Student Sponsorship 2020Program Update

Thanks so much for your response to our sponsorship program. We are 2/3 of the way to our goal! This year, our goal is to sponsor 57 students and we have 35 supported as of today. This includes new sponsors Carroll Martin and the United Methodist Women of First UMC Riverside.

We have 22 students remaining to support before the school year begins this Fall. Have you considered being a sponsor? $100 is all it takes to support one child for a whole year. Want to honor someone with the gift of a sponsorship? Just contact us, and we will send a beautiful card to the one you're honoring!

Pictured: Krista S Givens, director with the new students at Panchsheel Ashram School in Baihiram. Each of these girls are entering the 9th grade when school begins this fall.

Summer Art Sale and Auction for Friends of Padhar Schools

Handmade, wonderfully crafted and artisan items for sale and for auction to support students, teachers and schools in rural India! Support children's education AND purchase handmade soap, bath products and candles, hand-crocheted and hand-painted items, textiles from India that help support rural women's organizations, hand-woven products made in Padhar.

Online Art Sale and Auction will be available from June 17-June 21st at https://go.rallyup.com/home/fops2020

A COVID-19 update on our schools

On March 24, 2020, Prime Minister Modi made an announcement that India’s 1.3 billion people would begin a 21-day total lockdown. This lockdown required all schools to be closed and for students to return to their homes.

Schools in Padhar and in the surrounding areas (Mission Primary and Secondary School, Happy Valley English School, School and Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind, Ebenezer English Medium School, and  St. Mark School)  are closed with hopes of opening at the beginning of the new school year. Unfortunately, students were unable to complete their 10th and 12th exams before lockdown, but the government would like those exams to begin soon in anticipation of the new school year beginning around July/August.

Schools in Paratwada (Felix Convent School and Panchsheel Ashram School) are also closed and all students are home. Students in 12th class completed their exams before the lockdown order, but one 10th exam was not completed. The state government is waiving the remaining 10th exam, so that students will move into the next grade around July/August.

The reopening date of each school is uncertain.

What does that mean for us?

This lockdown is not convenient, but it happened at the end of the school year in India and when the schools reopen, it will be the beginning of a new school year. 10th and 12th class may need to finish their exams from the 2019-2020 year, but the schools will eventually reopen. When they do, they will need our help.

Our fundraising support will be needed more than ever, and therefore our Board of Directors is developing new ways of virtual fundraising: ways that do not require in-person contact, but still connect us with the communities we support in rural India. Coming soon will be a virtual Art Auction, a sale of products from India and our Student Sponsorship campaign.

We need you. They need us.

India's 1.3 billion people on "Stay at Home" order

© Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Jagadeesh Nv/EPA

Although Padhar Hospital has not been affected by a COVID-19 case, India is taking drastic steps to halt the spread of the Coronavirus.

‘India has mounted the largest attempted lockdown yet in the coronavirus crisis, ordering 1.3 billion people to stay at home from midnight for three weeks to prevent a public health disaster.

In a televised address on Tuesday night, the prime minister, Narendra Modi, announced that for the next 21 days, almost one fifth of the world’s population should “forget what going out means”.

“From 12 midnight today, the entire country will go under a complete lockdown to save India and for every Indian, there will be a total ban on venturing out of your homes,” said Modi. “Therefore, I request you to remain wherever you are in this country.”’

Click here for the full story in The Guardian.

To India and Back, Part 3: Adjusting my self-image

My joy in life is connecting with children. My favorite role in life is Auntie. I have a passion for helping children and youth reach their full potential, regardless of challenges. This plays out in my pastoral identity, in my work with Friends of Padhar Schools and in my personal life.

On most days, I feel like I’m still 25 (or maybe 30) and relate to kids as the older sister/auntie-type.

Until I met a little girl at the Felix Annual Day Celebration. She was about 3 years old and didn’t speak English, but I was joking with her about the candy she’d been given. “Where’s mine?” asked her. “Is that for me?” And she laughed and hid behind her mom. It went on for a while. And then she said something to her mother in Marathi and all the teachers laughed. “What did she say?” I asked.

