the Milla Rosa Hotels came in to visit regularly. On the medical front we report with great joy that our dear Nagamma had her final surgery at the Matthew Braganza Hospital right here in Calangute. Dr. Ajith Kadam did a fantastic job and now all that is left is a nose implant which is scheduled for next week. Dr. Kadam did not even charge us for his services. He also examined Kumar, one of our former children now suffering from cerebral malaria and agreed to help him. Work is in progress to get Kumar to a specialist in Pune. Danush joined the Shelter as a fieldworker and he is doing an excellent job.

Johnny accompanied the El Shaddai serenades from the 14th to the 24th. They made a great impression wherever they went. On the 20th the children accompanied by the staff went to Assagao for the El Shaddai Christmas Party. They had a wonderful time and even performed a skit on stage. They enjoyed a fantastic meal and plenty of ice cream. Jim & Elaine sponsored a party for the children of Little Acorns on Christmas Day. 92 children had one memorable party. Our UK coordinators and 13 other guests were also present besides the staff of the Shelter. The children will remember this party for a long time to come. Pastor Matthew and Anitamother came with gifts for the children. Every visitor who came here received a Christmas card hand made by the children.

The spirit of Christmas is very much alive at Little Acorns and we hope it will remain for the year ahead. We thank God that we were able to reach out to so many children this month. We also thank Him for having kept our children safe and sound. We pray this coming year will be a great one for the children in our care and to all those who will come in contact with us.

The children and staff of the Little Acorns Shelter wish each and everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2008.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 at 5:07 am and is filed under Events, Little Acorns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.