This month of January brought everything possible with it. We have had rescues, visitors, hospitalizations, documentary filming, dental camps, maintenance works and new children attending. All this has kept us on our toes and encouraged us to work harder and be more effective. This month has been a blessing not only to us but also to people we have assisted. January has got us all excited and looking forward to coming months.

1753 children attended the Shelter on an average of 55 children a day. We are expecting this number to touch 2000 by March end. Three new faces are seen at the Shelter. They came to check and decided to come everyday. Danush our fieldworker is to be congratulated for the increase in the number. Many of the children specially the new one were given medical attention. He has been to slums countless number of times this month, sometimes with visitors and at other times with staff and volunteers. This month we even had clothes distribution events in 7 slums. However he is in his element when he goes alone and has a great interaction with parents who let their children attend the Shelter.

Plenty of activities took place this month. At the very top of the month our children went to see the circus in town. This was followed by a dental camp at Vintage Hospital in Panaji where Dr. Amber attended to 65 children. We thank Dr. Amber for the concern she has for our children. The beach visits continued and Johnny is coordinating these. The response at Night market has been encouraging. Few children and a couple of staff members who were sick have been treated at Matthew Braganza Hospital. All have since recovered. Maintenance work has been carried out at the Shelter and now every appliance and fitting is working as it should be.

Little Acorns always has many visitors. Faithful ones like Jim and Elaine even came on the In-Charges day off to take care of the children. Others like Maurizio and Marian helped out and even served lunch regularly. Two older boys come from Victory House to help out every Friday. Ann Morris accompanied Sharon Woodcock and her students from Barnados High Close School on a visit to the slums. Pastor Matthew, Agnel and Gasper filmed a documentary on El Shaddai. Visitors have blessed us with donations both in cash and kind. A travel agency even volunteered to collect items left behind by travelers and donate the same to children.

The highlight of January was a rescue by the staff of Little Acorns. We found five individuals living on the streets. It was one family of parents and three children. The mother was badly burnt when a kerosene stove exploded and there was no money even to transport her to the nearest government hospital. She was fighting for life and was in critical condition. The staff moved her to a nearby hospital from where she was taken to Goa Medical College. Her husband is at her bedside and her condition has stabilized and she is making a slow recovery. The children were brought to the Shelter and given a bath, clothes and food which they had not eaten in three days. They are presently being looked after at the Shelter and are quite happy, praying for their mother’s recovery. Another piece of good news is that Kumar who is suffering from Cerebral malaria and partially paralyzed as a result was taken to Poona, where, he underwent a couple of surgeries. He is in expert hands overseen by Dr. Ajith and will soon return back to Goa for further treatment and recovery. Johnny has been the link between Kumar’s family, El Shaddai and Dr. Ajith.

So much has happened in January that we are looking forward to February and the coming months to be a blessing to children on the streets and to children at risk. We hope to reach out with basic necessities of life and education. We wish to help these children build a brighter future for themselves and we will encourage them with understanding and love.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 at 5:25 pm 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.