| Dear Friends |
June 2007
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| You have probably noticed that I nearly always come back to the many children, boys and girls who are now in our total care with all their sad histories and psychological needs. Above all things they need the constant strengthening reassurance that now they are as safe as can be and that they are wholly accepted and loved. This is more so now than at other times of the year. Schools start in June and so new children are admitted, or rather made welcome, before that in the month of May. This year nearly all the 120 new admissions to our four Children’s Villages are from AIDS affected families. That mothers and fathers disappear in quick succession due to AIDS is very difficult for the children to cope with. |
| The loss of both parents after watching them grow more and more ill and eventually die must be almost unbearable. But then to be rejected by other close relatives as if inheriting, or even being the cause, of the parents’ disease, can be truly devastating for the children left behind. And this year the number of such children in our care will exceed 500 of whom about 60 will themselves have contracted the HIV virus. We are among the small handful of places who will welcome these children, boys and girls of all ages. I am sure you can visualize the amount of care in every way they need - superior care that embodies not just the physical and medical care but also the psychological care that calls for deep and total acceptance by all of us involved whether in the Children’s Village families or the schools we run, everywhere. It is not easy. It demands a profound kind of love for so many AIDS orphans, some of whom will also be HIV+. This is a terrible epidemic that respects no-one. I would request your prayers for these greatly cherished children that they and we may cope with all the end results of this problem God has entrusted to us in a special way. |
| All this is the reason why the now more than 1000 children in our care are special for us and all our dedicated staff. Our family-care system is by far the best way to help these children. By having a trained “mother”, often a widow, to care for 7–8 boys and girls gives a child a new permanent mother and new brothers and sisters. The system is expensive. Fortunately now a good number of these children are sponsored by friends from all over the world. This is a most valuable help. I am grateful to all those who sponsor a child and want them to know how greatly we appreciate this. Thank you. |
| At this time we are also deciding with the boys and girls who have completed their normal schooling which are the most suitable higher studies for them to do. We need to keep in mind the assurance of future employment as well as places to live once these studies are finished. The normal BA’s or BSc’s will not guarantee employment which, for our children is the prime consideration.
At present 51 students are in a wide variety of Colleges all over Tamil Nadu, such as the following:
18 girls are studying to be nurses in 10 different schools of Nursing.
One girl is finishing her studies for MBBS at Madurai Medical College.
9 boys and girls are studying to be Laboratory technicians.
3 are studying Classical Music at Kalai Kaveri College.
16 boys are at ITI studying engineering.
Many are now well employed and settled in life and these little case histories are just a few: |
| Shanti came into our care as a two year old abandoned baby girl. She stayed with us to complete her academic school studies and then obtained a scholarship to do her medical studies at the Tanjore Medical College. She did very well and passed her MBBS. She now works as a Government doctor in an important Primary Health Centre earning a handsome salary.
Siridah came to us as a very small girl. After completing her normal school studies she opted to study Classical Indian dancing such as Baratha Natyam for four year at Kalai Kaveri College in Tiruchi. There she obtained her BA in Indian Classical Dancing and became a very accomplished teacher and now works in an International School.
Senthil Murugan came to us from a very poor family. He did very well in his studies and went on to study Pharmacy and obtained his B.Pharmacy and quickly obtained employment as a medical representative selling medicines for a large firm, in Tanjore.
And lastly, Selvakumar. After completing his school studies chose to study for and obtained Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering. He now works in Chennai and is well settled in life.
And, of course, a good number are married and have children of their own who are considered grand children of RTU. It is always a happy event when past children come to visit with their own children.
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| At this point I would like to introduce another of our colleagues, Mr Kamaraj who is in overall charge of our education programmes. Here is his report on his work: |
| RTU EDUCATION POLICY aims at bringing overall development of the children under our education programme and preparing them to contribute their service to society.
The Education Department is one of the important programmes in RTU, as our children are special children because of their past. So we focus on individual care of the child which the normal school could not provide.
