Lesung
von Claire Beyer zugunsten des
Vereins Projekt-Indienhilfe e.V. am 26.10.2024
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Brief von
Father Nirmal an das Projekt-Indienhilfe e.V. im Juni 2020
Dear Friends of PROJEKT-INDIENHILFE, Greetings
from Nitika Don Bosco. In the lockdown period, we wish
that our hearts and spirits are free in love and courage.
I write to you with fear and more than that hope. May God
who gives us life and raises back the dead be with you
all. I am incredibly happy to share some news from the
past months in Nitika Don Bosco. As I write this letter
the last visit of Mr Alexander and family with Ms Michaela
and family come to my mind with lots of love. I feel so
touched at this privilege to write this. I
shall try to summarize the events of our tuition centre.
All the social service work from Nitika Don Bosco is
called DBSERVE. Fr. James Mathew, the then Director in
2013 named it this way. DBSERVE stands for Don Bosco
Social Educational Rehabilitation and Vocational
empowerment. DBSERVE activities are mainly organized to
help children from neighbourhood slums and poor families.
A small number of young girls and old needy people from
these areas are also included in this programme. Generally,
the entire year tuition classes are held here except for
May. However, in May our teachers visit the children in
their families to meet the parents, analyze the family
situation and collect the necessary information. The
classes are held Monday to Friday from 3 pm to 7 pm. A
total number of 403 children from Class II to Class X
study on weekdays. Since November we have started tuition
classes with specific training in extra-curricular
subjects on Saturdays too. In
this regular programme, we have some special occasions of
celebration. These days of celebration are organized by
children with the aim of education and social development.
The first event after I took up the responsibility of the
Director of the DBSERVE was Teachers’ Day. Normally, these
children need help to prepare for any programme of
quality. However, for the first time, no teacher stepped
onto the stage for helping them perform. We prepared them
and then withdrew. They did it all. It did give them
confidence and revealed to us several areas where they can
grow with diligent guidance. Then
in November, we had the Children’s Day. World Children’s
Day is held on 20th November but in India, it is held on
14th November as a tribute to the first Prime Minister of
India who had advocated children’s education. This year,
we decided to avoid the normal cultural function on that
day. Instead, we wanted to find the hidden talents in the
children and let them all learn and perform. In the first
week of November, we started a series of competitions:
drawing, poem writing, essay writing, story writing,
singing, dancing, silent acting, vocal acting, group
dancing, sports tricks, and several computer skills. The
children were thrilled in the way they tried to
participate in several items, but we had no time. Each
child could participate in three events. We had regular
classes but one hour was used on different days to hold
the competitions. In the schools, these children visit
such competitions are not held. A few schools may have but
very few get to participate as they are event-centric and
not child-centric, allowing chosen few. Therefore, the
various competitions prepared for the mega celebration of
Children's Day on 14 November 2020. We had the mega finale
of the top six participants in the entertainment category.
The children were excited to see some new people
performing on the stage. We also did add some more group
items to embellish the show. It
was during these days children also prepared for their
examinations. Class X writes preparatory examinations for
the final examinations in March. The lower classes began
preparation for examinations in December to be concluded
before Christmas. While we were studying, we also were
learning and thanking people who had given the opportunity
towards a decent future. On
November 20, Mr Heinrich Hackenberg and his friends came
to Nitika Don Bosco. They help several children in
sponsorship. Some of them study in our tuition centre. It
was an occasion to thank them. Since the sponsored
children that Mr Heinrich and friends help, cannot come to
Nitika, and organize the programme, the tuition children
took up the responsibility to hold a cultural show. The
programme was held in front of them but the theme of the
programme was to thank all the benefactors, donors, and
friends of Nitika Children. It was a Thanksgiving Show. We
have decided that every year even if no benefactors visit,
we shall observe Annual Thanksgiving Day to honour all the
friends in Germany, Italy and India. We hope to have you
on those days in any year. On
20th December we had the Christmas program for our evening
tuition children. A crib was made by Class IX boys in
front of Don Bosco’s statue. It was held in the evening.
