Blog Faith, Hope, Love Foundation of India - FAITH-HOPE-LOVE

A Child Following The Footsteps of Don Bosco

5/4/2016

Saint Don Bosco did not receive his formal education until he was 13 years old. He took advantage of the chance he was given and somehow succeeded and eventually became a priest. He later began to set up programs to help street boys similar to himself to also have opportunities to make it in life. Today, there are Don Bosco schools all over the world providing education and care for the poor and often homeless children.

Today, we placed Biki, a slum boy of 11 years old, into Don Bosco Ashalayam in Howrah. Biki, like Don Bosco in early years, does not have any formal education to date. We are hoping that the same success will happen to Biki as it did for Saint Don Bosco.

Biki comes from a family of three boys. He is the middle child. Biki only has a mother who works in a hospital cleaning for 1500 Rupees a month. He has no father in his life since the father left a long time ago and both his grandparents have passed away. The children and mother and an uncle live in a small 8 feet by 6 feet single room house next to the train tracks. During summer, it gets very hot inside since it is made of bamboo and scrap tin. And during the monsoon season, it is constantly filled with water.

We also tried to place Biki's little brother who is five, but the school said he is too small for boarding. For Biki's little brother, he will have to wait another year or two before it is possible to put him in boarding. Biki's older brother is 15 years old and there is no place to put him and so for him, his life is set and he will grow old in the slum of Kolkata doing odd jobs for 1500-2000 Rupees each month.

We placed Biki and many children like Biki whom for many reasons have never been to school to receive even the basic education into boarding school with the hope they can somehow follow the footsteps of Don Bosco and walk away from the slum and away from poverty.

A Journey With No End In Sights

4/19/2016

Looking back, three and a half years ago, I began helping one child living in the slum to have boarding and education. That one action turned into five children receiving an opportunity to have better lives. From that one single action, there is now over sixty children who are in boarding schools receiving an education. I have placed so many children in boarding schools with some I remember clearly their lives situations while others became vague memories. Many kids I have placed are now gone and I have no idea what has happened of them. There was one 14 year old girl who left boarding because she was Schizophrenic and the school released her shortly after she was placed due to lack of services to deal with her condition. She was sent back to her family who cannot care for her and did not want her. Where that girl is now and what is happening in her life, I cannot imagine.

As I walk through the slums, new children and families would come and ask for boarding. But, I would also see some of the children that were placed at one time in boarding running around because they have decided to leave boarding school to be back in the streets. It is hard to understand why parents would choose to have their kids live in the streets instead of in boarding schools.

When I placed a child in boarding school, I am filled with mixed emotions. I am happy for the child that he or she will receive an opportunity for schooling, but I am also a little sad knowing I will not see the child every time I visit the slum and streets. I go visit the child in the boarding school, but that is not as often since the work to help the children is mainly in the streets of Kolkata.

Since that first child, I have placed so many kids that I have lost perspective of how many children have been helped. But no matter how many children I enrolled in school, more are being born to replace them. I just don't understand why parents would bring a newborn into a life of poverty and hunger. I have stopped asking the why question so much and simply tried to help those standing in front of me.

I don't know how much longer I will be able to do this work, but I am glad to have received help from many people along the way. I supposed the day when I have given all that I have to these poor children is the day that the work will end. For now, the end is still far away. I hope that more people will come to help the children and I hope that when I can no longer go on that someone will pick up the reign to continue the work and carry the responsibility.

What will a person do to survive?

9/26/2015

I spent the day today checking on the children at Nav Jeevan in the morning and later at Don Bosco in the afternoon. Getting to Don Bosco was a test of patience since it took almost 2 hours by bus to go a distance of about 7 kilometers due to the traffic jam of Kolkata. All the children in our boarding schools are doing well except for Veejay who wants to go back home. After some counseling, he decided to remain in boarding. However, I have a feeling that he may not stay since he does not have the same freedom to do what he pleases as when he was living in the slum along the train tracks.

