| Dear Friends |
June 2008
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| This is the time of the year when we admit new children to our four Children’s Villages. Many of these newcomers are from AIDS backgrounds and the majority are themselves HIV positive. I find it really distressing to see so many little ones who will carry this incurable disease for life though no fault of their own, but inherited from an irresponsible parent. Most of them are girls and to take into our full-time care so many afflicted small children like this is soul-searing. I am fully aware of the fact that Jesus so many times insisted and emphasised: “Whoever receives one such little child, receives Me.” We have truly welcomed hundreds of such children into our full-time care, all of them from the poorest of backgrounds. We are aware that all the HIV+ children have lost their immunity to diseases and that there is still no cure. They have all started taking the prescribed drugs under the ART (anti-retroviral therapy) treatment and will have to continue this for their entire life. Even to miss for one day creates problems. We do get all the necessary drugs from the Government Hospitals. |
| One nine-year old girl, Jaya, is now in the hospice for very ill children because she has a very large swelling on her cheek and we know that it is a fast growing cancer, which is very painful and makes eating food an agony. Her face is distorted with the growth and yet, remarkably, almost unbelievably, she meets you with a really happy twisted smile. This reflects the wonderful loving care she receives at Jeevan Jyothi Hospice, where we can and do send our HIV+ children when they are too ill for us to cope with. |
| We now know also that ten of these children with HIV also have TB, and will have to be kept apart from the others because HIV patients have lost all immunity to any diseases and will easily pick up the infection from a TB patient. Unfortunately these HIV children with TB require the minimum of isolation until they are no longer a danger to others, about two months. We now have in our care more than 100 such children. You will be aware of the concern these little ones cause us and the need they have of constant care, of frequent checking. It is tragic to see some of them losing weight and becoming emaciated no matter what we do. |
| We have also had other tragedies among these children. One little girl she is six years old, was coming back after a brief visit to an aunt and uncle. They were on a motor cycle when they were hit behind by a drunken driver who then ran away leaving all three unconscious on the road. Haritha, among other things, was left with a break near the top of her thigh. Her aunt and uncle were taken to a large hospital in Madurai. Haritha had surgery and is now still in hospital with her leg in traction. The same kind of fracture happened to one of our boys on the playground. He has had surgical intervention three times and after two months is still in traction. All this adds up after a time and becomes truly wearing for our staff on top of all their other work. |
| We are very happy to be able to tell you that every one of the 70 children who sat for the important 10th standard (age 16) Government exams passed, some brilliantly. This is the fourth year running that we have had 100% success in children’s exams. This is so rare that the Minister of Education has sent us a congratulatory letter. This surely indicates the quality of our teaching and when you think of the backgrounds of most of these children, the results are most rewarding. Here is a story of one of our girls which she wrote herself: |
| "I am Divya now studying in 8th standard at RTU St. Peter’s Higher Secondary School and living in RTU Sirumalar Children’s Village with all facilities which I have never seen in my life in my own village. I am now 13 years old. I am thinking of my past life and want to describe it in this letter. I lost my mother at the age of two. I have two elder brothers and one younger brother. My poor old father was not able to feed us properly, not even one meal a day. We were living in a deep jungle far from Manjalar and I never went out of the jungle. I got a bad wound in my ankle and it was not healed for a long time. |
| "One day our Brother Thatha* visited our village with the mobile clinic from RTU and met my family. Immediately he took me in his jeep and admitted me in a big hospital and it was found that I had osteomyelitis. After long medical care I was cured and then came to a Children’s Village of RTU at the age of 7 and was admitted into 1st standard at St. Peter’s School. I had never been to school before. I could not read nor write. Before I had never seen a bus or a car or even a tarred road or even fields growing crops. It was all wonderful to me. I only knew jungle and a tiny hut. We lived by hunting and looking for herbs and roots and honey. Life was very hard for us and the other tribal people.
