Our e-news for April

Greetings from RTU. The academic year was given a good farewell as all our schools held their Annual Day celebrations under one roof at our main campus with the parents, children and teachers. Children performed a colourful dance show on the stage. It was just awesome to watch our children dancing continuously for almost 30 to 45 minutes around the theme of Thatha’s love for them. All were glued to their seats – how talented our children are! The schools closed on 20th April for the long summer holidays and will return on 31st May.

Children's Village news

All our 10th, 11th and 12th standard students have completed their Government public examinations. Now, some of our foster mothers and the children in the Children’s Villages are with their relatives for their well-deserved summer holidays. Outings and picnics have been arranged for the children who have no relatives and so stay with us all the time. We took them to Vaigaidam, Maruthanathi and Kailash Temple and they really enjoyed their days out.

17 students who have completed their 12th standard exams are taking part in a month-long English class here at RTU to improve their spoken English before they go on to professional courses and college. The leaders are Clive and Cynthia Prior, and John Savery from the UK.

We celebrated the Tamil New Year during the month and all our children and foster families attended the local festival of the Goddesses Muthalamman in the local villages of G Kallupatti and Genguvarpatti. It was a joyful day for all of us to participate in the celebrations.

One of our professional students, Kannan, has successfully completed his 3-year diploma in Mechanical Engineering and now has a placement at Covai Super Sales India Pvt Ltd, Coimbatore. He has always been a very responsible and sincere student and we wish him all the best for his future career.

A new boys hostel named Henry Boys Hostel was formally opened on 21st April. Mr Ashworth and Ms Karthika from United Way in Chennai opened the new hostel in the presence of boys and staff members. Also in attendance were Br Amalan FSC, President of the De La Salle Brothers at Boys’ Town in Madurai, Br Arockiadoss FSC, and Fr Antony, Director of RTU. About 50 boys from 9th and 10th standard will live here and attend our RTU secondary school in the next academic year. We are grateful to United Way, Chennai for their generous contribution towards the construction costs of this hostel. (Read more)

On 30th April, Mrs P Ramuthai, aged 39, came from Veerapandi in Theni District with her two daughters to join us as a foster mother. Her husband was violent and did not give her enough money to run the family. After a big fight, he left and Ramuthai still does not know his whereabouts. Without money, she could not support her family so she went to her sister’s house and stayed there for a year. Last month she came to know about RTU and our foster mother care system. Now Ramuthai has joined as a foster mother in Miriam Children’s Village and her two daughters – Rani aged 11 years and Pushpa who is 9 - live with her. They will attend our St Peter’s School from June onwards.

News from our schools

We held science exhibitions in two of our schools – at Nirmala Middle School over on our Bodi campus where Mrs Bama Ramani from the local Education Office officiated, and also at St Peter’s Primary School at our main Kallupatti campus. All the students’ talents were appreciated by the teachers and other visitors to the exhibitions.

   

At the start of the school holidays, a teachers’ review meeting was held.  We said a fond farewell to Mrs Mariammal who has worked in the nutrition department and then as a balwadi (pre-school) helper for the last 36 years. Fr Antony, the department managers and the headmasters honoured her with a shawl and the balwadi teachers presented her with a bronze pot.

Housing

We have completed two houses in Reddiyapatti village. All the family members are living happily and safely in their houses. This month we have received another 50 applications for houses from the most disadvantaged, low-caste people from nearby rural villages. In total, we have around 200 families waiting for houses. Any help you can give towards our house-building programme would be most welcome.

My name is Anandhi. I live in Old Batlagundu with my husband, Chinnaiya and we have one daughter who is in 2^nd standard. Also living in our home is my brother-in-law who is 24 years old and my mother-in-law who is 61. My husband’s brother is short in stature with a hunchback. He studied up to 10^th standard but could not continue his studies due to health problems. My husband suffers from asthma and often needs an inhaler. As a result, he is not able to do any hard labouring work. I work in a bakery as a daily wage labourer and I earn a meagre income. I am the only breadwinner in the family. After our marriage, we lived in an old mud and thatch house for five years which was destroyed during the heavy rain. So, for the last three years, we took shelter in our relative’s house but had to leave due to family problems. During this time, I started saving a small amount to buy a piece of land and last year I was able to buy a piece of land. I heard of RTU and its housing schemes for the rural poor. The house consists of a main room, kitchen, veranda and toilet. My dream of having a safe house with all the basic facilities has come true. 

With your faithful financial contributions, you have demonstrated your deep commitment to our work of serving the poor. Your support has repeatedly played a key role in our success. There is no way to express our gratitude for your loyalty. We always remain deeply grateful for all your generous contributions. We are continuously inspired by the dedication and generosity of people like you who answer the call to give repeatedly. Each one of you holds a special place in our hearts. Generous gifts from donors like you provide the financial and moral support needed to continue our mission.

May God bless you all!

Yours fraternally

Fr J Antony Paulsamy, OFM Cap.

Secretary
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