As I left Mother's House this morning, I took a pack of biscuits from them not knowing exactly what I will do with the biscuits. But as I left Mother's House after evening prayer, a homeless man passed me on the street, stopped and bent down to pick a piece of food from the gutter and placed it into his mouth. I tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he would like some biscuits and gave him half a pack which he quickly ate half and saved the other half for later. I then told him to come to Shishu Bhavan at seven each morning where he can get a nice hot meal from the MC Sisters. A little bit further down the road, I ran into a poor woman I see begging everyday and gave her half of the remaining biscuits and that brought a smile to her face since they are her favorite. She comes to the Sealdah dispensary every morning to get food from us and is happy whenever we give her biscuits. And further down the road, I ran across another homeless man sitting in the gutter near the trash holding a cow bone with some raw flesh still on it. That was going to be his dinner for the night so I stopped for a third time and gave the rest of the biscuits to him. He took the biscuits from my hand and a warm smile came to his face as I wished him well.

It is amazing what people will do here in Kolkata to survive each day. I am humbled by them for I am too weak to do what they do to survive and would just give up. Therefore, I am very thankful that I am able to serve the poor in any little way I can. They are my boss and they are God's children in the truest sense.

Living On The Wrong Side Of The Tracks

7/22/2015

I did another home visit today in a slum in Tengra (southeast side of Kolkata). The home is next to the train track on one side and a glass tower apartment on the other side. The area is being developed with more luxury living condo apartments. The rich and the poor live next to each other, but they might as well be light years apart. Every day the rich people look from their glass towers to the streets below and only see what they wish to see. And every day the poor look up and wonder what are beyond those glass windows. Only in the eyes of God are the poor recognized as beautiful and worthy. But in much of our society, they are forgotten and unseen. They wait for hope to come, but often times they have given up and have accepted the lives they are given since hope seldom comes.

The First Month of Summer

7/21/2015

July 4, 2015

I received enough school supplies and used clothes to fill four full size suitcases. However, due to airline rules for baggage, I was only able to take two somewhat over the weight limit suitcases with me to Kolkata. The rest of the donations will have to wait until my next trip back to the States.

Always, when I returned to the States, it seems more different and I see how much more our society needs to do to help the poor. The amount of spending we generate on everything from purchasing things we need to live to luxury items that we eventually no longer use and discard.

I have met many people who share this passion to help the poor and others with less. But, I have also met many people who don’t want to help the poor and feel it is not their responsibility. It is definitely a difficult if not impossible task in helping the poor and to provide them with opportunities. However, it is very easy to help one poor child/person to have a better life simply by recognizing he/she deserves our respect and love.

July 5, 2015

This morning I went to Don Bosco Ashalayam to paid tuition for the non-German sponsored children and was surprised to learn that a new director, Father Alfred is now in charge. After meeting him, I caught him up on who I am and the mission of the work. Father Alfred is willing to look at our children and make assessment so perhaps, we will be able to place children again in boarding school in Don Bosco.

All the children except for two are still there and are doing well. The two children who left were taken out by their fathers. There was no reason why they wanted their kids out, but I can speculate that it is for work or conflict with school’s philosophy.

At Nav Jeevan, I went to visit Rupa, who we recently placed. She is doing well, but still misses her family a little. The rest of the children are doing well except for one girl, Mary, who is missing because her mother has not brought her back from a holiday break. Sr. Lizy is keeping her place opened for now in case she returns.

July 6, 2015

Today, MC Sisters took me to a school in the village where three of the children were placed in a boarding school run by the Sisters of St. Anne. The school and hostel are situated on a large piece of land with nice landscaping of mango, banana, and jack fruit trees. Many tropical flowering plants add colors and beauty to the environment. The children appeared well-adjusted to their new homes which is a stark contrast from the train platform of Sealdah. On the train ride, it was difficult to take in the poverty that exists for kilometer after kilometer along the train track. Tiny homes of rusted tin metals and bamboos formed a gauntlet on both sides of the track that seems to have no end in sight.

July 7, 2015

I visited the Nimtala Slum and the Gandhi Slum today until the afternoon rain came. I met with the children and family to let them know we have six slots available for boarding. Of course, many parents wanted their kids to be placed, but we can only take six so it will be difficult to decide who gets placed and who will wait until next time. While visiting the children, one child was being physically abused by a very bad father who bloodied the boy. The mother wants us to take the child for boarding, but I am afraid the father will cause trouble so it may not happen. As long as the abusive father is in the picture, there is not much I can do to help. The mother can go to the police, but that is probably no help either.

July 8, 2015

As I promised a mother and her son three months ago when I was in Kolkata, I stopped by her make-shift home in the Nimtala Slum to provide boarding school for her son. At the request of the MC Sister, another boy from the same area was also provided boarding. At first, I was about to bring the children to Missionaries of the Word, but after speaking with the director, I felt taking them to Don Bosco was the better option. At Don Bosco, Fr. Alfred was helpful and quickly processed the children’s papers and within an hour, the children were admitted.

