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With the balwadi children.
- Talking to Dr.Ruby.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx2) 6/11/2010 DIANA’S VISIT
New Aprons ….donated by Diana
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14/09/2010 SAMARITANS PURSE
- Receiving the best part through God’s grace
- Samaritans Purse
Pre-Session Counselling Certificates awarded to children for eligibility
10/08/2010
- ‘….glad to be here- we feel protected’!
NEW SEASON ………… June 2010
10th August 2010
‘….glad to be here- we feel protected’!
P.S. Ajay (highlighted) our former student continued to attend until he left for primary school boarding on promotion. All our old students who were promoted have joined Primary School as boarders.
16th Jan.2010
MAY WE WISH YOU GOD”S BLESSING FOR A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We are progressing steadily and well.The last couple of years have brought us dedicated interns,three from AISEC and one from Grace Community Church in the U.S.Their dedication and contribution has been of great help and value.
We have finally settled down to a core staff of committed and dedicated individuals viz.Renuka(from the area and Senior teacher)Asha(from the area and Junior teacher),Fatima and her mother(from the area and helpers)Martin Aghamker(Administrator).
We have 8 new children up for admission in addition to the current 15,from another NGO running a creche and scores of other parents wanting admission for their children.
We cannot give any assurances of extra admissions until June 2010 when the new school year starts and we know if our budget will permit us to reach our goal of 30.It is all there in the project plans , which we have shown to various agencies.We believe that God who has brought us so far will continue to sustain this work.
Our vision is to have a PP school of atleast 30 children along with a day creche to start with.Again all there in our plan.
Just today an article was published about the need to teach English at the primary level nationwide as the levels of English profiency is falling.The alarm was sounded by the highest court of justice of the country-the Supreme court.Only 43.8% of Standard One children could recognize the alphabets and in some states it was dismally lower.China is fast beating us in English proficiency.
We are the only PP school in the area to teach English.Our feedback tells us that we have established a reputation in the area that goes with what we have projected all along in what we hoped to achieve.
We pray in the midst of so many different disasters and sights youwill remember these children as the carriers of the light….. inspite of acutely depressed circumstances ,to the rest of the world.
JJCF
History
Started by Dr. Ruby (Dr.Robina Fredericks, popularly known as ‘Dr. Nani’ by the residents) in the Red Light Area .
Eight years ago she went into full time work and spent time in prayer and ministering to the CSWs (prostitutes) at the field office and centre of PHO (now called ‘Saheli’).
In 2002 she joined “Crossroads at YWAM” to better equip herself. After she returned she was requested by the management at ‘Saheli’ to take over the Doctors post that was lying vacant in June 2003 at their clinic. She remained there until the clinic was discontinued, due to change in priorities, in 2005.
In Dec 2005 she then set up a clinic Jan.2005 in a notorious and dangerous lane called ‘Dhamdhere Bol’ . The residents there included women, their children “spouses”, eunuch prostitutes, pimps, brothel keepers, brothel owners and small traders.
It is a lane of brothels cramped together ‘cheek to jowl’ in filthy and depressing surroundings. Initially a ‘Drop-In’ clinic was set up in a renovated former brothel to meet the physical as well as spiritual needs of the women and children.
Between Sept 2003 to Jan 2005 ‘Stepping Stones’ from Mumbai supported the ministry. They were part of “New Frontiers international”. They withdrew as the local church was not strong enough to sustain the ministry. This decision was taken by the leaders from Brighton, U.K. They conveyed that the local church should concentrate on church growth and the ministry was too large to be sustainable for them.
Hence Dr.Ruby took over the work in Feb 2006 after an agreement was signed, and the premises handed over to JJCF for a sum of Rs.10,000/-.
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Further, there were only two people working then, Dr. Ruby and her helper for five days a week in the afternoons in the “Drop -In” clinic .
The Pre-Primary School was set up in May 2006, with six workers including two teachers. They were ably assisted and trained by a Canadian AIESEC intern named Katherine Pizzacalla, who was with us for two months. We were sorry when she left. However, she has encouraged others to join us which is how Colleen and Derek both from AIESEC joined.
The school caters to children of CSWs. The syllabus taught along the guidelines prescribed by the Centre of Learning and Research, Pune.
