Nav-Jeevan

Newsletter December 2005

Inaugration school and hostel Nav-Jeevan,  November the 13th 2005.

On November the 13th 2005 was the inauguration of the new school and hostel for street children from the slums of Nagpur. The children practised for months their songs, dances and playlets. Parents, workers, volunteers, family and friends were present. It was a never to be forgotten day.

This dream would never have been realised without your support. On behalf of all the children and the volunteers of the Indian en Dutch Nav-Jeevan Sanstha we kindly thank you for your donations; friends, employees of Alexander Calder Arbeidsintegratie, AOB Compaz and Calder Holding, Melmdijk BV, Zwijssen College Veghel, Stichting Emmaus, Eshof markt, SOS Rommelmarkt, Vincentius Vereniging, OCÉ and the NCDO.

In October we had a successful project together with Wilde Ganzen, the St.-Willibrord Gymnasium Deurne, Emmaus Bilthoven and Alexander Calder Arbeidsintegratie to finance the furnishing of the school and the hostel, the purchase of a school bus, a sewage water treatment plant, landscaping and site development. After the furnishing the children will settle in the hostel. And this is very needed. We have so many painfully cases.

The new building

Pinki (left). After her 14-years old little brother died last year, a few months ago she also lost her father. Pinki is all alone on the world now.

Ranjeeta, Sunil and Anil Anil (right), the 3 youngest from a family of five. Mother died, they are not welcome, nowhere. In the slums they are driven away by the husband of their eldest sister and in the village of the family of the mother there are no possibilities to support them. They send them from place to place; they feel threatened and traumatised. In a short time we will be able to give them a save place to live, a place where they can develop.

Mangal, 7 years, no parents, lives with his brother and sister in the slums and threatens to fall into the hands of dark figures. Mangal, a very clever boy, played the lead in a few performances during the inauguration. He is a very good dancer. On the picture you can see him dancing with left of him Sjilpa and right of him Alka.

Arti (in the purple dress), Tina (in yellow) en Sanjit (in the blue little sweater. They live with their mother (left front with the little baby boy) and 8 children in the little slum on the background.

Plans for 2006

In January the children will settle in their new shelter. Finally we will be able to give them shelter for the night. This will be possible for about 40 children. Besides the 3 social workers, we have to employ teachers and caretakers.
We will also continue the construction. We will request for a new subsidy of the NCDO. The second phase will have a foundation for 4 floors. In future there will also be an orphanage and an old folks home in this building.

We carry over the daily work for the project to our Indian colleagues with great trust. On the Dutch side it will be a challenge to find as many as possible donors, so we are able to develop the project as planned. Besides your financial contribution, which of course is very welcome, we ask you to think with us about other possibilities for fund raising like a project on the school of your child or a project in your company. All suggestions are very welcome.

We wish you all a happy and healthy 2006