As we mentioned in last month’s issue of El Morya’s Garden, across from the ashram there is beautiful large public park which is heavily used by both young and old people living in the neighborhood. There is a staff of about 10-15 people consisting of land tillers, gardeners, sweepers and others individuals responsible for the upkeep of the park. They live on the park premises with their families in small shanty dirt homes. Their wives also work part-time and help in maintaining the park.
There are also 10 children, ranging in ages from two to five years old who live with their parents. These children stay home and play during day while their parents work in the park. We came to know about the plight of these children in October when we served them food and gave them Diwali gifts. We asked their parents if they would like to send their children to a school. They all were delighted about this invitation and responded in a resounding positive affirmation, in part because their dreams for their children to have a better future were finally coming true, by God’s grace!
Chananda’s Children Project
We initiated this exciting Chananda’s Children project in early November with six children ages 3-5 years old, including two boys (Anand and Saurabh) and four girls (Swati, Chanchal, Kinjal, and Nisha). There are another three children (two girls and one boy) under three years of age. Their parents also want them to go to school with their siblings but the school is overbooked for this year and has offered to accept them next year in March.
The hours of school are from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. The children leave their homes at 9:00 am escorted by an adult member of their families to the gate of the park which is about a 5-minute walk. The school sends an auto rickshaw (tuk-tuk) which arrives at the gate of the park around 9:15 am accompanied by a school teacher. The tuk-tuk and the teacher drop the children at the park gate by 1:00 pm.
To help prepare the children financially to go to the school, Chananda Cultural Society staff member, Poonam (KOF and administrative assistant,) bought clothes, back-packs, note books, colored pencils, lunch boxes, and water bottles. The school is operated by a well-established NGO, ‘Project Why’ located a couple of miles away from the park.
Their mothers wake them up early in the mornings, serve them breakfast, pack up their lunch boxes and get them dressed up – something they had not done before. One can feel a new kind of positive energy flowing in their families. The children look very excited and happy for this new adventure. They put their backpacks on their shoulders in the mornings and out they go smiling. After watching them go to school for nearly three weeks, it is hard to miss noticing their excitement and new energies of being someone special!
Please pray for the expansion and God-victory of the Chanandas Children Project across India. Thanks for your prayers and your loving support!