NEEREKSHE: 12/1/08

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Christmas 2008

The heart of Christmas is LOVE, The spirit of Christmas is GIVING,
The crown of Christmas is JESUS
We look forward to worshipping this Jesus during this Christmas in Muranpur village of Raichur district in North Karnataka South India. The St. Peter’s School in Muranpur village is surrounded by fields and trees. There are 168 children and we have 7 classes (although not enough classrooms) with LKG, UKG and standards 1 to 5. There are 9 Teachers for 7 classes which is unthinkable in comparison to Government schools where they have 3 Teachers for 6 classes. A whole village called MANDAKAL was opened up this year. Parents came from that village and pleaded that we send the school BUS to their village so that children who were without schooling could attend school here. Many parents have no schooling and so they are happy that their children will get educated now. The state government has declared this region as educationally very backward and so LITERACY is a strong contribution from our side. Children participate in gardening, sports and dance competitions too.

HOSTEL
Some 12 children of our school stay with us in the Hostel. We have a Matron too who sleeps with the children (sleeping in class-rooms at night) and washes their clothes.---- Three Teachers who stay on campus give extra coaching in studies. We grow some vegetables like spinach, tomatoes, green chilly, beans and ladies finger etc. So our Dhal and rice has greens(plucked from our garden) every day . This keeps the children well nourished. Children also love to learn songs and stories of Jesus .The Hostel Building has been raised up to roof level but we are waiting for another few lakhs to lay the roof after which we will need to look into the doors and windows. and plastering and electrification.

CHURCH
The walls and roof needed repair and we were able to get wooden logs and reapers which have strengthened the roof and a special mud has been put on the roof so that it does not leak The children are learning many songs and Bible stories.

CHILDREN’S MEETINGS
We had special meetings for children with the help of a Children’s missionary who taught children through Puppets, and songs and playing This was entertaining too.

HEALTH AWARENESS PROGRAMS

Dr.Luke along with another Christian doctor were able to hold Medical camps on
different days in different villages. Many patients come for check-up and treatment
then.

RURAL INDUSTRIAL TRAINING INSTITUTE

The building has come up to roof level and only needs roof and windows and doors. The instruments are also kept in the almirahs. Just waiting to take off soon

THE CRECHE
…..continues in our village home (the same place where the Church meets on Sundays).There are 20 children below the age of 5 years and there is a Teacher who looks after them and plays, and teaches them .These children are a great joy to
the village people.
God bless you all! - Shadrach and Gladys

Neerekshe Office, 25, Laxmipathy Layout Karianapalaya, Bangalore 560 084, Karnataka, India.
􀀋 91 80 25475580. 􀀍 Neerekshe@gmail.com

History and Activities of the Trust

Muranpur is a village in the interior of North Karnataka, about an hours bus ride from the nearest provincial town. It has a population of about 2000 people who live in abject poverty, being an agricultural community and dependent on erratic rainfall for their crops. This area has already been designated as a draught-prone area and has very little option for alternate economic activity. Given the generally poor state of the community, 90% of existing wealth resides in the higher caste and 70% of the families of lower caste live below the poverty line. In early 2000, a government surveyor was sent to the district and his report indicated that the situation in this community was unsatisfactory, with existence below “third world” standards. Due to the lack of stable economic activities and the resultant poverty and neglect, most of the inhabitants of this village suffer from perennial malnutrition, while the children suffer from retarded mental and physical development. There is no medical facility of even the primary level and the nearest medical center is 20 kilometers away from the village. The residents have no access to any modern mode of transportation due to lack of funding, and medical emergencies are handled by the village bullock cart. Diarrhea, influenza, gastro-enteritis, and skin diseases are common problems that go untreated. There is no sanitation, no toilets, and no access to potable drinking water. The Managing Trustee, Mr. Peter Shadrack, was born in this village. Despite the depressed situation he and his family faced, his father converted to Christianity and thus Peter Shadrack was educated in a mission school in Raichur. He grew up to become a science teacher, and after ten years of teaching he joined the Church in full time work for the poor of his village and the surrounding areas. He started by providing food and shelter to those in need from his area.

Social Awareness and Empowerment

The Trust also sees the need in this community for a general improvement in knowledge about life in the 21st century. Due to the racial imbalance whereby a minority of people belong to the upper caste and more than 70% of the population belong to the lower caste, a large group in this village are discriminated against according to age-old traditions that make up the racial divide. Knowledge about their rights, combined with education and awareness about various aspects of life would definitely change the social fabric of the village. A successful model could then be replicated in other areas of the state that suffer the same fate of poverty and backwardness. Presently the trustees try to organize meetings of women such as “mums & toddlers” for awareness about child care, health, and sanitation. Similar community meetings on topics of interest are organized for the men. With additional funding, the Trust will be able to put up a community center that can take care of such needs, as well as organize important awareness meetings regarding the environment and water conservation.

Role of the Organization

The Neerekshe Trust plans to expand and build on the work already in progress to provide the village of Muranpur and the population from surrounding districts with facilities that will enable the children, youth, women, men, and elderly access to education, information, and knowledge about various livelihoods by which they can improve their standard of living and have access to a decent life. The program will include the following facilities: · A Créche for the very young · A School · An Orphanage cum Hostel · A Vocational Training Center · A Hospital · An Agricultural Development Center · A Community Development Center · An Administration block · Staff Quarters · Sports facilities · A Church

Objectives

· To provide education for children and literacy for the adults.

· To provide youth with vocational training as well as communication skills.

· To empower women through literacy, adult education and health information so that they are better able to make informed choices regarding themselves and their families.

· To provide shelter and occupation for the elderly so that they can continue to live with dignity.

· To foster a sense of responsibility and self-worth among the members of the community, to each other and to their environment.

Program Activities

· Development of innovative activities with the objectives of providing education, information and knowledge to the children and adults. · Training the youth to acquire adequate life skills in order to engage in sustainable livelihood programs. · Providing information on new innovations in agriculture as well as improving methods of management of land, crops and markets, water and energy. · Providing health care and facilities for the inhabitants of the communities and improving knowledge and standards of sanitation and environmental awareness. · Involvement of other voluntary agencies, social activist groups, individuals and the community at large in the furtherance of the objectives of education.Networking to ensure that this model can be replicated in other locations with other social working groups