Nav-Jeevan

Annual Report 2020

The Tumultuous Year

2020 has been the most tumultuous year Nav-Jeevan has seen, as it has been for the rest of the world. On March 17th 2020 we were told to shut down our school immediately. Since we are a residential school the Government also ordered us to ensure the safe return of our children to their various homes in villages and small towns all over the state and some to neighbouring states. Our buses and drivers were forced into action and drove the children to their homes sometimes so deep in the jungles that the fear of tigers and other wild animals prevented them from doing so after dark. By March 20th all the kids who had homes to go to were safely returned. The orphans of course stayed on in the safety of our hostel.

All over the country migrant workers were forced to go home due to lack of jobs. All trains, buses and other means of transportation had been stopped and so many of the migrant labourers had no option but to gather their meagre belongings and their children and start trekking the hundreds of miles back to their homes. Since roadside restaurants, or "dhabbas" as they are called, had been shut down the labour had only the food and water that they could carry themselves.

Many heart wrenching stories were heard of people dying from exhaustion or malnutrition just before they reached their homes. A little girl of 15 years bought for 500 roepies, about 6 euro, her total savings, a second-hand bicycle and transported her father over a distance of 1.300 km with it. Instead of ordering a sudden lockdown the Government should have given people a grace period where they could use public transport to reach their distant homes!

Saloni who has been with us since she was 4 years old is studying nursing in a local hospital. She also had to come back to our hostel. Her college started conducting on line classes in March/April. A complete lockdown was initiated for the rest of March and extended through April and most of May. We were not allowed to leave our homes except to buy food and medicines. It was a very difficult period. Because of the freeze in public transport the prices of everything shot up. Fruit, vegetables and groceries became very expensive. We also did not have money to pay our staff their complete salaries. Because of the lockdown the Government departments were shut down. The money which the Government was supposed to give us under their tribal project and which we depended on was not released.

We have a number of young girls of 18 years and above from villages in a neighbouring state. Because of the extreme poverty in their homes they come to us looking for work in a safe environment. We employ them in the kitchen and they tend to the general maintenance of the school. They normally go home to their families during the summer but they were stranded in the school. With the virus raging throughout the country probably this was a safer alternative for them. But this strained our resources further as we could not cut down on our rations. It was only end of May that the administrative staff was able to come to school. We spent the long hot days of summer – sometimes with the temperature going up 118 deg F – struggling to bring order in the school which had been abandoned so suddenly.

What Nav-Jeevan would have done if not the Nav-Jeevan foundation had been there to lend a helping hand? At this bleak time we also approached Tech Mahindra Foundation. Though they no longer support our school they offered to help us financially because of Covid. This gave us the opportunity to buy food and vegetables.

We thought about what we could do additionally to use all the free time our children and younger staff had. We hired a teacher who would come to the school on a daily basis and conduct stitching classes. Some years ago a social organization had donated manual sewing machines and these were finally being used. Even the boys were enrolled in these classes and the children were encouraged to make themselves simple clothing.

One piece of good news was that the Nav Jeevan foundation was able to find finance for a solar plant at the school through Triodos Foundation. This was finally set up in November. One of the biggest expenses in the school has been our electricity bills. We usually spend about Rs.50, 000 (600 euro) and above on our electricity every month. With the setting up of the solar project this becomes a positive saving for the school. If we generate more than our requirement we can sell the excess electricity to the state grid.

