In November/December 2023, the two board members Karlheinz Neumann and Herbert Kanschat (as always, all travel costs were covered privately) visited the project locations Varanasi and Robertsganj in Uttar Pradesh and Samastipur in Bihar.
The aim of the trip was to discuss current issues and future plans with our project partner on site and to spend time with the needy children and adults, talk to them, play with them and get to know people’s needs and worries even better.
The focus was on visiting our built center in Robertsganj and talking to the families in the surrounding villages who benefit from our programs. The overall situation in this remote part of Uttar Pradesh has not changed much in the last few years. The pandemic has caused a certain standstill and the need for support remains high.
We recently reported on the very successful development of our Keshwa Gurukul School. We could reach the number of 200 school children in 2025. If the trend continues, it would be conceivable to build additional rooms on the land we purchased two years ago in order to expand the school up to the 10th grade. This will become apparent in the coming months. However, the financing still needs to be clarified in this context.
In our center in Robertsganj, 120 women will also be trained by April this year and, after their examination, they will receive a certificate from the government authority, which will make it easier for them to become self-employed and also offer the opportunity for a microcredit. 60 women have already received the certificate, 30 still have to pass the exam and 30 women are still in training.
Skill development is an important element, especially in rural areas. We applied to the government for a large skill development program. It is not yet clear whether we will get the approval and thus have access to funding.
We took the school children on the school bus to their villages. Thanks to the tireless work of our school principal and our program manager, we are able to convince more and more parents to send their children to school. As the number of students grows, we also need a second school bus because we pick up the children from the villages that live a few miles away from our school and bring them back home. In these villages we also carry out the “outreach program”, i.e. support and advice for families in difficult life situations.
Another “Disability Camp” was held. People with mental or physical disabilities have come to our center with relatives and been examined by a doctor, who then forwards recommendations for treatment to the local government authority. An important facility for people who otherwise have no chance to get any support.
Finally, we took the train to Samastipur in the state of Bihar, where we run a small orphanage. Children between the ages of 0 and 6 are accommodated there and cared for by women as “surrogate mothers”. An attempt is then made to find foster parents or adoptive families. Last year we were able to place two children with families again.
A case from the early summer of 2023 is particularly tragic, where two newborns (twins) were found at the train station. Both weighed less than 1kg. The boy died shortly afterwards from his injuries, the girl is in our home with serious illnesses and is cared for 24 hours a day by a nurse. It is not yet clear whether the girl will survive.
We are very happy with the development of our projects in India, especially thanks to the great commitment of the more than 30 employees of our partner organization Creation India Society and of course the great support of our donor community. Thank you so much.