Her mother told me, “She said, ‘That Grandma is trying to steal my chocolate!’” OMG I laughed so hard. And now I am happy to happy a new granny-persona.

To India and Back, Part 2: Adjusting to Abundance

One of the big adjustments to make when moving between cultures is the difference in abundance. While traveling I get used to the 5 outfits I’ve packed. My decisions are limited by the small selection of clothes. When I return home to my closets full of things, suddenly there are so many decisions to make. For the first few days of my return, I actually ended up wearing the outfits I went to India with, just so that I would not have to make those decisions.

The adjustment to abundance is on full display when restocking the kitchen after a month of vacation. In Padhar, the village market happens each Saturday. The farmers, fish merchants, chicken-sellers and all bring their goods to the main road and the people stroll by and pick up their eggs, onions, potatoes…whatever is needed. There are a lot of options - but the same produce. Do you want to buy your potatoes from this farmer or that farmer? Which one looks better? What is the best deal?

After I returned, I made a trip to Sprouts to get a few things…. and I was overwhelmed with the decisions to make. Do I want red onions or green? Sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, red potatoes? Red apples, granny smiths, fuji, gala, honeycrisp? (Don’t even lead me down the cereal or salad dressing aisles!) Why do we need so many options? I long for the limitations.

To India and Back: Part 1 - Adjusting to the Quiet

I am now home from my 3 weeks in India and in an attempt to readjust to life in America, I thought I would describes the adjustments needed to life a life between cultures.

Life is so quiet here at home. The quiet is the first thing that I notice about returning to my life in California. Don’t get me wrong, I have a full life here in America with family and friends and a busy job and an active dog.  There is activity. But life in America is literally quiet.

Let me explain.

Life in Padhar is loud. Because the roads are only partially paved, there is a constant clatter of vehicles on the road: trucks going over bumps and potholes, motorbikes zoom by as herds of buffalo and goats saunter along. Additionally, the horn is used to notify other drivers where you are located, if you’re passing, and for other reasons I’ll never understand. Some trucks have the distinctive “elephant” song that echos throughout the village.  So the road is loud and the village is located around the main road. 

Occasionally, a loudspeaker will broadcast a worship experience from the Hindu temple, or from an evangelical preacher, or the Muslim call to prayer. 

Roosters crow, dogs bark, cows moo. 

When I travel to Baihiram, I stay on the campus of Panchsheel School, which is also on a main road with all the road sounds. The almost 600 children also stay on campus as it is a live-in facility so days are filled with the chatter of children playing, working, eating, going to and from classes.  My favorite sounds happen around 9:00PM when bedtime comes and the girls sing several songs to finish the day.

I am accustomed to this noise: the joyful singing, the exuberant honking, the clatter-clatter on the roads and when I am in India, it becomes the comfortable background of my living.

And my life in America is quiet. 

Portraits

Before I left for India, I got a new iPhone 11 and during my trip I found the “Portrait” mode on the camera. Needless to say, I went a little crazy with the ability to capture the beautiful people I encountered on my trip. Most of the portraits occurred while I was staying at Panchsheel School and the Fair in Baihiram, and at the Annual Day Celebration at Felix Convent School in Paratwada.

Seeing the Swastika in India - A reflection for Holocaust Remembrance Day

The first time I visited India was with a group of German doctors and their families. After seeing images of the swastika painted on buses and over the doors of village homes, I asked “What’s this all about?” Understandably that led to an amazing discussion between Germans and Indians about the use of the swastika and what the symbol means in two very different cultures.

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The Swastika is an ancient symbol of Hinduism, used since the early Vedic period (about 2500 BCE or so). Since it has been popular and widely used across many cultures in the Indian subcontinent, it has both secular and religious meanings. Most often it is used as a symbol for good luck, blessing and a wish of well-being.

