Happy - Jungle Village Kids with their new sports equipment
Healthy - Adnam meets Dr Imran
Home - Our City Centre Cook Anupama, always creates wonderful meals for the kids and her smile lights up the house
We just wanted to share some lovely stories from the past couple of weeks here in Kotdwara India.
Health
The kids at our disability centre found themselves enjoying the unique experience of having a medical checkup. One of the local volunteers, Dr Imran visited the centre to check on the children’s health. One of the boys, Adnam (pictured), who has the biggest heart of gold thought that it was so much fun. We guess he really hasn’t had a visit to the doctors before. Thanks Dr Imran for your kindness, generosity and help. Our kids are healthier because of you. You are gold!
Happiness
For many Indian children, the gift of a new cricket bat is like ‘gold’, especially when you’ve never had one before, or you’ve been playing with a broken bat for 2 years. At our last teachers’ training meeting, when I asked about urgent needs for improvement, the teachers said that the kids need games and sports equipment. So thanks to all our supporters, your donations have assisted us to buy $100AUS worth of resources for each of our 7 centres. I had a great time shopping for sports equipment (cricket, badminton, soccer, quoits, basketball) and heaps of indoor board games too. It’s amazing how much you can buy for $100 in India! Yes, it was like Christmas for the kids. I had the pleasure and joy of bringing everything to the children at each centre. It was a golden moment of happiness for us all. Thank you to a very special business man from’ Sunrise Sports and Trophy House’ in Bijnor who kindly give us such a huge discount. You are gold too!
Home and Hospitality
Our City Centre in the heart of Kotdwara is a safe place for many. When you’re a kid or young adult from the slums, life in poverty is tough. As a visitor it’s so lovely to see the smiles, warmth and laughter found in our classrooms and especially at our base, the City Centre. Children and adults alike, drop in for chai, to help do a chore or job, use one of our (very primitive) computers, have a chat, or to get some advice. It is ‘gold’ to be warmly welcomed into one’s home and to belong (when so many reject you) to a community, a family who know, value and love you. Hospitality is one of the greatest gifts a person can ever receive.
This is the ‘Project Help India’ story.
Thank you to our supporters in Australia and around the world for being a significant part of this special cause. We think that you are ‘gold’ and together, all we are achieving is worth so much more than ‘gold’.
Love Doug, Rowe, Amit and Daisy.