January 2010
Introducing you to our children
This month Pamela and David will be videoing each of our children, chatting to them about their interests and also getting them to explain just how Wheel of Hope has helped their families.
We will be doing this in groups of three with Suresh as interpreter so it should make an interesting half hour or so video. We might also visit some of their homes to give you an idea of just how they live … no running water or in house lavatory. If they are lucky they might have electricity as it is the government of Kerala’s aim to provide this for all homes (but the power cuts are still horrendous!).
A typical example is Manu and Jincy pictured here with their mother. Father died of a heart attack 8 years ago and mother makes snacks on the street for fishermen so only has a very small income. She has cancer on her stomach. Their only home is at her sister’s house where they cook and live outside. When funds permit we will help with the mother’s treatment.
Schools please email your messages and drawings to our children. They would love to hear from you davidmco@yahoo.co.uk
Happy Home Christmas Party
We planned a wonderful entertainment lunch and Nativity play with carols but it was hampered by the curse of India … A POWER CUT. Usually they last a few minutes which is annoying, sometimes and indeed quite often an hour or so which is extremely annoying but this one just happened to be from 10am to 5.00pm, the entire duration of the party!!
We managed to borrow a generator which enabled the children to do their dances but the Nativity Play had to be postponed. We have managed to make a DVD recording of it which will be available on request when we return BUT it took us 3 hours last Saturday morning … rehearsing a bit then recording it, rehearsing a bit more etc etc until finally it was finished. Carrie our guest from England was impressed … her comment was “Cecil B de Milne eat your heart out”!
Here are some pictures. Above our sewing ladies sing for us and some of the younger girls perform a beautiful dance. Mary Vinitha and Sham give us a more modern dance. The older girls perform a traditional dance in specially borrowed costumes. Vinitha looks quite the young lady! Finally all enjoy a wonderful Christmas Chicken Bahraini. In the orange shirt is Jayan who plays Joseph. If you watch the DVD notice how far away his arm is from Mary !!!
Our trip for Schools Continues
Pamela Suresh and David have been on a further expedition to make our series of DVDs for schools who want as much information about India as possible.
This time we went to the fantastic hill station of Ooty and saw tea being picked and processed. We also visited the fabulous botanical gardens (left) built by the British during the Raj. We went on Safari and have wonderful footage of elephants being washed but sadly we saw no tigers!
Our biggest aim on these expeditions is to enable our children in the UK to understand the life and culture of the ordinary people in India and link them to our children through video and other means of communication.
David then risked life and limb and marauding man eating monkeys to bring you fantastic film of a spectacular waterfall. The above stained glass window is one of many in the beautiful Anglican church of St Stephen at Ooty. There are all too few ‘proper’ Anglican churches as the ‘group’ to which it belongs is a union of more evangelical churches which have divested themselves of all high church practices. Always with us were the begging children whom we would so love to help in a more positive way than by just giving them a few rupees.
The Bishop of Knaresborough’s new reversible Cope and Archdeacon Bob’s new Stole!
Happy Home sewing ladies have triumphed again and a magnificent new cope has been made for the Bishop of Knaresborough and a matching stole for the cope we made for Archdeacon Bob last year. If you know of any clergy who would like vestments we can produce lightweight reversible chasubles, dalmatics, tunicles, stoles, maniples and altar dressings very easily.
Jewellery Project | Carrie’s Visit
Our friend Carrie from Farnham who runs an exclusive jewellery making business wants to transfer part of her manufacturing to India to help Wheel of Hope. When she saw the standard of workmanship our ladies can produce she was thrilled and has extended her 10 day visit to 20 days, confident that her product is in good hands
To see just how fabulous her products are, visit her website… http://www.kissesandco.com
When we return David will be giving further talks to Schools and groups such as the Mothers Union
If you know of any school or group that would like to learn more about our children in India and how they can help them please let us know. (David also give talks and schools programmes for Ancient Egypt as well). Contact him on… davidmco@yahoo.co.uk
We are so limited to the ways in which we can help through very limited funds. Regular monthly sponsorship is the only way we can guarantee continued support but donations from schools and societies are a terrific boost to our ability to help individuals.
Remember our outreach work where we do as much as funds permit to help families and individuals in great need either through medical aid or helping the desperately poor with their domestic needs. Last year we were able to build a lavatory for the family. of one of our children and complete a house for another.
In these times of financial restraint things are very hard for charities but even harder for those whom we try to help so please give as generously as you can.