The Non formal school, Shanti Niketan, which was closed for the summer has had a lot of activity even though the school will officially be opened only in the first week of June. All the teachers and staff are back at the school preparing the syllabus and work assignments for the coming academic year. The Director has also had a very busy time with the new admissions. The children who have been given admission in the Homes of El Shaddai are also taken to the school for an entrance exam prior to admission in school. This is so that the teacher may know the grade that child has to be admitted to. Many of the parents and also the Home Incharges have gone to the school with their children and wards seeking admittance in the Shanti Niketan School.

The classrooms have been cleaned and arranged and also the charts and the study material has gone up on the walls and other assigned places. The stationery has been sorted out and arranged grade wise. The teachers and staff are now waiting for the most important aspect that will make the school have meaning….the children who are the students, who make teaching the best vocation.

The House has the most number of new admissions and it is a joy to be able to make a positive change in the lives of these less fortunate ones.

HOUSE OF KATHLEEN AND RAINBOW HOUSE, ASSAGAO.

The children and staff in our care during this May had a fantastic and busy month. All the Children at Rainbow House were shifted to House of Kathleen as the Rainbow house was under repairs. Julia took our Children for a wonderful trip at the Blue Wale Water Park. They were so happy and enjoyed themselves immensely. Few of our children also visited the Museum at Salvador Do Mundo to see the old houses. It was an interesting outing and everyone had a great time. It was Tash’s birthday; all our children attended her birthday party singing, dancing, full of excitement and entertainment.

The Older children attended the Sunday services regularly during this month of May. Few of them have answered their practical exams. The Incharge was busy with the admissions of children in the school and got them finalized. All the children of Rainbow house gave their full support to the staff in cleaning the homes. All the girls who were here are looking forward to the return of their friends from home and are also looking forward to the rains of which we already had a couple of showers. We are all geared up for a fresh academic year and we hope this one is even better than the last.

The smaller children who have been admitted into El Shaddai have found a Home in House of Kathleen. All through this month they have been coming not knowing what to expect. The children who are in the Home are the biggest help anyone could ask for. They immediately make friends and within hours it feels as though these new children have been with us for months. The staff are so happy for these new ones because we know that we will be making a difference in their lives, a difference for the better of their future but most important of all these children will have a chance to be children again and enjoy childhood in freedom and peace. The children, all of them are looking forward to school as the summer draws to a close. They want to see their other friends and the teachers as well. The staff who went to their homes for the vacation have since returned.

ASHA DEEP, PANAJI.

Many of the regular children visiting Asha Deep are out of state either on their summer break or with their families tending to their homes and fields. Due to this reason the number of children who came to the Shelter this month dropped down to about 35 to 40 on a daily basis. March had a total of 93 different children visiting the shelter. Many of these children were new and visited the shelter for the first time. Since our regular school going children were on their summer vacations, our staff was able to concentrate better on the new children. However we know that once schools reopen and the Heavens open and rain comes down the number of children visiting will increase. Two of the night shelter children, Kissan and Sanjay will be shortly placed in our homes. One of our Night shelter child Ajay, who was with us for about a week, has returned to Mumbai with his mother.

A few boys from Victory House, former children of Asha deep, visited the shelter and spent their time as a part of their vacations. We were really glad to see our former children John, Irfan and Akola who used to spend their days and nights on the streets and were taken into Asha Deep last year. After staying for a few months, they were placed in a Home/Boarding School (Margaret Bosco Bal Sadan) in June 2007 and are doing extremely well.

Our Staff spent maximum time with the children and helped them in all their activities at the shelter. Lokesh and Ramdas effeciently completed the field work and also helped in cleanliness, hair-cutting, nail-cutting, repairs and maintenance etc. Lawrence, a trainee is now been able to professionally handle the cooking.

We had a number of children treated at the Health Centre or G.M.C. this month for various ailments. Sanjay, our night shelter child was sick with diphtheria and was hospitalised for 4 days. He needed a lot of medication, and after he recovered was immunized for other illnesses (as he had not received these immunizations at birth). Shankar was taken to the hospital for an injury to his arm. Kiran, Babu, Rohini and Ramesh were treated for fever and infections. Ravina was treated and given a tetanus shot as a nail had pierced her leg near her house (she lives in a construction area).

Our staff was busy preparing children for school in June. They taught English and Konkani letters, numbers and nursery rhymes etc. About 15 children will be enrolled into school in the month of June. A few of our regular school-going children were also present and they were taught sentence making, spelling, writing numbers in figures, multiplication, etc. They also learnt some craft, embroidery and doll-making.

The prize for the ‘child of the month’ (for studies and behaviour) was given to Kissan and Nagir. In addition, we also gave prizes for school-going children, who stood first in their classes for the final exams: Nagir – std.I, Sonu – std.II, Alaudin – std. III

Lokesh efficiently carried the field work this month, as a result of which a number of new children began visiting the shelter. The field workers have the important task of convincing as many parents as possible to send their children to school the coming academic year. They have also been administering first aid on the field.

‘Dadima’, Kirti Gaonkar has been faithful and came almost everyday, helping with teaching, cleaning, grooming the children, playing with them, teaching them craft, etc. She also sponsored snacks for them. We are grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Morris for giving 3 DVDs for the children to enjoy, Joehfa Jekhna for donating clothes and a mattress, and Mukta Pearls, for the delicious sweets they brought for the children. A big thank you to Mr. Rajiv Shirodkar for donating 25 kg rice, 10 kg dal and 4 boxes of sweets, and to Sharon and Rob Kay for the contribution towards raincoats for the children.

Thanks to all the staff, management, visitors, for making it all possible. We are very happy with the work we do towards the underprivileged children and we seek to reach to many more. Asha Deep truly is a hope and light to many a street child and we thank God that He has used us as a vessel to bring joy and hope to so many children and their families. We close this month with a prayer to Him for his protection and look forward to a new season with hope to share His love with many more.

May was hot and humid in Calangute. The sea breeze brought a little respite from the heat. Even though this was the month of school holidays the staff was busy and still able to help and assist many children. The Shelter remained open throughout this month and new children came to check out what LA was all about and very soon became regular visitors.

Our Unit Manager and his Assistant went on their annual summer leave. Johnny and Joanna took a well deserved break. Other staff and Senior boys came to the Shelter to extend a helping hand to the staff there. All went fine and it was a great learning experience for the seniors.

Fieldwork continued as usual and this month they have done a great job raising awareness of health hazards during the monsoon and ways to tackle the same. Dwellers of slums were given instructions through novel ways of the precautions to be taken and what to do in the event of an emergency. Due to the efforts of the fieldworkers many new children have joined the Shelter and many parents have shown interest in educating their children.

Most of the visitors this month bought us ice cream which was welcomed by all and enjoyed thoroughly. We thank them and others who donated stationery, clothes and contributed towards the Shelter and El Shaddai as a whole. It is because of your generosity that these children have a shot at education, childhood and a better life.

We look forward to June with expectations. The rains will surely come bringing with it coolness and new life. The fields will turn green and schools will reopen. We hope many new children will come and avail of the facilities provided at the Shelter. We are ready to touch lives with love and care. We want to love the unloved and the less fortunate and hope we can be a blessing to these children as they are a blessing to us.

Many of the regular children visiting Stepping Stones have left for their native places along with their families for summer vacations. Due to which the number of children visiting our Shelter this month has declined. (more…)

The month of May started with a bang for the children of ESCT as we had the Children’s summer camp. Our project partners all over India took active participation in the 4 days summer camp. (more…)