Enable (Working in India)

No 13 SUMMER 2003

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IN THIS EDITION:

Alison Davis meets 6-year-old Swarna (front) with her blind brother and sister. The three chil= dren are blind.

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- by Alison Davis, Chair of Enabl= e

In J= anuary I returned to my favourite place in the world – our centres for disab= led children at Kanigiri and Ongole in South India. Each time I have visited since 1995 – the visit which led to the establishment of Enable – I have b= een overwhelmed by the love and affection of the children. This visit was no exception.<= /o:p>

As t= he last Update described, we have started to care for many new children during= the past year. The total receiving residential care is 208, which includes 30 b= lind children for whom accommodation was arranged last year.

It w= as a joy to see all the children, but those who are blind made a particular impa= ct. Last year we had decided to try to help the many blind children in desperate need of care, and it was encouraging to see that these children were now receiving that care.

6 year old Swarna

One = little girl who made a particularly deep impression on me is 6 year old Swarna, (pictured above). In ad= dition to being blind she is mentally and physically disabled. She is barely able = even to crawl and has to be carried everywhere.= She has an older brother, Madhava Rao, and a sister, Subbamma, who a= re also blind.

The children’s parents had been desperately looking for help for their children and had been unable to receive any – until now. They are even poorer than most parents of children we are caring for. They clearly wanted what is best f= or their children, but were simply unable to provide it.

Madh= ava Rao and Subbamma are very bright, outgoing and keen to learn. It was lovely= to see how caring they are towards their little sister. Swarna has a very uncertain future= , but for now she is getting the best possible care..

Learning Braille

We h= ave been very fortunate in finding three excellent teachers for the children. One of these, Rafi, is himself tot= ally blind. Another is sighted, but physically disabled. Not only= are they very well qualified but their personal experience of disability makes = them especially sensitive to the children’s needs.

Nagajyothi being taught by her blind teach= er Rafi

The children have already learned much in a short time. Using Braille slates they can writ= e and it is fascinating to see the joy this gives them. They also use special devices to s= tudy mathematics. Some pupils, like Nagajyothi in the picture, above, are making very good progress.=

Developing talents

We a= lso try to develop the children’s talents. 14 year old Yesudasu has a voice t= hat could compete with the blind Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli. He often sings for the other children and I observed how all of them – includi= ng little Swarna – would tap their fingers to the music, unaware of being watched.

We h= ave bought some percussion instruments to foster their talents. The blind child= ren also enjoy participating in events like going to the cinema, appreciating comedy and music in films even though they cannot see the images.

At t= he moment we are caring for 30 blind children in temporary accommodation. In the longer term we hope to raise funds for a purpose-built centre for 80 children, with a school attached for them and for day-pupils. At t= he moment this is but a hope. But then, one year ago, it was just a hope to be able to care for some blind children.

Than= k you so much for your support which lets our hopes for the children become realities.

With= love and best wishes,

Alis= on Davis

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With 208 children receiving residential care, we now ha= ve no more places available at the centres. In the long term we need to build = more centres. Hundreds of disabled children, living in desperate poverty in their villages, however, have immediate needs, and we want to do all we can to help them.

Supporting children in their villages

Working within a reasonably small area we have begun by “reaching out” to 116 disabled children, living with their fami= lies in their villages. During the= past year we have begun to ensure that they are well fed and clothed, and go to school. We hope that in due c= ourse a place for many of them will be found at our existing centres, or at centr= es still to be built.

To provide good care for the children in the villages t= akes a lot of time, organization and money.&nbs= p; The effectiveness of the care depends on employing more staff and providing transport so that they have access to the remote villages.

Developing the sponsorship scheme

Until now, the children for whom we have arranged sponsorship have been staying at the centres. We will now also arrange sponsorsh= ip for children being cared for by Enable in their villages. Generally, the sponsorship program= me will work the same way, but we feel it is right that existing and future sponsors be fully informed.

£15 to care for a child at the centres

Our expenditure review shows that it costs just under £15 to provide full residential care for a child for a month. This is the cost of providing food, clothing, schooling, basic medical needs, etc. Costs for building works, for vehicles or for surgery are not included in this amount.<= /p>

£10- £12 to care for children in villages<= /span>

Although the cost of caring for a child at the centres = does not include vehicle costs, th= e development of care in the village= s will specifically involve the cost= of buying and running vehicles (especially jeeps). We believe this must be taken into account when working out the cost of caring for children in their villages. I= t is not possible to give precise figures at present but the monthly cost will w= ork out at about £10-£12 per child.

Sponsorship donations

Our policy has always been to inform sponsors how much = it costs to care for a child, but not to request a specific sponsorship contribution. Some sponsors l= ike to give exactly what it costs to care for their child. Others give more or less depending= on their circumstances. Although= we do not ask sponsors to increase their donations to take into account price inflation in India, any additional support is, of course, always greatly appreciated.

Making progress one child at a time

Sponsors are needed f= or children like Chaitanya Babu, pictured with his grandmother

We now have sponsors for 179 children. This is a very good number. But we are still looking for spons= ors for children like Chaitanya Babu, pictured above. He can neither walk nor talk and is being cared for – with Enable’s support – by his grandmother in his village.

Each new sponsor means that the wellbeing of a child is assured. And as we get sponso= rship donations for one more child, we are able to look towards helping other children in need.<= /p>

Please contact me at the address overleaf for any more information about sponsoring.

Colin Harte

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A RICKSHAW JOURNEY AROUND INDIA<= span style=3D'mso-bookmark:Rickshaw'> FOR ENABLE

A few supporters of <= i>Enable have visited our centres for disabled children. A special welcome will be given to= a team of intrepid travellers, led by 28 year old Glen Sutton. Their visit will be part of a journey around = India, by auto-rickshaw, a small vehicle with a 175cc engin= e, travelling no more than 30mph.

Glen’s fascinat= ing idea is to travel around India, retracing the route taken nearly 1400 years ago by Hsuan Tsang, a Buddhist monk who inspired the character of Tripitaka in the cult TV series “Monkey Magic.”

The trip will take 7 = months or more and Glen hopes to begin it in August. Glen and his team are financing th= e trip themselves, and using it to r= aise very much needed funds for Enable.&= nbsp;

Glen hopes that schoo= ls and others will be interested in the historical and cultural aspects of his project, and that their conce= rn for Enable’s children will encourage them to sponsor the trip to r= aise funds. We will be following h= is trip with interest and gratitude. Further details are at www.rickshawasia.info.

Than= ks Glen!!

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The News Update is produced twice a year, in June and December. If you would like to be notified by e-mail when the next Update is on-line please let us know, by sending a sho= rt note to mail@enable-india.org.u= k. To receive a paper version (= black and white only) send an e-mail or contact:

Colin Harte

General Secretary

Enable (Working in India)
35 Stileham Bank

Milborne St Andrew<= o:p>

Blandford Forum

Dorset DT11 0LE

Tel/Fax: (01258) 837546

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NEWS UPDATE - online

No 13 SUMMER 2003

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