Kids of Killankulam introducing themselves to you!
We are always talking about the kids that come to the IFC center to learn
English and to eat with us.
We would like the kids to introduce themselves to you to so that you can place a
face in the stories.
We asked the kids some questions which they had to answer and write down in
English.
Their English is still very basic so we had to make the whole story complete,
but we tried to write it down as they wrote and told us.
The kids who are introducing themselves to you to are the boys that are more or
less living here with us.
The 6 boys have a room of their own, which they have to clean and where they are
responsible for.
They sleep in bunk beds on mattresses and have their own shower and toilet.
In the room, they wash their clothes and have their schoolbooks and pencils.
Every now and then, they invite a friend to sleep over.
They get up in the morning at 6:30 have a breakfast of fruits and horlicks ,
then most of the time they go to their parents house to say hello and then they
have to run to catch the school bus .
They get some kind of lunch in school and then at 5:30 most of the boys will be
back in Killankulam again. They first stop in the village to say hello to their
parents, play some cricket before they come here, and help with watering the
plants or cooking.
Some of them will be here as quick as they can to help and do stuff in the
garden.
At 8:00 we, the students, Sri Param and Devanayagi, eat together with the boys.
Sometimes a couple of their friends and/or some people from the village who are
helping out here every now and then will join us
We always make sure that there is enough for every one.
The food consists of white or brown rice, vegetable dhal and 1 or 2 vegetable
curries.
At times, we make chappati (Indian bread) or Indian sweets.
After dinner, the kids are responsible for cleaning the kitchen.
They made a system that everyday 2 or 3 other boys will clean.
They do a very good job considering where they come from, and they are enjoying
it.
After that, they eat another fruit and most of the time we sit together teaching
English singing or straighten out problems if there are any.
The kids eat what we eat, sleep how we sleep and are a full member of this
household.
We do have the permission from the parents that they stay over here and every
now and then, they sometime visit the children here, more to see what we are
doing, as they do meet the kids daily.
Some of the parents see a big change in their kids. They are more calm and
relaxed and they do not get into trouble anymore.
The parents like it that they are here doing something useful and that they are
safe as well, before they never knew exactly where they got themselves into, now
the parents know that they are here and well taken care of.
Every other week Devanayagi keeps record of their height and weight.
If there are any aches or pains, we give them homeopathic or Ayurvedic
medicines.
At times, the parents also come with some problems, which we try to solve with
simple advice or natural medicines.
To feed the kids and the people helping out here costs about Rs 3000 (50 euro)
per week.
That includes fruits, vegetables, and eggs for 10 to 15 people every day.
We use the vegetables from the garden and we hope that next year we will have a
lot more from the garden so that it becomes cheaper and healthier since we are
growing our vegetables biologically.
We only serve vegetarian food here that includes many vegetables.
The kids really had to get used to it since they never eat at home much
vegetables, they are more and more getting used to it now and learn to like it
as well.
To give the boys the necessary utensils for school including school uniform,
books, pencils and notebooks and a bag will cost about Rs 2000 (40 euro) per
year.
They all go to government schools, which are free until the 5th standard (10
years).
After that, the fee is Rs 450 (10 euro) per year excluding a school uniform and
books all together Rs 1000 (20 euro) until the 10th standard.
After the 10th standard, the total costs are Rs 3000 (60 euro).
Because the people are poor here Rs 1000 per year is a lot of money and people
cannot effort it.
They also do not see the necessity of good schooling for their kids to change
their future.
They are more interested in seeing an extra 50 Roepies ( 1 euro) per day what
the kids can earn doing work on the land, in the construction or stone quarry.
For the seven boys who are here now we would like to give them the opportunity
to study further so that they have the opportunity to make their dreams come
true.
They have a lot of ideas and visions; it is just a matter of giving them fertile
soil to let it grow.
It depends on them selves how committed they are to really make that dream come
true.
We are also very realistic and do not expect to save the world in one day. If we
can help the 6 or 8 children that come here regularly to make marked changes in
their lives and in their village, then we would have done a good job.
These children will be the example for other kids to see what can be done and an
encouragement to make that change also.
You see, your donations can give them the opportunity to grow and us
the means to sustain and grow what we have sown so far.
This is only the beginning as we have just starting project in April and with limited funds.
What we have started so far we have to make sure that it continues so that we do
not have to disappoint any of the kids after a while.
Our vision is to start a school where more boys and girls of poor families can
stay and have the opportunity to study and learn things that are useful for them
in later life.
Where the fee is none or according to the income of the parents.
Where the kids get the attention and the possibilities to explore themselves and
the world.
This is a future vision but with your help, maybe the future will be closer then
we can hope for….
These children who are really committed here to change their future may one day
be a teacher in the school they laid the foundation for so that they can
teach their children what we are teaching them now…..