I am quite pleased that Don Bosco Ashalayam and I are able to work together once more to help provide education for the poor. Father Alfred seems more sympathetic for the poor since he is born and raised in West Bengal so poverty is a part of his life. In any case, I hope this will be a long lasting cooperation that will benefit the children we are serving.

July 10, 2015

Wading knee deep in sewage water due to monsoon rain this morning, I began to wonder how some people are fortunate enough to live in glass houses while others not so fortunate are trying to keep what little possessions they have above water. It seems the two worlds are so separated that one cannot imagine how the other lives.

I have been blessed to have experience being poor with nothing but the clothes on my back and also to have everything I need and more. So as I sat in prayers today, I wondered how and why some people are born into poverty while others are born into privilege.

Jesus said, “When I was hungry, you did not give me food and when I was thirsty, you did not give me drink.” To serve the poor is to serve God. To love the poor is to love God. To be human is to love and care for others and every living creatures on Earth.

July 12, 2015

After mass this morning, I visited a mother and 5 year old son in the slum next to the Gandhi Center. We then took a taxi to visit the Missionaries of the Word to see if she wants her son to go there. Br. Xavier was nice enough to show them around and explained the school’s mission. And though the mother likes the school, she did mention it was very far away. I said we will go to Don Bosco on Thursday and she can decide afterward which school would be better for her son. On the way back to the slum, I visited three other families and on Tuesday, we hope to bring one boy and two girls to Don Bosco for boarding.

Today was very hot and humid. After a twelve hour day, I could not stand my own body odor. And no matter how many showers I take, some days I cannot take enough showers to feel fresh. Today is one of those days.

July 14, 2015

Today, a volunteer from Valencia, Spain came along to help with the children. We arrived at the Gandhi slum around 8:30 am and gathered the children and mother to take to Don Bosco for boarding. They were pretty excited to go. We took two buses to get there and after 45 minutes, we arrived to Don Bosco only to have to wait two more hours, because they were busy with internal matters. When my frustration was finally at my limit, I began coaxing the staff to begin processing the children’s papers so that the children may be placed in a boarding home and get off the streets. By 4:30 pm, we were able to help three children from the Gandhi slum get boarding and education.

Part of the internal issues they were discussing was about helping too many Muslim and the problem with helping the poor Muslims while not as many poor Hindus are being helped. Again, I was reminded to try bringing in more poor Hindus so the numbers are about equal. Of course, it will never be equal as long as ethnic and religious discrimination exists in society.

It is bad enough that society treat poor people badly and not show them respect and dignity. But, to prioritize by religion to see which poor person should be helped is really beyond my comprehension and makes me question the compassion within society.

The poor never seem to catch a break. They are not afforded many opportunities. And when they are given an opportunity, they are not given many chances to make mistakes. The poor in India are seldom given a first opportunity much less a second.

Three Children Placed in June-2015

7/1/2015

For the month of June, we placed two girls (sisters) in a village boarding school and one girl in Nav Jeevan (Kolkata). We also received clothes donation from a couple of USA donors and school supplies. Several volunteers will be arriving in July to help us so that will be very exciting. We will be doing school visits next month and updates on the children will be posted. Hopefully, the kids will be advancing in their academics.

Another Spring and New Hope

3/30/2015

I rummaged through the pile of books and school supplies that a private school was throwing away since they are considered out of date and began putting them into neat piles. In Kolkata, we will be able to use the English and Math books to teach the children in the slums and in the streets. I took one book of each grade level from class 1 to class 4 and made photocopies of the books to give to our children in the streets and slum so that they may have proper materials to learn. I smiled a little knowing I was sorting through someone else’s trash of books seeing the value that they still hold.

In the slum near the Gandhi Center, I met with little Rupa and her family to ask them if they wanted their daughter to attend boarding school. This time they agreed to let her attend. Rupa is a lovely six year old girl soon to be seven and she loves to learn whenever we come to teach her in the slum. I had spoken with the sisters at Nav Jeevan to come do a home visit and to verify Rupa’s living condition before she can be admitted. Now it is a matter of waiting and praying that she will soon be accepted.