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| Teachers are most important in our education programme; all the activities are child based. So every year we are upgrading the skills of the teachers through training, exposure visits and sharing of experiences with resource people involved in similar work; and the teaching methodology has been further upgraded to make learning more interesting and informative. The children receive immediate feedback on their performance in class. Participation of the children is always encouraged. No corporal punishment is allowed. An environment of friendly warmth and acceptance is maintained in the classes. Each child receives equal attention from the teacher and is provided equal opportunity to express and interact. There is no formal examination system for the younger children. However, continuous assessment by the teacher on various aspects is considered, to evaluate the performance of the child. |
| Until now we are providing good education up to 10th standard (for the 15 year old children). In the last two years our school attained 100% pass results with good marks in the state exams. Until now, after completing their studies many are sent by us to residential schools. These are often not ideal for our children, as most of the residential schools only concentrate on the academic side and are not concerned about the students’ background. Such environment may lead the children to less academic performance. This makes it too difficult to get admission to professional studies for our children. On account of this, we have taken steps to upgrade our present St. Peter’s High School as a Higher Secondary School, for girls. The first students start in June. It will help the children’s future career and settlement. |
| St. Peter’s High School mainly focuses on the children from our three closest Children’s Villages, three youth Hostels and G.Kallupattii village poor background children. We are concentrating on quality in studies rather than the quantity. Our method of teaching also differs from other schools. We adopt ‘joyful learning’ method while teaching. Because of this we have only 25 children per classroom in our Primary School and 35 children in the High School. Now we are planning for the future of the school on a long-term basis. In future (2010-11), the high strength of children will be approximately 1000 to be accommodated in our St. Peter’s High School premises. It will make a congested atmosphere and heavy traffic among children. So we are planning for additional construction of new classrooms at a nearby place in the coming school year.
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| We earnestly hope that the Lord God may be with us always in accomplishing this noble task for the nourishment or our children of most unprivileged background.
With kind regards, Kameraj. |
| A GOOD SCHOOL REPORT. RTU’s school’s have received some favourable comments in a report published recently by DWHH, a German charity which has given major support over the years. Here are a few extracts. |
| “The teachers attempt not to overburden the children with theoretical knowledge… they try to work with practical examples and use material out of the well-known environment of the children as far as possible. The teaching aids are developed indigenously by a team of educators and artists and meet high pedagogical standards.” “...it should be noted that it is the style of teaching that is really remarkable even compared to the international standards.” “The spiritual and pedagogical atmosphere has produced dedicated teachers that derive a high sense of professional satisfaction; this is evident by the long duration of service of the teachers, annual turnover of teachers is very low at just 2%.” “The social and educational efforts concentrate on orphans, destitute children and the poorest of the poor, mainly belonging to the lowest castes. They get a chance to live a completely different life compared to their prospects without RTU education.” |
| BRO JAMES CONTINUES... As I finished writing, a copy of a reputable All-India magazine ‘The Week’ arrived, containing an article on AIDS orphans. Perhaps some may think I am obsessed by the dreadful HIV/AIDS pandemic in India, and think I exaggerate. I am in the midst of the whole problem: children come here every day asking for refuge. so do read the excerpts that follow here...
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| [Extracts from 'The Week']>> There is no official data on the total number of HIV-AIDS orphans in the country. The ministry of health and family welfare says 167,078 cases of AIDS have been reported from 1986. However the figures given by a senior World bank official are staggeringly different; probably because only 10 per cent of the infected are aware of their status. She wrote that the number of children orphaned by AIDS in India is approaching 2 million. The numbers far exceed that of any of the African nations.
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The founder of Sangram, an NGO working with AIDS victims, blames the government for the lack of concern. “The Central and state governments are so obsessed with the larger picture that they are losing touch with harsh realities.”
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The death of their parents almost always leaves the children homeless, with the rest of the family ostracising them. The founder of Chennai-based Community Health & Education Society says “Whether infected or affected, or orphaned, they have psycho-social needs of their own, which are often neglected.” She recalls incidents of children getting terribly upset when teachers ask them about their parents, who are no more. “Children need psychological support to deal with death, grief and bereavement, and to face the impact of stigma and discrimination.”
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Even schools shut their gates on these kids. Ujawala Lavate, who runs a home for HIV-AIDS orphans on the outskirst of Pune, recalled how the villagers harassed kids admitted to the Zilla Parishad School. “They would throw away the kids’ tiffin boxes, pour water on them, and even throw stones at them. The teachers remained mute spectators,” she said.
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Shunned by all and left alone in the wicked world, the AIDS orphans often fall victim to trafficking and sexual abuse. [End of extracts from 'The Week']
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THANK YOU FOR READING THE VARIETY OF MATERIAL IN THIS QUARTER'S NEWSLETTER.
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| Cordially yours, |
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| Brother James
Kimpton |