Now I am living in a paradise at Sirumalar Children’s Village, everything is provided for all my needs. I have a new mother and brothers and sisters. My ambition is to become a good scholar and earn money so that I can help the poor, like our Brother Thatha." |
| This is also the time of the year when we have to find places in colleges for all our teenagers who have finished their normal schooling. Already 60 of our children are in a wide range of colleges for professional studies. It is our rule that they may pursue studies which are employment-oriented and for the girls, a safe place to stay once employed. Most of the girls go for nursing or laboratory technician courses. We are having to find suitable places for another thirty youngsters. The cost of these advanced courses run at an average of Rs.40,000 per year per student, that is about £500 or €650. As you can see, to find such finance for around 90 young people each year is a big drain on our finances. This year 14 girls will start at three Schools of Nursing and 13 boys and girls will be going for various polytechnic courses, eg motor mechanics and electrical engineering. Some of those starting further studies this year have written about themselves: |
| "I am E. Muthu Kamatchi, 19 years old. I studied up to final school exams with the help of our Thatha* - Bro. James Kimpton. I was admitted at age of 3 in RTU. Now I am 19. I got 653/1200 marks in +2† public exam. I like science subjects. Now I am selected for the Diploma in Special Education for Mental retardation at Life Help Centre, Chennai. I like this course very much and I want to serve for the mentally challenged children." |
| "I am R. Latha, 18 years old. I was admitted to RTU Children’s Village soon after my birth. Till now I am under the care of our Thatha Bro. James Kimpton in RTU. I studied in the care of RTU until my final school exams at R.C. Little Flower School. I got 705/1200 marks in +2 public exam and applied for the Diploma in Civil/Computer Engineering course and have been selected for that. Soon I am going to join in Udhayam Polytechnic at Rameswaram." |
| "I am S. Maheswari, aged 18 years. I am living in RTU since 6 years from the age of 13. I studied through RTU Open School System# and joined in the normal stream and finished my academic studies. I got 626/1200 mark in +2. Now, I am going to join in a Computer Course as I have enough experience in Type writing. On 18th June I will join in Udayam Polytechnic, Rameswaram. I am always grateful to our Thatha." |
| [*Thatha is the Tamil for ‘grandfather’ and is what the children call Bro James.
†+1 and +2 are what in the UK would be called ‘first and second year 6th form’.
#RTU’s La Salle Open School is for slow learners and children who have dropped out, enabling them to take mainstream exams.] |
| Earlier this year, Mr Gomathymurugan stood down as Director of RTU in India, having served the organisation for seven years. We wish him well in his future career. We invited Fr Antony Paulsamy to take on the responsibility, and here he introduces himself.
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| "It is a pleasure to contact you all through this letter. I am Fr Antony Paulsamy, belonging to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. I was born on 2 May 1965 and from 1975 to 1982 (ie from 6th to 12th standard) I was a student of Boys’ Village, which is just 2 km away from RTU and was founded by Brother James Kimpton. In 1992, I was ordained priest. After serving as Provincial Secretary for three years, I went to Italy to do a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture at Biblicum (the Pontifical Biblical Institute) in Rome in 1996. During my 4 years of studies I had the chance of remaining at Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel for a semester and in Germany for summer vacations. I was teaching Bible in our Theological seminary. From September 2006 to April 2007 I was in RTU for voluntary service. Even though I would have loved to continue, my other teaching responsibilities forced me back to my former work.
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| "In May 2008, when my superiors were planning to appoint me as the Director of Udhayam (social work wing of our Province) the request of Br. James brought me here to RTU. When my provincial allowed me to serve in RTU, I was extremely happy. Being a child of RTU, it was one of my dreams to serve here and it was partially fulfilled earlier and now fully. If the poor rise up and stand on their own legs through RTU, that would be the success of my service as Director here. With God’s blessings and with your support and guidance I am confident that I can make it. Thank you - Fr Antony." |
| Cordially yours, |
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| Brother James
Kimpton |
