The 12 children we registered on 09 January 2014 to Saint George school all got accepted and are now attending classes. The sister at the Gandhi Center is helping them with school uniforms. Stephanie, one of the many volunteers in Kolkata and a wonderful and kind person, has donated 10000 Rupees to help pay for their uniforms and books.

It is with grace that all 12 children got accepted. We were expecting a few, but not all. Why all 12 children got accepted we do not know. Nor do we know why we registered 12 children, instead of 3 like we originally planned. However, what we do know is that whenever there seems to be an obstacle, a new path appears and our work continues.

Don Bosco is a great place to send the children for the chances/odds of success, but there is limited space and emotionally difficult at times for the children being in boarding school. Many of the private boarding schools we looked at as an alternative to Don Bosco were expensive, costing more than Don Bosco and some were not very nice. Saint George (the day school) is a wonderful school and is very affordable. However, it is also limited in the number of available spaces for new students and we have so many children we hope to provide with education.

When I left Kolkata in middle of January, I felt a bit lost at what to do since I have no idea where more funding will come from next. Then when I visited Cassie, who I met briefly in Kolkata eight months ago, in Bangkok since my flight layover there, she began asking all kinds of questions about the foundation and work and before I knew it, she had generously and kindly gave her time and energy and got a website up and running. Since then, three new sponsors contacted and so now there is funding to help three more children.

On Tuesday I went to Saint George to inquire and to register children from the slum around the Gandhi Center to the school. The director provided the information and said for the children to come with their parents on Saturday to fill out their applications. If they get accepted, we will provide the children with tuition, book fee, and uniform.

When I came back to the slum to find the three children I wanted to send to Saint George, others started to follow us. I proceeded to fill out paperwork for the three children and before I realized, I had filled out twelve applications.

Saint George only has 50 openings for this year and they are expecting close to 1000 applications. It will be a miracle if all twelve of our children will be accepted.

The tuition fee for Saint George is 300 Rupees ($5) per month and it includes breakfast and lunch. These children will be happy to receive any support anyone wishes to make.

Here are photos of our twelve children. Pray that they may all be accepted to Saint George.

What an amazing three days since Sunday. I went and visited the children we had been sponsoring and I am so thrilled to see how well they are doing and how happy they are in their new home at Asha Arundonoy for the girls and at Asha Neer for the boys. The home is managed by seven sisters and they are so loving and nuturing. I got to spend half a day meeting the children and chatting with the nuns. It is such a comforting feeling knowing they will be well cared by the sisters. For the boys, the brothers take good care of the children and teach them skills and proper manners. All children receive their academic by attending private schooling outside the facilities and vocational learning at the facilities. I have never seen children more happy at any time in my entire life than at the homes here at Don Bosco.

Today, I went into the slum near the Ghandi Center and spoke with a few families living on the streets. I think I will be sponsoring two of the girls, maybe three that I met. I spoke with their families about the opportunity to attend school and they were excited at possibly going. However, they don’t want to attend boarding school because it would mean not being with their families. I was very touched to see how much they show love for each other and not wanting to be separated.

I spoke with Sister Mercy Maria about other schools to send the children and she recommended Saint George School. It is a free private school that operates on donations. So as I was speaking with the families and the three girls, I am thinking I will register the girls into Saint George. The girls are amazingly kind, beautiful, and loving. They work really hard at the Ghandi Center and are the most well mannered and polite kids I have met. And though it will not be a boarding school they will attend, my instinct tells me they will do well if they are given a chance.

The first 3 photos are the boy’s home at Asha Neer. The next 5 photos are of the girl’s home at Asha Arundonoy.

In the slum, they earn a living by straightening used nails (1 rupee for 1 kg nails), making belts (1.5 rupee per belt) and other clothing accessories at similar wages, and sorting plastics and botttles (1-2 rupees per kg).