Empower 120 differently abled kids in Tamil Nadu

As we reported to you last time, we have been looking forward to buying hearing aids for a girl named Leena.  For months, COVID made it impossible to have her fitted for them, but her family was finally able to take her to the hospital this week and she received her new hearing aids yesterday!  I wish you could have seen the broad smile on her face when she could hear again.  I hope you are proud of what your donation helped accomplish.

We have also been saving up recent donations to buy a new wheelchair for Sanjay.  Those of you who have supported our work since we first posted this project on GlobalGiving several years ago may remember that buying Sanjay a wheelchair was the first thing we did with early donations we received.  Sanjay was 6 at the time, and had to be carried everywhere.  Two friends or family members would have to carry him on a board to get him to the nearest toilet 1 km. away.   The wheelchair made a huge difference in his life, but since he lives in a very rural area with no paved roads, it was difficult to push him over the rocks and potholes.  Eventually, the wheelchair broke.  So Sanjay is back where he started, except that now he can push himself around the house and down the street on a dustpan.

So this time we have decided to buy Sanjay a wheelchair with wheels that are designed to negotiate rough terrain.  It will be several times more expensive than a regular wheelchair, but it will last him the rest of his life.  Your donations have taken us a good part of the way to being able to afford it.  We will let you know when we've purchased it.

Eleven-year-old Leena has been denied the opportunity for a full life because she needs a better hearing aid than her parents can afford.   She cannot actively participate in her classes or interact with her friends.  Her struggle to keep up with her schoolwork and her social isolation have taken a huge emotional toll on her.

The generous donations we have received for this project provided us enough money to buy Leena the hearing aids she needs, and we had been talking with her parents and the hospital about getting them for her when the recent surge of COVID cases in India hit.  So unfortunately, for now, she cannot safely be fitted for them.  Indeed, for now, we have closed down all our field activities.

But we are looking forward to the day -- hopefully in a month or two -- when COVID is again under control.  When Leena's family is able to safely open their door again, our team will be there to open her world.

Until then, please stay safe yourself, and reach out to help others in whatever way you can.