I took another child from the Nimtala slum to visit a boarding school in Tolygunde area south of Kolkata. The six year boy and his mother along with his two siblings live next to the train tracks. His mother works to clean houses for a living and makes perhaps 2000-3000 Rupees per month. The young boy has not had any formal education and will probably have no chance of a future other than living out his life in the slum next to the train track if he is not placed into a boarding school.

Now it is a matter of waiting and praying that the two children will be accepted and getting papers for them will not be a complicated process.

An Update during a Three Day Visit

3/6/2015

I visited the children at Nav Jeevan upon arrival (February 27, 2015) to learn that Muskan has been promoted to class I (English Medium) so that is a bit of good news. Muskan has been moved to the Pandua facility in the village where she has a nicer environment to live and learn. The only sad thing is now I don't get to see her every time I visit, but the change will be good for her. The other children at Nav Jeevan are doing well and just finished their exam so now they have their school break. Two other kids, besides Muskan, have also transitioned to English Medium, but remained at Nav Jeevan since they are still in Nursery class.

The five children we have at the Missionaries of the Word are doing well and happy to be there. I went to visit them the following day. After paying for their tuition for the year, I took them shopping for a set of school clothes. It has only been about two months for them living in their new environment so they are still making some adjustment and missing home on the train platform of Sealdah. But once they immersed themselves in school and begin learning, perhaps they will not feel homesick.

It was good seeing the children from the Ghandi Center slum and to see them in their new school uniforms. Two of the children, Bharti and Sonam, are no longer there because they have been placed in boarding school nearby thanks to a local Baptist Church. Rupa and Sneha are still attending day school at Saint George in the morning and receiving afternoon tutoring each Thursday by one of the volunteers. The older children are attending classes in the afternoon and some are helping to teach the younger children in the evening at Marina's tutoring center in the slum from 4-6pm.

It is good to see the kids and families viewing education as being more important in their lives. Although it may be a long time before they are truly invested in their children's education, but they families we work with and the children we work with are taking baby steps forward. And for us, every small step forward is providing these children with better opportunities in their lives.

A Difficult Autumn, A Winter Bringing New Hope

12/2/2014

After a great summer where we were able to place 4 children in boarding schools and went to raise money in Europe to help 10 more children, we were faced with a difficult Autumn of not having any school to place our children in. When Don Bosco Ashalayam did not allow us to place our kids in their facilities in October, we were faced with a problem of finding affordable and quality schools for our street children.

What we have learned in the last two years is that whenever things seem dark and hopeless, a light appears and new opportunities present themselves. Our new schools at Nav Jeevan and Missionaries of the Word have made it possible for us to provide education for children living in the slums and streets of Kolkata. In November, we placed two more girls at Nav Jeevan so now there are seven young girls we have sponsored for boarding there and no longer living on the streets. At the same time, we were able to connect with another school, Missionaries of the Word, that allows us to place more children each year into their program and so this week, we are bringing five new children to Missionaries of the Word to receive boarding and education. Their photos are below in the slide show on the right.

For us now, the task will be to find more funding for these kids. We, currently, have 33 children in boarding schools and 8 kids in day school, but not all the kids have sponsors so our hope is that people will step up and help. However, we have so many children we work with daily hoping to have a chance to be in boarding school and we tell them to be patience and wait until we can find more funding. How do you say no to these children? For us, we can't and we will work for them until there are no more children living in poverty. So that is our commitment to them and we hope more people will join us.

This next Spring and Summer there will be some volunteers coming to help us teach the children so we are excited to have people joining our work. Perhaps one day we will have our own school for these kids. We might as well dream big. But we trust God will provide us guidance and whatever we receive or do we are truly grateful for the work He entrusts us with.

Don Bosco Brothers

7/27/2014

On Friday, we spent over 6 hours at Don Bosco to place these two brothers (Intia, 9 yrs. and Chotu, 5 yrs.) in boarding school. The day began with going to a hospice home to pick up the father only to find out he ran away from the hospice. Later, the father returned and we then took the children to the Don Bosco facility. Often times, the parents are bad and not very well behaved, but the children should not have to pay the price. The father is a bicycle rickshaw driver, married twice, 3 children from each marriages, both wives left him because he drinks and beat them up, and does not provide for the family and forced his children to beg on the streets. The only reason we were able to help the boys was the father contracted malaria and got so sick he had to seek help. We placed the father in hospice care and his sons in temporary shelter at an orphanage. After the father got better, we processed the children's papers with child welfare to place them in boarding school. Hopefully, these two children will not take after their father's behavior and maybe will have a chance to have something better.