Nav-Jeevan

Newsletter July 2017

All eight students of class 10 passed this year for their high school exams at our school, the Dr.T.S. Wilkinson Memorial School. We congratulate Anil Jadav (the highest score), Abhishek Bhalavi, Anup Dixit, Rahul Nagotre, Rohit Kumar, Saloni Dhurve, Shubanghi Choudhari and Vaibhav Kodape. They all go to Junior College.

Anil Jadav

Abhishek Bhalavi

Anup Dixit

Rahul Nagotre

Rohit Kumar

Saloni Dhurve

Shubanghi Choudhari

Vaibhav Kodape

Yesterday, Aneeta Patel sent the following mail:

Two days ago a man came bringing a four year old child named Gaurav. Gaurav's father had died and his mother had moved in with another man. This new man had threatened that if the mother brings Gaurav to his home he would sell the child to beggary. So the mother's neighbour took the child in and brought him to us.
Gaurav is very sweet. When he first came to us he was weeping copiously because his shoes were torn. We immediately gave him a new pair of slippers which brought a smile to his face. We admitted him in to the school and he appears to have settled in well.
It almost brought me to tears that adults could behave so cruelly to children. It really proves Kahlil Gibran's words that "children are hostages to fortune"

This impressive story of Gaurav is just one example of the many stories about the children living with us. They all need Nav Jeevan.

In the last newsletter I told about a big dormitory for the boys to be built. This project is sponsored by Godert van Buren and Calder Holding. Calder supports us since we started in 2003. The construction of the dormitory is not yet completed because there was something wrong with the supporting pillars. These had to be strengthened first. We hope to complete the construction soon. This is really necessary now that so many children live in the hostel.

We are proud that we managed to get recognition as a junior college. In the meantime, the first year, class 11, is on. Next year we hope that the first students will graduate.

In the spring NavJeevan received a new sponsor, Tech Mahindra. Tech Mahindra is a company with offices around the world. Recently they opened a branch in Nagpur. Nav-Jeevan has been selected for their ARISE program (bringing All Round Improvement in School Education). For the coming year, they undertook to contribute among others to the salaries of the teachers. This allows us to bind the staff longer to us because we can pay better salaries. This will benefit education.

On behalf of the children of Nav Jeevan we thank you for your contribution and hope that you will continue to support us.