The children and staff have a lovely picnic at the Bambolim Beach Resort
Many of the children have gone to their native villages for the summer vacation and so we have experienced a drop in number of children attending. This month we were able to care and assist nearly 900. The fieldwork however has continued in full swing. Slum dwellers are being made aware of the menace of malaria as the monsoons will soon be here. Research is also being carried out on the possibility of establishing a long term educational project in the slums. Efforts are also intensified to identify children who need medical assistance.
Nagamma has recovered pretty well form her surgery. Just one more and she will be near perfect. Some dental work and a couple of implants are all that is required and Johnny is earnestly raising funds to finance this surgery. When one looks at Nagamma today it is hard to believe it is the same girl who walked in without a friend two years ago. We thank each and every individual who has assisted her and given her a chance at childhood and life. The Nagamma experience has encouraged us to seek more children with special needs and who require our assistance. By God’s grace we have been able to help many over the last two years.
In the coming academic year more children from Little Acorns will be attending school. We have approached the school authorities and have been promised places for our children. It gives us great satisfaction that many will get educated and have a real good chance at a brighter future. All this is thanks to the efforts of staff and the teachers at the Shelter and the children who are already attending school. Almost all of them have passed and some of them have done so well that they have been given a double promotion. The fieldwork too is very effective which helps a lot in parents allowing their children to be enrolled in school rather than work on the streets. Dhanush being able to converse in Kanada and Telegu makes it that much easier to convince parents that their child is better off in school than on the streets.
The highlight of April was a grand picnic at the Bambolim Beach Resort. Marianne who is a friend of El Shaddai paid towards part of the picnic and we are grateful to her. The children and staff were driven to the spot by Johnny and there they had great fun. Plenty of snacks and soft drinks, games and activities and a tasty lunch of chicken and Pulav saw to it that all had a wonderful time. The children sang their way to and from the picnic venue.
This month has been a great month. Preparations were made to get the Shelter ready for the monsoon and the coming academic year. Some of the staff too will be going on their annual holidays. One more year has gone by and we know that we have made a great difference in the lives of so many children and our prayer is that in the coming months and year we will be able to reach out and touch many more lives and assisting them and giving them the tools to a better future.