Meanwhile we started online classes for our children. In August our online classes were begun for classes 9 and 10. In September online classes began for 4th to 8th and in October for the classes 2 and 3. Meanwhile the Government has been announcing a restart of in person classes at frequent intervals which never happened. Online classes are a real struggle. Because of the financial background of our children many of them do not have easy access to the internet. Most of them have access to a parent’s phone only when the parent is home. Siblings have to fight to be able to gain access to that single phone. Because of a surge in internet access the signal is often unreliable. Worst of all we have a large number of tribal children from the villages around who have next to no access either to phones or the internet. Till date the Government has not given us permission to bring these children back to our hostel though we are hoping this will happen soon. The Government is committed to educating these children and realize that unless we bring them back to the hostel this will not happen. Finally, on December 14th we were told we could conduct in person classes for 9th and 10th with written permission from the parents.
However, they were not allowed to start in the hostel. That was a big problem because a large number of children live more than 70 kilometres from school. As it looks now, the classroom lessons for the younger children will be allowed to start again on January 27. It is unclear whether they can return to the hostel. The government is committed to educating these children and realizes that it will only work if they come back to the hostel. After such a long time, it will not be easy to get all the children back to school and to the hostel. Aneeta Patel indicates that due to the increasing number of corona deaths in India, she prefers hostel children to day students because children in the hostel are safer

The class room lessons of the nursing college will start again in the second week of February. Besides Saloni two other girls are going to be admitted into nursing. Both these girls are orphans too. One is Saloni’s younger sister Isha and the other is Simran. While we await the opening of the nursing college both girls are being tutored in Science by our teachers and are attending online classes.

Our star student Anil Yadav has completed his first year of BCCA (Bachelor of Commerce and Computer Application) in a local college. He also attends online classes and is working as a clerical intern in the school office.

This past year we admitted one of the orphans - Yash Khobragade - who has been with us since he was very little, to a training camp which is preparing him to join either the army or the police. The camp is about 70 km. away from Nagpur and we try to visit him once a month bringing whatever food and energy supplements. After the first month when we admitted him the owner of the camp was so impressed with what we are doing he waived off any fees that we were to pay for the boy. This kind of recognition makes you proud of what you are trying to achieve.

Yash’s younger sister Swati has been admitted to the Indira Gandhi Open University to complete her 12th boards and is being tutored by our teachers. Little Sejal has been admitted to a nearby school to complete her 11th and 12th and has already started in person classes last month. Sejal wants to become a Chartered Accountant. She has received tutoring in Accounts from one of the teachers in the school and has shown real aptitude in Accounts.

Passed examns in 2020

In 2020 11 students of Dr. T.S. Wilkinson High School passed their diploma Junior College and 21 students their diploma High School.

In May the Indian government decided to drop all exams of the classes 1 till 9; all students went to the next class without an exam.

An overview of the donors of the Nav-Jeevan foundation in 2020

(see also the financial overview)

Calder Holding loyal sponsor since 2003

People are central to the companies in Calder Holding. They work for and with people. From Inactive to Active is their motto. Their vision is that people want to be meaningful and that participation in society is the best way to do this. Together with their 900 enthusiastic employees, they help hundreds of clients in Education, Care or Work every day.

From the outset, Calder Holding has doubled every euro that their staff donates. We are very happy with this loyal sponsor. In 2020 Calder Holding doubled € 19.445,50.

Protestants Congregation Samen op weg Berlicum - Rosmalen

The Protestant Congregation Samen op weg Berlicum-Rosmalen donated in 2020 € 1.015,09.

AFAS Foundation

The AFAS Foundation inspires and does. It inspires you to do better. Where you see opportunities to do better than is happening now. Always with major consequences. Because it helps a lot of people. Or precisely because it inspires many people to change.

From the AFAS Foundation we received end 2019 the commitment of 70,000 euros for the construction of a hostel. In 2020 we bought the land and in 2021 the construction will start. In 2020 they gave € 49.205,-.

Triodos Foundation

Gift money has the power to change. It can grow innovative ideas and contribute to social renewal and quality of life. With your financial support, Triodos Foundation stimulates valuable initiatives that work towards the development of a sustainable society. In this way we make the world a bit more beautiful together.

Triodos Foundation donated € 11.800,- for solar panels.

Vincentius Society

The Vincentius Society offers direct and personal assistance to families and singles living in or at risk of ending up in poverty.

The book fair of the Vincentius Society Den Bosch gave € 5.000,- for the furnishing of a gym / fitness room. Because of Corona the gym has not yet furnished. This will happen soon.

The Kootje Foundation

Kootje helps because without help is nothing

The Kootje Foundation donated € 768,- for the purchase of a large washing machine.

