raemx@mac.com

There are now 87 children at the orphanage.  They only have the lower level of the house to use.  The children eat, sleep and play in this small space.  The lower level of the house across the road is where the children bathe, get dressed and have tuition classes in the evening.  The children and ladies at the orphanage went to visit the new building last week and were very excited to learn that they will shortly be living there.  They will have space to play and run about.

There are now 40 children going to school.  A new bus was bought as fees were being paid for the school bus but the children were being bullied and weren’t getting a seat on the bus.  So now they have their own bus where each child has a seat. The driver takes them to school and is waiting for them after school to bring them back home.

Even though the space is cramped the children are very happy and take care off each other.

The new buildings at Sangita are really coming along.  The work on the main building has stopped temporarily due to lack off funds but the pods for the children to sleep in are still developing as is the volunteers house.

This is the main building so far.  When you walk through the front door you can turn left into the dining area or right into the play area.  Off the dining room is a food preparation area which leads into a big kitchen and utility area.  The room next to this is a room to iron and prepare the children’s school uniforms.  There are 40 uniforms to get ready each day

The children’s sleeping area is to the left off the main building.  This is one building which is split into 3 or 4 pods.  In each pod is the sleeping area, toilets and washing facilities.  Each pod can house up to 20 – 25 children.

The volunteers house is where people who come to visit the orphanage can stay. There is a kitchen/dining/living area and 2 bedrooms which have their own toilet and wash facilities.

The new orphanage looks amazing. Hopefully they will be able to find the money to get the rest of the buildings finished so the children can move in.  They need about $100,000 to be able to complete the project.

The widows programme run by Sangita Charitable Trust helps 250 widows from the surrounding villages.  Each month the widows are are provided with food rations, they hear God’s word and can receive advice and prayer.  The widows travel for miles for this programme, some are able to travel by bus but many walk and some of the widows are very frail.  

One old lady can’t stand up straight.  She is bent over at the waist.  She walks for a little bit and then sits down for a rest before walking again. She has far to walk.  

Shobha who works at the orphanage is in charge of this programme.  She visits the villages each month to give the village leader the ration cards and he distributes them to the widows.  The card are then presented by the widows before they can receive the food rations.  The cards are ID cards with a photo of the widow on it. This helps to keep track of the number of widows and to see who hasn’t been able to collect the food rations.  It also prevents someone from trying to get someone else’s food rations.

The rations consist of rice, sugar, a months supply of vitamin tablets and the widows are also given a drink to prevent dehydration as they have travelled a distance in the heat.

The Leprosy Mission is in Chengalpattu which is 56 km south-southwest of Chennai.

Leprosy or Hansen’s disease, is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium Leprae and Mycobacterium Lepromatosis. Leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions are the primary external symptom. Left untreated, leprosy can be progressive, causing permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes. Contrary to popular belief, leprosy does not directly cause body parts to fall off on their own accord. instead they become disfigured or amputated as a result of disease symptoms. Leprosy isn’t infectious after treatment, as approximately 95% of people are naturally immune and sufferers are no longer infectious after as little as 2 weeks of treatment. Worldwide, two to three million people are estimated to be permanently disabled because of leprosy. India has the greatest number of cases, with Brazil second and Burma third.

Persistent obstacles to the elimination of the disease include improving detection, educating patients and the population about its cause, and fighting social taboos about a disease whose patients have historically been considered “unclean” or “cursed by God” as outcasts. Where taboos are strong, patients may be forced to hide their condition (and avoid seeking treatment) to avoid discrimination. The lack of awareness about Hansen’s disease can lead people to falsely believe that the disease is highly contagious and incurable.

Many of the leprosy patients live at the colony with their families. Their family members don’t have the disease. We were able to bring some money over that will buy 3 x 75 kgs bags of rice each month for the next 6 months. this will give this community some food.

We found out that one of the leprosy patients is the grandfather of 2 brothers at Sangita Orphanage. Shobha from Sanagita Orphanage recognised the grandfather from some photos we had. This is Nazeem and his brother and this is their grandfather.

The people at the leprosy colony are very welcoming and it’s a very humbling experience to visit this place.

Good morning everyone. We’re all thinking on you today and our prayers are with you, especially those who are taking part in the service. Thank you to all of you who were at CLAN this year I’m sure your going to have some great stories to tell the congregation. Today we have returned to Dindigul and will take part in the service at Hepzibah.

This is the church that is running the Martha Clinic as a social outreach programme. It is amazing to see what they have established using the `Branches money and a gift from a family in our congregation to pay for a health worker. At the moment they have established the clinic, by renting premise, using money we sent them, employed nurses, and secured the services of a doctor on a voluntary basis one day a week.

At the moment their big ask is for a van that can be used as an ambulance. This will allow them to begin to do more regular visits into the 50-60 villages that surround the area. The cost of the van will around £4,000. The fridge you see in the picture was also purchased by donations from our congregation.