We have much to be grateful for looking back to the year 2016. We have a wonderful yoga master who comes two times a week to teach the children yoga and meditation. This has been a vision and dream since we took over the Children’s Home in 2008. Our girls have been doing karate for 2 years now and just finished their first competition. Having South Indian village girls learn and do karate is quite miraculous in this conservative culture. This helps them with confidence as well as physical strength and self defense. A Music Teacher started coming to instruct the children in music classes in 2016. We were able to purchase 4 violins, 2 harmoniums, 2 flutes, a vina, guitar and 2 ukuleles that they are learning to play. We have 6 cows now with the birth of two calves in the last six months. The kids have a kitchen garden, a computer room, an infirmary with that has a full time nurse, a sewing room and an arts and crafts room where the kids do art and yoga! We have come a long way since Satya and I first walked into the dingy 40 square foot room that housed 32 grubby smiling faces. That was 8 years ago that we first met most of these beautiful beings. Many things have changed since then.
Our eldest boy Vinodhe, is now 20 years old and heads off just finished his 2nd year in College where he is studying law. Vinodhe has been with us since we took over the Children’s Home in 2008.
We have money set aside for each one of our kids to attend College if that is their choice. College savings is part of where monthly donations go. We feel incredibly grateful to announce that we have 25 Sponsors that donate monthly from $25 to $100 and some even more than that. I am humbled each month when I charge these donations thinking of all of the support we have coming in from all over the globe. Where does this money go? The donations go the College funds as I mentioned above, food, school fees and books, clothing, housing rental and electricity, staff and everything else that it takes to raise 21 children!
The kids all learn English which will help them to have more choices as they get older. We currently have 21 children that have been orphaned or their one parent is so poor that they would be living in the streets and not attending school if they were not with us. Over the next few months, we will be receiving more children from the State as we now have the staff and capacity to house 40 children. So we are an ever growing family. We are in need of 5 more sponsors at this point in time. If you can commit to a year or even a one time donation, any amount is helpful as US money goes a long way in India.
We have had challenges along the way as this has been a learning experience for us. We are blessed to have a Board of Directors who trusts us, guides us, loves us and the children and who have been our guiding light since we formed the 501C3 in the USA. We are pleased to announce and to welcome Carole Angermeir to our Board of Directors for the Global Watch Foundation. Marty and his beautiful wife Sarah McLean have been friends of ours for many years and have met our children in India and supported us since the beginning. Marty brings many years of business experience as well as a depth of spirituality that is both mystical and practical. Welcome Carole to our Board and we thank you for your service!