There was one Senior teacher: Vibhavari Gorde and her husband Pastor Prashant Gorde (who have since left for better prospects) Asst. Teacher: Renuka Patil (resident in the area… non CSW), who has now taken over as Senior Teacher with the able assistance of another non-CSW resident Asha Kharat, two Helpers: Amina Sheikh (an aged destitute woman who has been given shelter on the premises of the centre and is being looked after in addition to being given a salary) and her daughter-in -law Fatima.
Sometimes, we have been disappointed in having some of our expectations dashed, but each time we have received timely help. Martin Aghamker has joined us as Administrator/Chaplain and ex-Officio member of our board of Trustees.
June 29 – July 10th “My name is Krishna”
The past two weeks have been very exciting!!
The children are making steadfast progress with their knowledge of the alphabet, counting, transportation, colors and shapes. Each activity we do incorporates their knowledge of these concepts.
For example: We learned to play “duck duck goose” in order to understand circles. We’ve tasted apples, bananas, and guavas blindfolded to experience the colors red, yellow and green. We’ve constructed airplanes out of Lego’s, finger-painted the cars of a train and counted them. We talk about the color of the vegetables we eat for lunch, and count the stairs as we go up and down.
We strive to incorporate the lessons in everything we do and teach the children to be continuously exploring and questioning.
Each day we see at least one child improving in some way:
Pranjal couldn’t count to 5 two weeks ago, and today he led the class confidently in counting to 10 by himself!
Krishna who hardly spoke , stood up and declared “My name is Krishna” for attendance.
Pinky who hid in the corner and refused to smile now reaches out to her classmates on her own.
The progress of the children is reflected in the entire community.
Renuka, our teacher from the area, wasn’t confident in her English or academic skills when we met her one year ago. Today she is applying for her B.A. from a local university, leading the class, and innovating the daily lessons successfully.
We’ve also gained a brand new teacher from the area. Asha , age 23, has come asking to be involved at JJCF pre-primary school and has really added a lot to each day with the love and respect she shares with the children. Since her arrival we’ve even been able to implement small group work into the syllabus to address the differing levels of the children in order to challenge each child appropriately.
On July 7th we celebrated JJCF Pre-Primary School’s one year annaversary at the home of Ruth Fox, a friend of the organization and area. We had a great time playing games outside, running around, blowing bubbles, and eating cake! The children LOVED being outside and in a new environment.
On June 15th the new school year began for the 3-5 year olds in the area and at Sahali Crèche. We have had a great first two weeks of school with an average attendance of 16 children. Renuka and Colleen, the current teachers of the class, are very excited to report the progress of the students.
We are especially proud to announce that 5 children who attended the Jeevan Jyoti Pre-Primary school last year will not be returning this year. Due to their hard work and progress, Sunny, Rahul, Gietry, Piush and Moti have been admitted into boarding school!
We invite everyone to rejoice in this positive event as a result of your hard work and contribution.
Many of our other children are showing a high retention of material they learned last year as well. We are anxious to see their continued growth this year.
We’ve also been happy to welcome a few new faces to our school this year, like Pinky. Many of the new kids need lots of love and attention more than anything to gain confidence that will be vital for learning in their futures.
In the first two weeks we’ve worked on reviewing our ABC’s, counting to 10, and learning colors!
Lastly we’d like to say:
CONGRATULATIONS to Mike and Jen List for their marriage on July 4th!!
New Academic Year
We closed for two weeks after finishing the syllabus for the year. May 4th 2009 began our Vacation bible school program which serviced children up to the age of 12.
The new academic year started with minimal staff and we had to undergo a retrenchment of two of our staff. It was with regret that we had to let them go as we could not offer the job security they desired, due to lack of funds.
We are grateful that AIESEC, the world’s largest student-run organization that runs a Global Internship Program, have arranged for funds to enable an intern, Colleen Larsen from the U.S., to work with us.
A Canadian AIESEC intern Derek will be assisting us part-time for the summer as well. From their combined CV, we know we are going to derive great benefit from them
We also start meetings between 12 and 2 p.m. in the interim period on how to plan the activities of the pre-school children who will be starting with us on 15th June, 2009. We intend to continue this activity on an informal basis. We continue with the VBS until 13th May 2009.
The Pre-Primary kids will continue to wear uniforms as they have them. Activities will differ from the formal Balwadi CLR training.
A junior teacher from the area was hostile when she began with us, however she is now willing to work free, if necessary, for the continuation of the work. Isn’t it wonderful?
The Satsangs (prayer meetings) and prayer ministry have been fruitful and the VBS has been a blessing to the children. They love to come to spend time with us. Many times their mothers join us and attend the satsangs that follow.
