Sponsor's update from India (Part 1)
05/11/2007
We have received six-monthly reports from our colleagues in India. Here are some edited extracts from the reports of the SOS Children’s Villages in India for the first half of 2007.
Ramesh Kumar writes from Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh): 2007 is our tenth anniversary and in that time we have cared for nearly 250 children and young people. Today we have 200 children in 14 family homes. In the first half of 2007 we have taken in twelve children including a baby boy who was only a few days old. Our children have been doing well at school. Many children got 85% and above in their exams. We are especially proud of two of our girls who won places at “Apollo Nursing College” to do a four-year degree course in nursing and of two of our boys who successfully completed their B. Tech courses with first class marks. We also support the local community through the Family Strengthening Programme. 300 vulnerable children and their families were helped. Many of the children had dropped out of school and we were able to help them with free meals, health checks and supporting their education.
Rakesh Sinha writes from Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh): We currently have 215 children being cared for in 18 family homes. Most are old enough to go to school. We also care for 66 young people, who are following their chosen courses to qualify for specialist colleges. We can also report some successes. Raj Kamal passed the All India Engineering and Joint Engineering Examination; Poonam has passed the BDS (Bachelor in Dental Surgery). We are now in the process of helping our young people to gain admission to various specialist schools and colleges. We also support 300 vulnerable children and their families in the local community through the Family Strengthening Programme. Children of this programme are doing well in education. They are punctual to school. They have become active and smart. Their behaviour has also changed. They are also aware of the importance of health and hygiene.
N. Girijavallabhan writes from Trichur (Kerala): We are currently looking after 155 children and 51 young people in the SOS Children’s Village. Six new children came into our care in the first six months of 2007. We are also supporting another 350 children through Family Strengthening Programme. We are happy to report that seven of the young women cared for by SOS Children have got married and that eight of our young adults have started work having completed their studies, three of them are nurses. 98% of our school children passed their exams with one girl winning the top prize in her class. As part of our work with the local community, we have helped 350 children in lone parent families to get a decent education, nutritious food and security. We also offer a package of services to the mothers of those children in order to make them economically and socially independent. Various skill training programmes have been arranged for them so that they can earn more income to provide better care for their children. For example, three mothers started working in tailoring shop, while others started new jobs or moved to better jobs. Their children have improved at school and one is going to college to train to be a teacher. We ran a medical camp to check on the health of vulnerable children and their families in the local community and we have entered into a partnership with Society for Rural Improvement (SRI) to provide the best possible support to these women headed families.
Relevant Countries: India.