We Can Make a Difference

by Jayani on Oct 22, 2014

Children of Mother Earth has 5 homes in the north of India and the Lucknow city home is the most well-resourced.  It is in an old British-built railways building, surrounded by old shady trees.  There is a large lawn and some very dusty play areas.  A vegetable garden supplies some of their food.

About 50 children live here plus 10 or so adult workers.  The girls and younger boys share 7 of the bedrooms while the few older boys share a separate bedroom away from the others.  The lounge/meeting room also converts into an extra bedroom at night.

A classroom/activity room has recently been built and is used for homework, Indian classical singing and dance lessons, plus some in-home Bridge Schooling for those children not able or not ready to attend one of the local schools.

There are plans to afoot build a new bathroom.  The current bathroom only has 3 toilets and 4 showers – causing more than a few problems when the children all need to get showered before school!

The never-ending pile of washing is done in two old twin tubs, and is dried on lines, on the grass, over rocks – wherever a drying space can be found.

Almost all the children go to school – either to a Hindi school or to an English school, or to our in-home Bridge Schooling.  Some of the older children are now studying at technical college and one is in his first year of university, studying Civil Engineering.  Not bad for children who came from such disadvantaged backgrounds.

Wherever possible, the children are encouraged to improve their lives, with the aim of gaining good jobs, so that they can then become role models for the other children.  These children are no longer trapped in the cycle of poverty and abuse – a web that thousands of Indian children are caught up in.  And most of this is funded through donations – not from saints or superheroes – from ordinary people like you and me.

We can make a difference.

Ron Cook October 22, 2014 at 5:59 PM

Jayani, Thank you for your touching stories.
I too have many fond memories of the beautiful open-hearted children at the Lucknow Home. The ones who have recently arrived at the home are nearly always shutdown (who wouldn’t be after such traumatic young lives), yet slowly the environment, the care and the other children around them, begin to weave their magic. Next thing you know it, one of those traumatised street kids is studying Civil Engineering.
Priceless!

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