PROJEKT-INDIENHILFE e.V.

Juli 2001

  Deutsche Übersetzung

CALCUTTA IN THE RAINY SEASON

JULY 2001

Dear Friends,

Best wishes from all of us here in this rainy season! As usual I have some news to share with you.

1.      Summer holidays.

Our school closed on May 9^th for summer holidays. From May 7^th to 8^th, we held various competitions in singing, dancing and acting. Most of the children took part in the competitions and one-third of them got prizes. Students who study in other schools and come here for tuition also showed their good results and we gave prizes for the best results. There was also distribution of exercise books to those who study in other schools. On 9^th May, we had a day of games and fun for the children and about 1000 prizes were given to the lucky winners in the games.

2.     Building new houses.

On 26^th May, I went to bless twenty newly built houses in a village that is about 200 Kilometres to the North of Calcutta. The houses were built for those who had lost their houses during the floods that occurred last year. These houses have been built with the donations from our friends from abroad. With the money we had received, it was possible to build only 10 complete houses. But we needed to help 20 families in a village where all the people had lost their houses. So we decided to build each house on pillars and with a tin roof and asked the people to make the walls by themselves with mud or bamboo. The people also promised to work for their houses without pay. Seeing them working with hungry stomachs, I bought some rice and pulses, that is, about one week’s food and distributed it to the people. They were very grateful for what we had done for them and on the day of inauguration of the houses they made a grand feast and fed about 300 people who came for the celebration. That day, I realized how much joy a poor family would feel when it got a roof over the head. We had spent only about 20000 Rupees (1000 DM) for each house.  Now my plan is to build every year 20 houses in the flood affected  regions.

3.     Spoken English camp.

From June 4^th to June 9^th I had organized a camp for those who wanted to speak English. Nowadays, English is important for getting a job. 35 students who had been educated in Bengali or Hindi and could not speak English, joined this camp. Together lessons in English I had also included several lessons on “value Education”, that is, on values and principles necessary for life. I had prepared a 60-page manual containing different lessons, debates, skits, dialogues, and games with English words. On the final day the students were able to display on the stage their ability to speak English, through skits and speeches. They also expressed their gratitude for the important values that they were taught through the course in English.

4.     The school reopens.

On 18^th June our school opened again on a very rainy day and for many days the rain continued. In spite of the rain all the students returned to the school. From 26^th to 28^th June I sent the teachers to visit the different slums near our house and to look for poor children who do not go to any school. The teachers went to the poorest slums here and informed the people about the possibility of good education in our school. I was greatly surprised to find 200 new boys girls asking to be enrolled in our school. I could not send them away and so I had to offer them place in the hall where there were no benches or desks. But they were happy to sit on the floor and study.

5.     Hygiene kits and milk packets.

On 18^th June our school opened again on a very rainy day and for many days the rain continued. In spite of the rain all the students returned to the school. From 26^th to 28^th June I sent the teachers to visit the different slums near our house and to look for poor children who do not go to any school. The teachers went to the poorest slums here and informed the people about the possibility of good education in our school. I was greatly surprised to find 200 new boys girls asking to be enrolled in our school. I could not send them away and so I had to offer them place in the hall where there were no benches or desks. But they were happy to sit on the floor and study.

6.      There is hope. 

Shonkor is the fourth in a family of eight children and he is blind from birth. Since two months he comes to our centre every Saturday, with some street children. I made some inquiries about his family and I have begun to help him and his family to buy some food every month. Shonkor is 16 years old and it is difficult to find a school for him. We have been able to send two other blind children to school and support them with financial assistance.

As I conclude this letter, I am very happy to say that our work is going on well and my co-workers are doing a lot to keep up the good work. But all this work is possible due to the constant help that many of you are sending. I am extremely grateful for this help and I wish God’s blessings on you all.

Sincerely,

Fr. Joseph Aymanathil, s.d.b   (July, 2001).