Class distinctions are an impediment to understanding…
and anything that interferes with understanding should be discarded.
David & Leigh
Eddings
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School News!
Through Pallavi’s efforts, the children have taken the next step in responsibility...they come to school on their own...and on time too!!
Aside from this new development, are the new workbooks we have developed and the new materials that were brought back from Canada.
The children have really settled into their new classroom, and seem to feel at home there...this is definitely evident in the fact that we often have to kick them out at the end of the day rather than them running on their own!
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HOUSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Throughout December, Pallavi (VP India) worked hard at finding a housing solution for our families. What she found were little shacks that would give the families a roof over their head, electricity, water close by, and minimum rent. The plan was for One! to pay the deposit ($23-33), and then the family would be responsible for the rent.
Pallavi took two mothers (the only ones who were still showing interest in helping themselves at this point, and who could possibly afford to pay a monthly rent) to meet the contractor and finalize the deal. Rekha (the mother of Rajeshree, Bhagyashree, and Nitin) was impressed and thankful. She accepted and caused no problems.
Kanchan (Mom of Rakesh, Roshan,…), on the other hand, was a completely different story. All she did was laugh and embarrass not only herself but Pallavi and One!.
Pallavi was happy to find the houses and happy that at least one family was moving up in terms of accommodation.
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In the mean time, Chaman (father of Jayenti, Ramoo, Sanju, Kishor) had independently gone and arranged for his own new house. He took a loan for the deposit and moved the family in within a month. He showed the will and drive to improve his and his families lives independently!
We are very, very proud of Chaman and family!!
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Inevitable and Continuous Change...
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Change is always inevitable, and I think this is especially true in the work that we do. With weather and the government being unpredictable elements, it makes the lives of our families very difficult.
After the housing crisis, we had a few changes in our families. Unfortunately we lost, Akshay and his brother Jayesh (Mom Poonam) as well as Little Ravi and Raju. Ravi and Raju (mom Sharda) are still in the area, but their parents have lost interest in what we are trying to do. Sharda pops in every once in a while to ask for things, and we always give her the same answer ”When your children start coming to class!”. Hopefully one day she will bring them.
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Raju, Radha, Roopa, and Rahul (Mom Laxmi) moved to Khar station, only 10 minutes away. But, Sangeeta, Ajay, Ashok, Sona, Kokila and baby just couldn’t survive in Mumbai and had to go back to village. We often get reports as to how they are doing and expect them back soon.
However, change is not always bad, and so we have gained three or four new families.
We have the cousins of Jayenti (7 children), our Muslim family (7 children), as well as two other small families and some single children coming.
Once again, our roster is up to at least 50!!!
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