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By the end
of 2009 Brighter Future had
- 75
children in the Rainbow Home
- 36
children in Prem Nivas
- 7
children in Karuna Nivas
- 326
Self Help grants given to women with leprosy background
- 76
Self help grants given to HIV widows/widowers
- 194
poor women completed 6 month dressmaking course
- 420
food and medicine parcels distributed to HIV patients
- 11
young people sent for vocational training
- 14
patients referred for cataract operations,
- 2
patients for amputations,
- 247
leprosy patients given MCR chapels
Christmas
celebrations
The Christmas party, on December 21st, was a huge success
and the children thoroughly enjoyed both the lunch and dinner
that was cooked by a professional chef. All the children
received new clothes as part of their Christmas present.
Prem Nivas and Karuna Nivas children provided most of the
entertainment, singing songs and performing a nativity play.
The DMC children entertained all with dances that they had
learned at the Sunday school.
The Prem Nivas children were invited to a dinner by a local
resident on 24th and had another special meal on 25th with
Christmas presents for each child from a sponsor, new chappals
from Yadav Uncle, an orange each and a Christmas cake from
Mary Aunty and Pedda Uncle.
New Year
Celebrations
Kathryn and Lucy, our volunteers, organized
the New Year celebrations at Prem Nivas. They brought the
Rainbow orphans to stay in the new schoolrooms and christened
the Guest Room themselves.
I had taken a few days leave and Victor
and Mary made a surprise visit to his mother and father
in south Andhra Pradesh – the first time they have
been able to go home for 5 years!
The children had a chicken biryani
meal, lots of games with Lucy and Kathryn and a bonfire
was lit on 31st evening to welcome in the New Year.
Brighter
Future Primary School
December 15th saw the opening of our own Primary School
in the building which was on the opposite side of the road,
but is now incorporated into the Prem Nivas campus.
The completion of building cost more than
estimated, as usual, owing to the increase on raw material
prices. I would like to have tables and stools in the room
where craft activities will take place and where construction
toys are played with, but we will have to wait for that
luxury.
Now I have to write another letter to the
Collector and tell him that we want to be allotted 2 government
teachers and be given official recognition. As the Government
has declared that all children should be in Primary school
by 2010 we are hoping that our HIV children will be included
in that Plan. The sooner we get recognized, the sooner our
older children, Bangaru and Jyothi, can get transfer certificates
to a High school.
We have managed to enroll Bangaru
and Jyothi in a small village school 6 miles away from Prem
Nivas where the husband of our teacher works. Nobody in
that area knows about their being HIV+ and they are able
to follow the government school syllabus.
Danny is
organizing the Brighter Future contingent for the next London
10K run
He is at present ignoring my suggestion
that he enter the event but that may change in time!. Already
we have had some promises from former participants anxious
to improve their times and support Brighter Future at the
same time.
The event will be in July again. Danny
is hoping that we can raise a team of 12 this year.
Do contact him if you would like
to ‘Run for Brighter Future’.
The
Rainbow Children’s Annual Picnic will be on 10 January
This year we are taking two separate groups as we feel that
there are too many children for us to supervise properly
when they are in the sea. The children will have their picnic
food at Kailashgiri – a hill in Visakhapatnam, where
there are lawns and swings and other play equipment. We
will give the zoo a miss this year but may include the Naval
Museum for the older children.
The beach is the most loved part of the outing so we will
be able to spend more time there. Who knows, we may have
a sand castle competition! Lucy and Kathryn are looking
forward to the experience too. Sadly they will be leaving
us on 23 January after a stay of three months.
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