Send a Child to school in India for a Year

Twelve months and counting. What a daunting, challenging, exhausting year it has been. A year of lock down, distance learning and figuring out how to engage 58 children day in and day out all within the confines of our home, with no support staff.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes we are learning how to be resilient in the face of hardship, diligent in a time of uncertainty and most importantly, how to lean on each other for what life demands of us to stay on course and continue to reach for our dreams – even in the middle of a world-wide pandemic.

Nothing happens by accident when you are caring for a home filled with teenagers, young adults, four dogs, chickens and a garden that needs tending no matter what else is happening. Once again, our staff and kids deserve the credit for staying positive, taking care of the home and themselves and finding ways to bring joy, laughter and hope to these difficult days.

Last week the kids celebrated the Pongal holidays. A ten-day break from school where most of the kids usually travel to their home village to visit with extended family such as aunts and uncles or grandparents. This year was different, as it has been for so many of us around the world. It was impossible for the children to go out to dozens of different villages and be with large groups of people and return home. The risk is too high for us, so for the first time, everyone stayed home.

To ease the sadness and burden of a continued sense of limits on life, the staff put together a series of fun-filled competitions to engage the kids in art, sport and other creative outlets to encourage the kids to look forward and build on a year-long endeavor to see exactly what we can do, no matter the circumstance. Each area of competition had a theme, such as climate change, sustainability, education and the importance of staying fit. 

There were baking competitions, drawing, painting, volley ball and cricket matches. The kids had a glorious time and proved once again, that anything is possible if you only try. 

We look forward to the kids going back to school at some point during this new year and life going back to some sense of normal, friendships renewed and new college adventures. Until then, we will do what we do best – be a family that loves and supports each other.

Links:

• Hope Now