In the long history of the symbol’s use in India, it was never used as a weapon of prejudice or racial superiority. Today I am saying a prayer for our collective well-being, our good health and peace for our hurting world.

Gifting a future and a machine

We started a new program this year: to provide sewing machines to those who’ve completed the tailoring program and who’ve excelled in their skills. Panchsheel Ashram School offers tailoring as an option for the life-skills program at the school. In addition, they offer carpentry, computers and electrical engineering. The two tailoring teachers chose ten students to provide examples of their work to be evaluated and, if their skills were proven, to receive a sewing machine. 

I spent the morning with the ten students as they worked on a garment of their choice: two students made boys’ button-up shirts, one made pleated pants, several made kurtas for their uniforms and some made pleated uniform dresses. Each was skilled and patient with the process. They work on treadle machines, so they do don’t need to depend on electricity to work.

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Needless to say I was very impressed with their hard work and skills and all were approve to receive a sewing machine. Ten new USHA machines were purchased and given to eight young women and two young men. 

These machines are not just functional, but they provide a future for the student and their whole family. It - along with their training and initiative - provides a way for the family to earn a living, to support themselves ad their families and to provide a necessary service to the community.

Many thanks to Loreen Brown, Board Member, and her friends who participated in her Facebook Birthday Fundraiser and to Walnut UMC’s “Trick or Treat” Offering. 

Annual Day Celebration at Felix Convent School

Yesterday was the Annual Day celebration at Felix Convent School: a day to review the year, for the parents to see the dance and drama performances the students have been working on, and a day for awards presentations.

I was the honorable guest and presided over the event, said some concluding words, but mostly I just enjoyed the children’s presentations. There was a range of dancing from Bollywood style to traditional Rajastani dance. I was impressed with the number of boys who participated fully and all the dances were wonderful. Because the school is located in poor tribal area and most of the parents are laborers, the school rented all the costumes for the children, to make them feel special and proud. The school has an enrollment of 305 children, from Nursery-Eighth class. The surrounding community is a mix of Muslim, Hindu and Christian and they all work together to adjust to cultural and religious differences in a smooth and understanding way. I was very impressed at the ways that the children and teachers and parents worked together to showcase the children’s talents.

A Visit to the Classrooms

One of the highlights of my trip will be the experience I had today: visiting each of the classes at Panchsheel School. After Morning Assembly, I visited the first grade class and they were practicing their counting. They counted in Marathi, counted by ten, identified their colors in Marathi and English. The Second grade class was doing a reading comprehension exercise in Marathi and it was wonderful to see them participating. Class Three was engaged in a reading exercise as well, but they stopped to ask me some questions. Class Four was learning a wonderful Marathi poem about the growth of seeds and the teacher taught in Marathi and English.

Class Five had an English reading competition and I judged who would be the “winner” between the boys and girls. One girl from the class read a paragraph from their book, then one boy read the same paragraph and I chose the best reader. They were both great and I chose the girl as the winner. Class six sang me three songs: one in English, one in Marathi and one in Hindi. They also asked me questions about my favorite color, my favorite food, etc. Class seven also sang me songs and asked about where I was from, what the name of my dog was and what I did for a living.

Class eight and nine were curious about me and my life in California, the composition of my family and asked many questions. Class ten was engaged in a writing exercise and Classes eleven and twelve were doing a practice exam. 

It was wonderful to have that time with the students and the teachers. All who were working hard engage the material, to learn the skills and to build the confidence of each student.

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Panchsheel Program

This afternoon, the students of Panchsheel School hosted a Cultural Program in my honor. There were dances from the boys and girls, dances from some small groups and individuals and then the yoga team performed the big finale.

Inauguration of the new school bus for Felix Convent School!

We began working with Felix Convent School four years ago. At that time, they informed us that they needed a bus - a request that was a bit out of our reach. Their need was justified: there were so many children who needed transport to and from school and their small vehicles  were so crammed full, it was unsafe for children to travel any distance. But, we were a small non-profit, just starting out and such a large project seemed impossible. 