Imelda-Nolet Foundation

The Imelda-Nolet Foundation finances various types of projects, including those where infrastructure, materials, equipment and sanitation are made available to education and health care.

The Imelda Nolet Foundation donated € 11.861,- for a car, a Mahindra Bolero.

Bear for Help Foundation

The Bear for Help Foundation supports projects aimed at young people in need, especially in developing countries.

The Bear for Help Foundation donated € 1.500,- for teacher salaries.

Elde Fonds Foundation

Every Student Matters

The Elde Fonds Foundation donated € 500,-.

Den Brinker Foundation

For research and support in the medical and social field. The Den Brinker Foundation offers support to institutions and / or agencies with a humanitarian or charity purpose, to improve the fate of people in need or to promote it by virtue of their purpose -everything in the broadest sense of the word.

The Den Brinker Foundation made a promise of € 5.000,- for nutrition and medicines in 2021.

Financial report Nav-Jeevan foundation 2020 (in Euro)

As you can see 100% of the donations go to Nav Jeevan Sansta in India

Financial overview Nav-Jeevan sanstha India 2020 (in euro)

Introducing

In the newsletter of August you could already read that the board has been expanded with two people: Rita and Anne van de Ven. They introduce themselves to you below.

Dear friends of Nav-Jeevan,

We, Rita and Anne van de Ven (sisters), joined the board of the Nav-Jeevan Foundation last year.

My name is Rita (left with flower corsage) and I am 32 years old. I live in Den Bosch with my partner Marijn. I work in the care for the disabled.

My name is Anne (right with flower corsage) and I am 30 years old. I live in Hedel with my husband Bart-Jan and our two children Sophie and Nina. In daily life I work as an HR advisor.

In 2015 we have visited Nav-Jeevan together with our father, but of course also with Tom and Annelies. Here we have been able and allowed to see with our own eyes what difference the Nav-Jeevan Foundation literally makes every day for so many children of different origins and religions. We have known for years that Annelies and Tom are committed to Nav-Jeevan with heart and soul, which is why the idea grew to visit Nav-Jeevan. Well, we can tell you it has become the trip of a lifetime. First of all, traveling through India was quite an experience, what a beautiful culture! Late at night we arrived at Nav-Jeevan. Immediately we could see what a loving, harmonious atmosphere prevailed.

For example, we were enthusiastically and very warmly received by all the children from the hostel with flower corsages as can be seen on the photo above, where Annelies and Tom received so many hugs. They were also eager to show us the entire hostel and where they sleep. The next day also their classes (see photo on the left). It was heart-warming really and beautiful to see how everyone lives in harmony and how everybody reaches out to each other. The children are so very grateful that they have been given a future through Nav-Jeevan and are allowed to follow education. Because that also makes Nav-Jeevan special; a great team that takes care of all children with so much love every day. We really felt this in everything, it was really heart-warming! This has also been the main reason for us to join the board. A foundation like Nav-Jeevan must continue to exist at all times, because a really big difference is made and it is great to be a part of this.

We promise to dedicate ourselves to Nav-Jeevan with great passion.

Kind regards,

Rita and Anne

Distribution of board functions

The new distribution of the board positions is as follows:

Aura Laumen (Chairman)
Miriam van der Sloot (Secretary)
Annelies van de Ven (Treasurer)
Hans van der Sloot (Recruits schools and companies)
Tom Verhoeven (Website)
Rita van de Ven (Board member)
Anne van de Ven (Board member)

Volunteer: Swatee Span, Information

Email Newsletter

We prefer to send the newsletter by e-mail. We would like to ask you to pass on your e-mail address to avandeven@home.nl or nav-jeevan@home.nl. For Calder employees we prefer your private e-mail address. Do you have a partner or children who would also like to be kept informed, nice! Please also provide their e-mail address(es).
If you prefer to continue to receive the newsletter on paper in the future, please let us know.

On behalf of the children and staff of Nav Jeevan Sanstha, we would like to thank you very much for your donations.