Education & hope for 165 needy children in India

"Happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s the ability to deal with them”, said Steve Maraboli" 

We choose to be happy and face whatever the tomorrow holds! It is a great joy to be around our children in New Home. There are few girl children got admitted to our New Home and they are happy and mingling with our existing children. During this ongoing pandemic, we planned a few activities on Campus, while adhering to the mandated social distancing norms. These activities were planned to uplift the spirits of the children and train them to get back to their normal routine, post lockdown.

Though the new year started with a panic moment of omicron, Kids and Mentors welcomed the New Year with Celebrations followed by a scrumptious dinner. Omicron cases caused LIA school on the campus to go back to the online mode. Four of our girls returned from their homes in the village and tested positive for covid. They were quarantined with a caregiver and recovered quickly. Two Staff families tested positive. They too recovered without any complications. Rest of the children tested negative. The kitchen garden saw children gardening and harvesting various crops like, tapioca, ginger, turmeric and even papayas and coriander and mint leaves.

The school in the New Home campus started its offline classes from Feb 14th. The inhouse counselor also conducted open group sessions for the children. A special session on good touch and bad touch was conducted for teens. A sanitary napkin incinerator was donated to New Home by a Well-wisher. Gopal and Ganesh were registered for this year’s NIOS board exams. Special training on subjects was conducted online by teachers from Delhi Public School. They attended offline classes in DPS and submitted their assignments. They displayed excellent performance and achieved distinction in the Tutor Mark Assignment (TMA). Students engaged in craftwork and other extra-curricular activities like broom making, drawing, coloring, etc.

As we do have few children who are mildly autistic, play therapy with different activities such as drawing, gardening, indoor and outdoor games were organized. The children aged 6 -8 years old were also joined them and we could see a lot of fun and interactions. Senior girls were given training on the basics of Self Defense. Children were also taught how to accept specially abled children and people. Gopal and Ganesh, a train tended their data entry practical exam. Mar 10th was observed as Founder's Memorial Day.  A video montage of memorable moments with our Founder, Late Mr. V.M. Samuel was played, and his biography was launched by his daughter. Mar 21st marked the start of the LIA annual exam. 

Here are few photographs of our activities.

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“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller.

New Home has successfully weathered the first year of the pandemic through optimism - for growth, support, and for the future. 

Sharing these updates from our children’s home:

NARRATIVE ON KEY HIGHLIGHTS: 

The recovery from the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, though challenging, was an eventful journey for all at New Home. The children and staff positively adapted and grew through the process. They now await to welcome the new year along with its opportunities and ventures.

CHILDREN’S UPDATES:

• Nadhiya had an appendicitis operation (1st July). She was admitted in the hospital for a week and went home to her mother for 10 days after discharge.
• Bindu had a mild injury on her finger. Her X-ray was normal
• Tanu was taken to Mobility India (4th Aug) to repair / re-adjust his prosthetic leg to reduce pain and compression on the knee joint
• Anand was taken for 3 Audiology consultations with Anusha and John (audiologists) to assess his hearing aid and progress in speech and hearing. Annie (boys home staff) gives him a 30-minute audio and speech session every day and Kugakali (LIA teacher) helps with his academics
• Janavi (7 years old) is given additional dietary supplements of an egg and fruit as we noticed her growth rate was comparatively slower than the other children

With the change in weather, 18 children fell ill with cold and viral fever. It started with just a few children and spread to the others, including 6 staff members. All were given multivitamin tablets and homemade “kashaya” (immunity boosters). Remedial classes are carried out for a couple of students - Gopal, Ganesh, Revathi, Hema, Anand and a few others - as necessary. An educational debate, in the form of Mock Trials (a CWC requirement) was conducted to help with increasing public speaking confidence.

ACADEMIC UPDATES :

Two of our children (Ganesh and Gopal) have registered to appear for their 10th grade Board Exams in this academic year. Tentatively, the NIOS exams are scheduled in March 2022. Four of our graduates received their 2nd PU results in this quarter and got very good results. (Katheni - 90.5%, Dayanand - 83.5%, Sneha - 80%, Sarasu - 79%)

The Principal of Lighthouse International School interviewed and admitted eight children from New Home. All were admitted in pre-primary as they could not speak in English and it would be difficult to cope with in a higher class. Four children surprised us with how quickly they picked up the language and have now been promoted to 1st grade. The First Unit Tests of Lighthouse International School were carried out online in September. 

Currently, the school is running with the support of laptops, projectors and internet dongles / hotspots borrowed from New Home. Four new TVs were purchased and installed in the classrooms. The school partnered with Sony to provide computer training sessions to all the staff who oversee the online classes. Wifi challenges continue in the school but are manageable. 

Three new teachers have started staying on campus to oversee classrooms and conduct remedial classes after school hours. They are - 

• Narasinha - Kannada teacher
• Kugakali - Pre-primary teacher who joined on 26th August and will start counseling in the coming months
• Ashley - Math and Home Science teacher who joined on 30th August

CWC VISIT :

CWC and DCPO Unit inspectors visited the campus in September. They carried out intensive inspections of documentation, staff interviews, visited all areas of campus, reviewed individual child files, etc. The CWC staff worked with lawyers to ensure that we are maintaining all required documentation, and all criteria for four separate homes (7 - 11 years, 12 - 15 years for boys and girls) were met. New Home met all requirements to be certified as a FIT Institution and is awaiting response on the license renewal.

EXPANSION PROJECT :

The expansion of New Home (Boys Dorm) and the LIA additional classrooms, costing 67 lakhs, is being supported by Grace Memorial Fund. The school is set to be furnished for 15 lakhs. A foundation strong enough to construct an additional floor in the future will be laid. After the inauguration of a new unit with minor alterations, the senior and junior boys will be moved, to meet CWC requirements.

GENERAL ACTIVITIES :

• All committee meetings are held as per schedule
• During the Santhosa Samsara meet, sex education sessions were conducted for boys of 12+ years
• Outdoor and indoor games, art and counseling sessions were also organized
• A session on “caring for difficult children” was provided for Mentors.
• The movie HEALED - Biopic of George Ebenezer was screened for all

Various important days and national holidays were celebrated by all at New Home. Founders Day was celebrated by planting eight new trees, Independence Day by hoisting the national flag. Wellwishers celebrated their birthdays / anniversaries and other events by sponsoring lunches, cakes, and snacks.

CAMPUS UPDATES :

Monkey Bars are being installed in the playground as a measure to redirect the energy of hyperactive children from destruction to sports and outdoor physical activities. New Home’s organic farm saw excellent harvest in July, August and early September with tapioca, ladies finger, brinjal, bottle gourd, spinach, tomatoes, custard apples, rose apples, papayas and guavas.