Nav-Jeevan

Newsletter April 2014

In January we visited our project Nav-Jeevan, the school and hostel for street kids. We received a warm and enthusiastic welcome. What do the children look good and how good they speak English. It is hard to imagine that a large number of these children a few years ago lived on the street and could hardly read or write.

In the autumn of 2013 the construction of a large dormitory for the girls was completed. Through a grant from the Advocacy Foundation for the (very) young child we could furnish the dormitory with bunk beds and lockers. This is the first time that the children experience the privacy of a locked cupboard in which they can store their stuff. Also curtains are a luxury that the girls never knew before. The sun shining on the red and green curtains creates a warm atmosphere in the dormitory.

Khushi en Kalpana

When I sit with the girls in the evening they tell me stories of home. These are often terrible stories of the father who was killed by an angry neighbour or the father that poured kerosene over the mother and put her on fire. Then Kalpana tells me something she has never told anyone before. She has found her mother hanging on a rope that was tied to the fan. In bed I cry for what I've heard, but I am also happy that Kalpana did not end up on the street but found a safe place with the Nav-Jeevan family. That she goes to school and has the chance to develop and despite everything that happened can be a happy girl.

The Indian economy is growing and that also affects the prices. The prices of the different vegetables have more than doubled. Because it is an art to make ends meet every month, we started our own vegetable garden on the edge of the playground and on the roof of the building. The children work on it enthusiastically.

At the end of our holiday we visited Sunil. Sunil graduated last year and is now on a vocational training for electrician. The vocational training also has a hostel. Sunil has been with us since we started Nav-Jeevan in 2003. We took his little brother Anil along. What a surprise it was for him and he was so happy. And we were also very happy to see him. It is hard to believe that a child from such a background got so far. Sunil belongs to the poorest of the poor in India and went through terrible experiences. He is now a respectable young man who excels at school and has everything going for him to have a bright future. By visiting Sunil it became once again clear why we are doing this. We love Sunil and we love Nav-Jeevan.

On behalf of the children and the staff of Nav-Jeevan we thank you for your donations and hope you will continue to support us in future. We need your help badly.
Are there at your club or the school of your children plans to organize something for charity then please think of Nav-Jeevan. Thus organizes “Het Palet” from Den Bosch, the school of my grandchildren, on April the 25th a charity event for Nav-Jeevan. We like to come along to tell more about our project. .