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.

Today, I spent the morning at Don Bosco talking with Father Myppan to make sure he will take in the children. I showed him the paperwork on two of the children and he said it was sufficient for admission. Later, I went to tell the families in the Gandhi slum to have the two children with completed documents packed and ready to go on Tuesday morning. I think it will be both a happy and sad day for all. I know I will be sad not to see them daily at the Gandhi Center or in the slum whenever I go and teach there.

We have been using the Buddhist Temple as a classroom for the past several gatherings on Thursday and Sunday. It is a bit strange to be teaching inside a temple. Unlike Jesus, I don’t have anything profound to say to the children or to the parents inside the temple. We basically sing songs accompanied by my bad guitar playing, some mathematics, reading, coloring, and silent meditation. That has been the case each time I go teach in the slum. The children are slowly learning how to behave with more respect for each other and also behaving better towards us. They are not as loud as they used to be and now they will actually listen when I ask them to work or to quiet down. It is a real slow and sometime frustrating experience working with the children and their families.

I have now lost track of time and how long I have stayed here in Kolkata. It has been about one month…I think. Last Thursday, I began a new program by going to the children’s homes on the streets to teach them reading and mathematics every Thursday. We also provide them with music through my poor guitar playing and singing. Often, when I go, I bring another volunteer along so he/she finds out more about lives on the streets. In the photos, you see Elise playing and caring for the children since the parents are too busy working to have much time for them. We mainly teach the older kids and provide day care for the small children. So for about two hours on Thursday, we tried to provide the children with something different from their everyday normal routines.

We now have seven children selected, but are still waiting for Father at Don Bosco to meet with us to fill out the paperwork. Indian culture and philosophy can be a bit frustrating at time and seems to move so slow. That’s okay…one way or another, we will get them in.