Each year, they asked and each year we had decline. Until 2017. That year, we agreed to raise half the money - $4000 - for a used vehicle. The first year we raised $2000 and the following year we raised the other $2000. But, in that time, regulations and rules had changed, safety requirements tightened and the price of the vehicle increased. 

And then Friends of Padhar Schools received an unexpected donation. With an additional $2000 and a bank loan for the remaining amount, Felix Convent School got its new bus this week! 

It is shiny and new, with room enough for 40-45 children. As the children hopped into the seats, they said “new bus! new bus!” and were so excited to take the first ride. 

Catching up with the Mission Primary School

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This morning, I visited the teachers and students of the Mission Primary School. We met for Morning Assembly, then I traveled to each class where they sang a song or two. We had a great and productive teachers' meeting and planning for next year.

A Day at St. Mark School in Sarni

Today, I traveled to Sarni to meet the students, teachers and administrators of St. Mark School. They welcomed me with fanfare and we had a great discussion with the teachers. This past year, we funded 4 new computers for the computer lab, so we visited the lab to see how they were working out.

St. Mark School has a total of 446 students in classes Nursery-Class 12. The senior school (Class 9-12) meets in the morning hours and the junior school (Nursery-Class 8) meets in the afternoon hours. We look forward to working with them in this next year.

Visit to Mission Higher Secondary School

We had a wonderful program with the students of the Mission Higher Secondary School. The students sang and danced and joyfully welcomed me into their community. Then the teachers treated me to a potluck feast. Wonderful day!

The Mission Higher Secondary School has 149 students in 6-12th grades. 118 of their students are from the School and Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind, meaning almost half of their population is hearing impaired, visually -impaired, developmentally delayed or physically impaired.

New Sound System for Happy Valley

This morning, we unveiled the new sound system given to Happy Valley English School. One of our generous donors sent me to India with a donation to be given to the entire school to "do something special for all the children to enjoy and have a smile on their faces." Since Happy Valley is a school that has Morning Assembly every morning with a wonderful student choir and student musicians, we were able to provide 2 microphones with mic stands, a new amplifier and a new keyboard! Many thanks to all who made it happen.

An Introduction to Ebenezer

Yesterday, I spent the day at Ebenezer Home, English Medium and Hindi Medium Schools. We unwrapped the washing machine they purchased with the funds provided from FoPS, took a tour of the schools, and went into the nearby village of Partey.

Ebenezer Educational Society is comprised of three entities:

• Ebenezer Home, a live-in hostel for orphaned and needy children.

• Ebenezer English Medium School, with students from Nursery age to Class 8.

• Ebenezer Hindi Medium School, with students from Class 6 to Class 10.

Ebenezer Home currently houses 28 children: 21 girls and 7 boys. Most of these children have been orphaned or left at the home by relatives who could not care for them. Each child has their own bed and the house is separated into a girls’ dormitory and a boys’ dormitory. They have a fully-staffed kitchen and dining room and good washing facilities. Friends of Padhar Schools donated some funding for equipment this year and they purchased a new washing machine for the home, which we unveiled and inaugurated. Everyone was so excited for thier new machine.

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The Hindi Medium School currently serves 210 students in classes 6-10. They employ 9 teachers and 5 staff. The English Medium School has an enrollment of 87 students in Nursery - Class 8, with 9 teachers and 4 staff. We are looking forward to many more opportunities for partnership in the future.

SRCB Padhar AKA "The Blind School"

The School and Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind (also known by its nickname “The Blind School”) is a live-in facility for children with hearing, vision, physical and mental challenges. They work in partnership with the Mission School and in collaboration provide resource assistants to help the SRCB children learn braille, sign language and additional life -skills. Currently they are home to 190 students, providing housing, meals, care and nurture for each child.

This year, we’ve continued our Student Sponsorship Program by supporting 24 students, providing uniforms and materials, resource teachers and school fees for each student. We look forward to many more years in partnership.