Assistance for Two More Nursery Schools

We are expanding our assistance to village nursery schools, and recently we were able to provide educational supplies and games to two more village schools. If you would like to assist with this program, please visit the needs page of our website for ideas on items that you can order.

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Diabetes and TB Awareness

These awareness programs may save lives. TB and diabetes are both serious problems in our area--often left untreated until too late, with devastating results. We have held awareness programs in several villages to cover these topics.

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Diabetes Awareness

"India is facing an epidemic of diabetes. At present, confirmed diabetes patients in India are 67 million, with another 30 million in prediabetes group. By 2030, India will have the largest number of patients in the world. Diabetes is not only a blood sugar problem, but brings along other complications as well," warns Dr Arun Bal, diabetic foot surgeon. In our intervention area we found many people affected by diabetes. So this month we started  diabetes awareness programs, and conducted the program for self-help group members   and tuition students on 17.9.14 and 27.9.14.
In these programs the reason and cause of diabetes, diagnose, treatment, diet, exercise and prevention was explained.

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More Mother's Meetings

We continue to hold mothers' meetings in different villages, to address problems that are very common, such as low birth weight, anemia, hygiene and sanitation, nutrition etc.

 

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Independence Day Celebration for our Tuition Students

We held an Independence Day Celebration at our property. The history of Indian Independance was covered and Independence and responsibility of each citizen was explained to the participants. Essays, speeches and drawings  based on the independence were presented by the students. Many students participated in the dance program and enjoyed the celebration. Sweets were distributed to all!

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More Parents Meetings

This week we held a parent's meeting at one of the tribal villages. These meetings are very important to encourage the parents to support and assist their children's education, and also to get them behind the points we cover in the awareness programs with their teen-age children.

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HIV Awareness Programs

Tamil Nadu is one of the mostly HIV AIDS affected states in India. Being the 7th populous Indian state, the place has got high rate of HIV incidence.This has  led to the setting up of an anti-AIDS society and a safe-sex campaign focusing on prevention of HIV by the government. To help tackle the AIDS problem in our local villages, RPI has started HIV awareness programs, which have been well-attended. 

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Stationery Supplies for Tuition Students

Thank you to Lincpen for sending needs stationery supplies to the students of our evening study centres. The were very much needed and greatly appreciated.

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Work in a new anganwadi

We have started work in  one more anganwadi. The children in all of the anganwadis where we are working are making good progress. It's lovely to see them 'come to life' with all of the new input and activities. We have also provided mats for the children so they don't sit on the bare floor.

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Free Eye Camp for Poor Villagers

The Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai is world-renowned for its social entrepreneurship and for providing quality eye-care to the poor. They frequently conduct free eye camps in rural villages, but need a partner organisation to work out the logistics--finding a suitable venue, providing tables and chairs, food for the medical staff, advertising in the villages etc. We partner with the hospital once a year to provide eye screening for 30 villages in our area. This year, over 150 people attended, and 27 were bussed off the the hospital the same day to receive free cataract operations--that's 27 people saved from blindness! Many others received spectacles for only $5.00 (Rs.300) a pair. The lenses for these were ground on site.

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More Summer Camp Photos

The summer camp successfully came to end on 24.5.14. Drawing and elocution competitions were conducted and prizes given to the winners. Children also participated in a dance program. All the children received Certificates.

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Summer Camp for Village Children

We are presently holding a summer camp for the children from our evening study centres, as it is presently the summer school holidays. We are placing emphasis on teaching them English, which is very important for further education in India, but we make sure they have fun also.

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Awareness Programs for Adolescent Girls

This month, we started awareness programs for teen girls. At our first meeting, in a small village, 13 girls participated. Health and hygiene topics were covered, and we read with them the Meena story, 'Free from Worms'. (Most people in the villages are infected with parasites.) The importance of iron intake was also covered as studies conducted in India of micronutrient deficiency confirm the high prevalence of anemia among adolescent girls and women. Iron and calcium tablets were distributed by the village health nurse and arrangements were made with the nearest primary health care centre to distribute de-worming tablets.

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New Evening Study Centre

These beautiful girls are from a Dalit Colony (Untouchables), despised by society and separated
even from the rest of their village. Last month we started an evening study center
in their colony. They and the other children in their colony will receive regular help with their
studies, and enouragement to finish high school. Education can provide them a chance at a better
life, (especially as girls,) and a path out of extreme poverty. Here our program coordinator,
Nelson, is distributing stationary supplies to them, donated by a local company.

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Meetings for pregnant and new mothers

We are continuing to visit different villages to hold awareness programs with mothers. At our latest meeting, we learned that the average birth weight of the children was 2 to 2.5 kg (4.5 to 5.5 lbs.) indicating lack of nutrition during their pregnancy. Also several mothers were giving cows milk to their babies which was causing them to be sick often .  They were explained the importance of nutrition and breast-feeding, and encouraged to take children for their regular medical check-ups at the local government clinic.

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Meena Stories

Meena stories are colourful comic books, produced by UNICEF. Meena is a fictional character, a young girl growing up in rural India,  who educates the children of South Asia on issues of gender, health, and social inequality through her stories in comic books. These have not yet been translated in Tamil so HopeReach has undertaken the task of translating them. They are proving to be an invaluable tool for our awareness programs and the young people who attend the awareness programs with love them. 

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Awareness Programs

We have started awareness programs in the villages where we have tuition centres. The first topics we covered are health and hygiene, and importance of education. For these meetings we have undertaken to translate into Tamil the Meena comic books produced by UNICEF. Meena is a fictional character who educates the children of South Asia on issues of gender, health, and social inequality through her stories in comic books.

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Assistance for Village Nursery Schools

After setting up a good preschool program in the Mercy Home, we decided to see how the local village nursery schools (angnwadis) were doing. We discovered that they had little or no supplies, and the children mostly just lay around listlessly on the floor waiting for the midday meal supplied by the government. The situation demanded action. We obtained permission from relevant government authorities to start helping the anganwadis with educational materials and to send in a volunteer once of twice a week to do fun educational activities with the children, and to train the regular carers.

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