• July 2010: After eight weeks of summer holidays the kids are back to school since June 7th. Our 80 "Shanti Children" are attending the Shanti Tuition Centre again frequently. We had a small opening ceremony.
• All the children from our project received their school materials(Note Books, Dresses, Stationary items, etc.,).

• The kids are having summer holidays now. This year all the children are continuing at shanti tuition centre, there will be a few new admission in the first batch (1st grade to 5th grade children), adding some poor needy children.
  Most of the schools reopen around the first week of June. We also reopen the tuition centre on the 7th of June for this year. We will be busy until then because we have to organize many things, buy notebooks, school uniform, stitching the uniform, visit their schools to pay their school fee, etc... We know the work and we like to do.
  

  
  

• Our Newsletter of Summer 2010. Download here.

• Our project children have finished their annual exam and they all got promoted.
  Our tuition teachers were busy helping them with their studies, home works, etc., which helped the students to score good marks and pass in their exams.
  The 10th grade students have scored good marks and going to high school now. Of the 8 students four of them scored more than 80 % of very good marks.
  Bharathi has scored 94.8 % and got the first mark in her school and Meenakshi scored 94 % and she got 2nd place, we are all happy about the marks.
  We have had a nice evening gathering of the 10th grade students and the teachers. They all got some little presents for their effort. Congradulations!
  

  
  

• Computer class: We are teaching 7 children from 10th grade students, basic computer course, as vocation training program. They have been coming regularly and learning to use the computer, typing, Microsoft office programs, email and internet. They are keen to learn computer, now they have their own email address and know to use the email and search on the internet.


• Also 3 boys, Jagan, Suseendran and Ajith are learning computer hardware course.
  

  
  

• As to finish the academic year, last month we have taken all the 80 children and 20 adults (teachers, volunteers and helpers) for one day excursion to Chennai, to a cultural museum called “Dakshina Chitra” www.dakshinachitra.net
  And we visited one of the biggest amusement park in Chennai, www.mgmdizzeeworld.com We took a private special bus for us, spent the whole day in the amusement park, with rides, games, swimming and many other fun events. The kids enjoyed so much; just watching them was a great gift for all of us.
  

  
  

• We have been invited by Mooji Group in Tiru, for the charities fund raising concert, where our children also danced for one movie song; that was an excellent concert with such wonderful artists performing together. It was organized very well by the Mooji group. Thanks to them for the invitation and the donation.
  

  
  

• We are happy to let you know that Sathya, one of the girls our project supports has now finished the College of Nursing with Diploma in June 2009 and now she is working as nurse in the KOVAI MEDICAL CENTER & HOSPITAL at Coimbatore.




Sathya

• The second nurse is getting ready from our project :), Yes, Chandra is doing her final year nursing course in Vellore, she is doing well with her studies, but since about six months she has been through some heart pain and feeling tired, we are checking with the doctors and she is taking some medicine, we hope and pray that she recovers well, easy and quick.




Chandra

• Deepa is doing her 3rd Year B.Sc maths degree course, her parent, brothers and sisters are illiterate and she is the first one in the family who has finished the high school and going to the college.

• Elakkiya (Geetha) is doing her 2nd year B.Sc, Microbiology. After the college hours and on the weekends, she is helping her mother by selling flowers, in front of the ashram and also learning and doing her assignments.


• Priya has joined in a private school and doing her 11th grade.

• Krishnamoorthi: Passed in 12th grade and going to study science degree. He has been living with his brother and aged parent in a hut, rainy days they could not sleep inside, rain would come everywhere inside the house. So with the help of Wouter, Lyse and some other Canadian friends we have built the concrete house for them, now they are living in a rain proof house and happy.


• His brother Karthikeyan has finished his Batchelers degree in physics and joined Masters Degree in Tiru govt college.

• Mr.Dragon, the magic man from UK visited again this year, showed some new tricks to the kids and performed a show with them.



 
Dragon doing a magic show

 
Dragon teaching some magic tricks to our kids

• We have conducted a dental camp with Dr. Ashok from Bangalore, 75 children got their tooth check up. Also tooth eradication has been done in our centre. At the end we gave tooth brushes and tooth paste to the kids and Dr.Ashok gave some good advice and tips to maintain the tooth.



 
Dr.Ashok giving dental checkups and treatments

• Krishnamoorthi a poor boy and his hard working family were helped to get their new house built. Now with the construction work is finished, they are very happy and living in their new house.

• We celebrated Christmas festival like every year with the ever famous Father Christmas bringing gifts and lot of smile to the kids. We distributed gifts and sweets to all the tuition children and also other street children. The kids performed beautifully in some cultural programs, a nice drama about Jesus, some dance, yoga and music programs. About 150 children and more than 30 adults gathered that evening to celebrate with us.



  
Dance and Peace song singing

 
Father christmas

 
Gifts and Sweets

• With some tuition children we made a one day excursion to Vellore fort and the "golden temple" as well as to a water theme park with a rented bus. With other tuition children we went to Gingee Fort and to Pondicherry museum, park and to the beach for a one day trip also with a rented bus.

• We have done a rangoli drawing competition with our tuition children for Pongal.



  


 


 

• Celebrated Diwali(festival of lights and joy) with fire crackers and other indian and other religious festivals with snacks, milk and dinner.

We have celebrated Saraswathi Pooja(Festival to thank the goddess Saraswathi for art and education and tools) in our centre, distributed prasad..

 
Diwali celebrations


Saraswathi, the goddess of Art. Drawn by the children

• Meenakshi, sweet little girl who was born deaf-mute is changed from normal school and now sent to the special school for the Hearing Impaired. Now already she is showing improvement by talking better.


Meenakshi

• A poor family of Parameshwari was suffereng from money debts with a high interest rate. Now we helped her to pay the loan back and took away the burden of paying the ever increasing interest money. Now they are slowly paying back the loan to us month by month.

• We took the first batch tuition children to Gingee fort and pondicherry museum, park and to the beach as a one day trip with a rented bus. The kids enjoyed it very much. they are amused to see the giant Matirmandir in Auroville and to swim in the ocean.



 


 

• Second batch tuition children went on a day excursion tour to Vellore fort, history museum, the golden temple and a water theme park in a rented bus.



 


 

• Two boys Aalayam and Ajit did very good in their 11th class exams and joined 11th grade.

• For Deepam festivalsome of our kids did a nice workshop and painted many beautiful oil lamps.

• With couple of voulentiers from overseas, the kids had some more of english lessons. Did some art works, like drawing themself, learned new games and bit of their culture.