It was around three hour’s programs. The children were
given caps at the beginning of the program. The children
were happy and excited. The stage show had beautiful
dances, rhymes, songs skit and Carol singing with Santa
Claus. The children enjoyed themselves. After the program
Fathers, Teachers and children had dinner together. As
they finished the meal the children took with them their
Christmas gift: school bags. Then on 21st December, we had
a small program for our Saturday children. A Christmas
film was screened for them. They were also given woolen
Caps as Christmas Gift and food items to take home for
their dear ones. Again, on Christmas Day and the day after
the children from different areas came to visit the crib
and they were given cakes. The world tells these children
it is Christmas, but they feel it in the campus of Nitika
Don Bosco. Then
came the year 2020. We began to evaluate our work in the
previous months and planned for the children’s outing,
education tours and sports events. As February came, we
heard of the coronavirus, but we never imagined this to
come near us. The schools opened after Christmas holidays
and we got busy in getting the textbooks, writing copies
and such stationery items. We also interviewed children
for new admissions. We spoke to parents, visited families,
enquired where we could not visit to verify the needy
families. We bade farewell to Class X children who began
their study leave in preparation for the final
examinations. However, as in every year as I knew from the
records that the children come for special classes during
the morning hours. Once,
the newly registered children joined the tuition centre,
we organized an educational tour for our junior section
tuition children from classes III-VI to Don Bosco School,
Park Circus on 15th February 2020. A total number of 247
children went for this tour. Firstly, these children
normally would not get an opportunity to enter the campus
of one of the best English medium schools, secondly, the
first expanse of the playground thrilled them. We
conducted a variety of sports events based on their age
group and classes. The children enjoyed themselves with
lots of fun and frolic. The day was fruitful in seeing the
smiles and shining ambition in the little eyes. We
planned a similar educational programme outside for the
older children. We were calculating the possibilities of
visiting the museums and planetariums or natural scenic
places outside Kolkata city. However, our plans slowly
began to face the news regarding corona pandemic. Children
were eager to go but we could not. Therefore, we adjusted
with some entertainment shows, quiz programmes and story
writing events. Eventually,
the direction of the government came. Since the first week
of March, the volunteer visitors to the campus stopped
coming with the corona fear. The pandemic halted our
normal life with children. We announced a corona safety
break on March 15 to reopen the tuition centre on 15
April. The plan did not work out. We are still in
lockdown. The entire month of June will not see schools
and coaching centres open. We hope to see the children in
a normal classroom setting sooner than feared. However,
for a few weeks, we were shocked and could not do
anything. From the beginning of April, we began to deliver
food items to the children’s home. Since the government
directive did not allow the children to come to Nitika
campus, we moved to the children’s homes. I was on the
driving seat with few of our teachers and we carried
biscuits, cakes, and other food items to children’s slums.
The teachers called them over phone individually to do the
food distribution. In
May, we packed the food items, basically ration rice, dal,
wheat, sugar, oil, biscuits, breakfast pulses and hygienic
kits. The teachers came early in the morning and did the
packing. As the packets got ready the parents of the
children came in small numbers to the gate of Nitika Don
Bosco early in the morning. The distribution was done to
all the tuition children. Next week we are going to do
similar distribution to the old and sick people under the
Mercy Ministry. Earlier in April, we had called the
parents of sponsored children in small groups for
financial help. Every little amount of food items or a
small amount of money is of very great value these days.
People are desperate. Many people come at the gate asking
for food items, but we turn them away saying that we are
helping only the children. However, we help those who we
can. This situation we may all understand. Dear
friends, whatever we can do is because of the generosity
of people like you. You send us the financial support and
we see the smiles. Whenever they say ‘thank you’ we know
that the ‘thank you’ is to you all. We do tell them too.
The children know this. In these corona lockdown days, the
children do remember you gratefully more than ever. They
have met Mr Alex & Julia and Mr Achim & Michaela
with the children. We pray for you. Even if they cannot
pray like older people do the thank you smiles are already
powerful prayers for you before God. I thank you for
making my life and that of our teachers with the support
staff, very meaningful. It is exhilarating to see
happiness in them when they are helped. Hence, on behalf
of the children we thank every donor in
PROJEKT-INDIENHILFE for your SENSITIVITY. More than ever,
when the corona pandemic is reminding the world that we
are a family, you all have felt and helped your fellow
human family members here in Kolkata. We are grateful. May
Almighty God protect you from all harm and bless you
abundantly. We hope soon everything will be normal and we
will be back again.
Gratefully in St. Don Bosco Father
Nirmal Jamreet Toppo SDB
Lesung und
Versteigerung eines Bildes zugunsten Projekt-Indienhilfe
e.V. am 28. Oktober 2017
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Am ersten Fastensonntag fand wieder das traditionelle Fastenessen für die Pfarrgruppe Zaybachtal im Gemeindesaal in St. Bernhard zu Gunsten des Projekt Indienhilfe e.V. statt. Für das leibliche Wohl war mit einer Gemüsesuppe und einem Hühnchencurry mit Reis bestens gesorgt. Mehr als 60 Mitglieder der Gemeinden und Gäste ließen sich das Essen schmecken und spendeten insgesamt 500€ für das Projekt Indienhilfe e.V., das verschiedene Schulprojekte in Kalkutta unterstützt. Ein besonderer Dank gilt den Mitgliedern des Vokalensembles Leichtsinn, die das Essen vorbereitet hatten. Ein Vergelt‘s Gott allen Spender!
Fr. James Mathew - Nitika Don Bosco, Kolkata, India: EVENTFUL MONTHS IN DB SERVE New admissions completed, the classes went on in earnest with monthly tests and competitions! Sponsored children: Special attention given to
them - each one was given a set of uniform (costing 350 rupees)
andnutritional packets worth 250 rupees
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