Reaching the Unreached G. Kallupatti, Near Batlagundu, Theni Dt. 625203

Happenings of December 2019

Dear Well-wishers

Greetings from RTU. We are pleased to share our joyful Christmas celebrations with you.

On Christmas Eve, the children and teachers at our schools celebrated Christmas and our school campus was decorated with the Christmas trees and Christmas stars. That evening, we celebrated Holy Mass with our children in our Children’s Villages and hostels.

On Christmas Day, all the children from our four Children’s Villages, nine hostels, 95 professional students, foster mothers and other staff members joyfully gathered. In total 1000 hearts joined in this celebration. Two of our foster mothers, Mrs Kulanthai Theresa from Anbu Illam and Mrs Alagumani from Miriam Children’s Village, were honoured with a gold ring for their ten years of service at RTU. One of our former students, Mr.Mohan Muniyandi, was invited as the chief guest for this function. He was brought up by BrotherJames in St Joseph’s Boys’ Village and he worked as a teacher in our schools for a few years. Now he is a Deputy Tashsildar (Office Incharge of the collection of revenues) in Bodinayakkanur Taluk in . All our children were inspired by his wonderful life-changing talk. He shared about how Brother influenced his life. Later, an instrumental music programme was held followed by the Hello FM. Radio Jackie programme with the help of Mr Manikandan.

Wedding Bells!

One of our former children, Kokila, got married to Suresh in the groom’s own village in . Kokila came to RTU in 2005 at the age of 7 with her younger sister as their father had died of AIDS and their mother’s health was very poor. They completed their studies in our school successfully and Kokila then studied a 3- year Diploma Nursing Course in the Government Nursing School in Theni. Her husband works in a lock-making industry in Dindigul and has cultivation land. After completing 12th standard studies, her younger sister went back home to take care of her mother. On behalf of RTU, Fr Antony and some staff members attended her marriage function and presented gifts with blessings. The marriage was well organized by the groom’s family in an ancient temple in Dindigul.

Children’s Camp

A 3-day children’s camp was organized from 26thto 28th December 2019 for all the children in our care. We are very proud of our alumni students who contributed a lot to organizing this camp for the children. It was wonderful to see their involvement with a lot of commitment and energy to keep the children entertained by organizing different games and activities. They created a good relationship with the current children at RTU as older brothers and sisters for them. We congratulate all their helping hands.

Mr Syam Sundar, Mrs Abinaya, Mr Gnanam and Mr Palpandi were the resources persons for our 9th to 12th students to organize motivational sessions as well as recreational activities. Each evening, a variety of dancing and music performances were organized by our children on the stage. Every one of us enjoyed the programme and shared their happiness. The final day came to an end with a big music party sponsored by Mr Savridoss, our Band Master from Dindigul. Fr. Antony appreciated and thanked everyone who helped the camp to be so successful. We also extend our sincere gratitude to the nutrition department who prepared delicious meals for 900 people 3 times each day plus tea and snacks.

Olympics for our tiny tots!

On 17th December, an Olympic-style event was held for our balwadi (pre-school) children in G Kallupatti and Bodi. 182 children from eight RTU balwadies joined together to take part in events such as running, lucky games, potato gathering, water filling, passing the ball, musical rounds and free drawing.

Literacy days in all our schools

We have children who came to RTU in the middle of the academic year. Some of these children require help with the basics of learning such as identifying letters and associated sounds, even in the because of the lack of schooling in the past. We organized a nine-day Tamil reading programme in all our four schools. Mr Perumal, a psychologist by profession, was the resource person. He performed miracles in helping these children to read and our teachers are now following it up. After a couple of weeks of rigorous training, these children could match those in their classrooms. This has generated interest and hope in learning among these children. What a Christmas gift to all these children! An extraordinary experience for all of us!

Solar eclipse

On 26th December, our 12th standard students had an opportunity to see a greater part of the partial solar eclipse in the southern part of as they went to the solar observatory centre in . There they witnessed the annual solar eclipse through telescope. Local scientists explained how the moon passes between the earth and the sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the sun. They also visited Botanical garden with flower beds in bloom and finally Museum. This educational tour really offered our students an experience that was innovative, informative and curriculum based, enhancing and complementing the existing educational programmes.

Home Support Programme for children who are HIV+

Following our residential camp held at RTU for local children who are HIV+, a day camp was organized at RTU for children who live in . 51 children from RTU, Arulagam Hospice and SSH actively participated in life skills, arts and crafts and team-building sessions which were facilitated by the Camp Rainbow Leadership Team and trained camp volunteers. The key objective of this was to provide the children the opportunity to meet their camp friends and to have serious fun – to learn and grow – all for free!!

The Camp Rainbow Batlagundu Leadership Team also organized a Leaders-In-Training (LIT) programme for older teens and young adults living with HIV. Twenty-four young people from five different districts participated. The key objective of the LIT program was to enhance knowledge and skills to carry out their new role as peer educators in their community. The second level training for the same teenagers is scheduled for the month of January 2020.

Rural Housing Programme

During this month, we built 5 houses in Mettur and 2 houses in G Thummalapatti villages in Dindigul District. Australian volunteers (14 students and four teachers) from St Bede’s College in Melbourne helped build five houses in Mettur village. The family members were very thankful to all the volunteers for providing a wonderful and safe house so that they can lives in a dignified environment. All the volunteers brought hope and happiness to these neglected people through their commitment. We thank them all for their generous contribution.

Brining new light to a widow and physically challenged boy

“I am Chandra, 50 years old, living in Mettur village in Dindigul District. My husband’s name is Mottaiyandi and he died of a heart attack in 2018. Two years ago, I lost my right eyesight while I was working in the field and after that I underwent an eye operation. But there is no improvement in my sight. I have one son and his name is Raja and he is 30 years old. He got married and has two sons, Dinesh who is 15 years old and Maruthaveeran who is 13. From complications at his birth, he has learning difficulties. As his parents are away working as daily labourers in Coimbatore, I have been caring for the children for the last 10 years without any basic facilities. My hut was very old and I found it difficult to take care of my grandsons. During this time, I came to know about RTU and I asked RTU to build a house for us because of our terrible living conditions. I have been on the waiting list for some time but last month Father and the RTU housing team visited our hut and assessed our living conditions. This month (December) I received the good news that volunteers from St Bede’s College were coming to our village to build a house for us. Within two weeks our new home was ready. The house consists of main room, kitchen, verandha, toilet and electricity. St Bede’s College and RTU fulfilled my dream of having a wonderful and safe house for my family. I consider this a great gift to me and my grandsons. I am very grateful to RTU and the volunteers for their great support. Thank you.”

We also take this moment to say a ‘Big Thank You’ to all our esteemed donors and well-wishers for continuing your generous help. All the wonderful things that came our way in 2019 wouldn’t have been possible without your support and blessings. All your guidance and encouragements to serve the poorest people in our area are special memories that we will always treasure. We hope that you will continue to partner with us in our commitment to improve the lives and opportunities of our children.

A big thank you to all. Here’s to an eventful 2020! We wish you a blessed and happy New Year 2020. May peace, love and prosperity follow you always. Thank you. May God bless you! Yours fraternally Fr J Antony Paulsamy, OFM Cap Director &Secretary.