| Dear Friends |
September 2004
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| Dear Friends
This morning at the clinic I met a small group of women who have come to meet me, from Periyakulam. One is a young mother carrying a little girl who may be 3 or 4. The others are older women. I ask the mother what she wants and she holds the child in front of her and shows me her legs – they look normal child’s legs, but they are useless. The child cannot walk or stand. Such a beautiful child, with those lovely Indian eyes. But no smile. She contemplates me the way children do. They tell me where they came from, 15 miles down the road. They have tried several other places with no benefit at all. Can I, will I help?
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| I ask them to come to my office and they sit outside while our social worker talks with them. In the meantime I find the child a simple doll and that breaks the ice and I get a delightful friendly smile. Then I find a biscuit and we are now friends forever!
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| This child has haunted me all day and my thoughts turn to her now, late at night. So innocent, so vulnerable, so trusting – but crippled and a burden now and for the future unless we can do something, anything. And then I remember our good friends in a center for physically disabled children, which we have helped set up and run. Their physiotherapist can teach the mother how to give suitable exercises to strengthen the child’s legs and hopefully get her walking. And once she knows what to do she can carry out these exercises at home. |
| I give them a letter of introduction and some money for the bus journeys (so important this for poor villagers). I bid them goodbye and tell them they can always come back. They go off with some excellent herbal medicines we have and with some hope at last. And I do not even know the little girl’s name – only the vision of her stays with me: her eyes, her smile, her great need. |
| So often children have come into my life like this. Some then go out of my life having found the help they needed. Some stay permanently somehow with me. |
| I am aware that in my newsletters I often come back to our work among children. This is because we consider them a vital part of all we do and that for the future so much hope is involved, dependent on their care. In all our work we care for and support more than 2000 children in one way or another. But for children committed to our total care, as if they were now our own, which is largely the case, we have close to 1000. And this year we have become aware of the growing great need of a refuge, a warm and welcoming home, for those made orphans because of the extensive, and sometimes hidden, problem of the AIDS epidemic. A year or two ago we had no such children. This year we have 102 of whom 11 now with us are also victims of AIDS and are HIV+. That means these children will not live for very long. Already six have died and some are now terminally ill. We have somehow taken into our three Children’s Villages and into one of our “satellite” Children’s Villages, close to 100. It has not been easy making accommodation for these little ones, all mostly below 10 years of age, some very small. |
| Hardly anyone else wants anything to do with them, largely due to all the myths surrounding the AIDS problem. So other organizations refer them to us. We have not refused to accept a single such child. They above all need acceptance. They need another surrogate mother and father who will as much as possible replace their own who have died. With us there is no question of segregating them unless they become too ill and need hospice care. They are all completely integrated into our Children’s Village families and our schools. They are no danger to others no matter what misunderstandings float around. More than our other children they need security, affection, total acceptance and excellent care. |
| How many of us have experienced the loss of both parents at an early age and then abandoned to the care of total strangers in a new environment? Rarely do we put ourselves in the shoes of such children to understand their predicament, their grievous losses, and their problems of adjustment. How much support, guidance and affection they need and must receive.
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| All this may explain our preference for our family care system in our three Children’s Villages. In no house are there more than seven boys and girls of various ages in the care of a “mother” who has been previously trained into our methods of child care. At present we have 72 such families where we try to procure a normal family life and where no child gets lost in a crowd, but can be assured of individual care and the love of a mother. We have our own special and well run schools for our children and the local village children so that all day long our children are integrated into normal village life, mixing with other village children. |
| RTU Children’s Villages offer orphaned and destitute children –regardless of race, nationality or creed – a new and permanent home, and prepare them for an independent life. Let me explain our system and philosophy.
The RTU Children’s Village work is based on four principles:
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| The Mother: Every child is given a Mother and thus someone to turn to at all times.
Brothers and Sisters: Boys and girls of various ages grow up together as brothers and sisters. Siblings are not separated.
The House : Every RTU Children’s Village family has a house of its own.
The Village : The house is an integral part of the village community.
This gives the children cultural roots and a feeling of belonging.
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| The Children’s Village System
Children brought to the RTU village maintain close contact with the world around and grow up in the natural local schools.
They are admitted from their day of birth where necessary, up to ten years old, although the upper age limit is always waived to allow real brothers and sisters to stay together.
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| Children remain in the care of Children’s Villages until they are able to
look after themselves. On completion of their schooling, young people can stay in one of the hostels which run separately for girls and boys while they learn a trade or profession. The RTU village where they grow up is always regarded as their real home. We also have two working girls hostels.
They are considered our responsibility until they are married or settled
independently.
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| These children are with us because of their dire need for a place of safety, a loving home, proper care and hope for a real future. Any problems which a child brings with it, are our problems too. We do not pick and choose for ease of care. This often brings extreme cases to our door.
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| Many of these cases are of exploited and abused children, especially young teenage girls less than fifteen years old who have been drugged, abducted, raped and left pregnant. Two came to us a little while back from remote villages. One was then taken by her relatives for a village abortion. She is fourteen and seemed to have remembered little of what happened due to the drugs put into soft drinks. The other delivered a baby boy, now with need of extensive surgery to give him an anus. He was immediately given a surgical opening from the abdomen and will soon undergo further surgery to give him a back passage (anus). With modern surgery so much can be achieved, and although very expensive, we never count the financial cost. |
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Many of you already sponsor a child at one of our 3 main Children’s Villages. This is a truly helpful and wonderful way to support this work, and for that we are most grateful to you. However, there are still many children who remain to be sponsored. We would be very happy to have your help in caring for these so special children. This programme alone costs RTU £81,250 per year, (Rs. 6,500,00/- or $ : 144,500) to cover the entire budget.
All we are asking is £12 per month, or £144 per year - (Rs.600, US$ 13, 12 Euros) which will cover the cost of food and all other essentials for one child. Many of you undertake to sponsor a child for the duration of their stay with us.
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We will provide you with a photo when you start and a case history. Of course you would be able to choose whether you would like a boy or girl, young or older. We will keep you informed about the child and send you fresh photographs and a report at the end of each year.
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Following the June Newsletter, somebody wrote and asked “why did my letters have to be so sad in their content?” The answer is simple, because they reflect all the aspects of our life here among these lovely, but very impoverished people. However, it is not all doom and gloom.
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Suganthi is a beautiful, mature young lady, who, in her flowing sarees always looks elegant and dignified. She came to us more than 20 years ago on the very day she was born fortunate to be alive and was placed in our Children’s Village. She completed her schooling successfully and followed several professional courses. She will be married in our own school auditorium very soon to a young man from our staff. We now have a growing number of “grand children” of RTU. This is just one of so many typical success stories.
There are no random acts. We are all connected. You can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind.
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Imagine a world where every child is safe, well-fed, educated and happy. Imagine being part of making that dream a reality.
Cordially yours,
Brother James Kimpton
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If you are able to make a donation, cheques etc should be made out to Reaching the Unreached and sent to the following:
David Cassidy, 11 Ovington Avenue, Boscombe East, Bournemouth, BH7 6SA
(Phone and Fax) 01202 427511
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| Cordially yours, |
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| Brother James
Kimpton |
