Newsletter from Ebenezer - March/April 2019
The teachers have a lot on their plate with Half Year Examinations, parent-teacher meetings including preparing for classes and following up the students they are responsible for. Because a lot of the work they are doing is so left up to each and every one of the teachers, they have social gatherings for the teachers occasionally, to catch up and socialize.
One of these gatherings were held before the Christmas break. The School Management arranged a lunch for all the teachers. After, they had a meeting and all the teachers got a Christmas present each. Then they all danced together out of thankfulness before they went home.
The temperatures are a lot better now, so the school is trying to have more activities outside. In addition to doing sports outside, all classes attend in cleaning the school campus. In this way, everyone contributes a little bit each and the work is done in a short amount of time.
On January 26, India attained a Republic status as a country. All over the country, people get up early, meet up and walk in parades on this day. Karwi is no exception, and the staff at Ebenezer gathered all the students at the school and had their own parade that started at the school and ended up in the main street of the town. The staff, like other schools around the country, prepared beforehand so that the students would have a fun and memorable day. Waving the flag, and shouting eagerly is giving a sense of unity and thankfulness for the freedom they are brought up in. As the students were walking in the parade, a lot of people gave them cookies and candy to keep their spirit up for the long walk. After the parade was done, and everyone had gotten back to the school, everyone stood outside the school. They raised the flag, and some of the students shared some poetry related to theRepublic Day celebration. All the children then got sweets and were brought home by the teachers. When the teachers came back they were served refreshments and had an evaluation of the day.
Name Class Age
Satyam Singh 4th 10 Years
Teerath Prasad 6th 12 Years
Satyam Singh and Teerath Prasad are brothers and belong to the middle-class farmers. Mr. Kamta Prasad comes from the village of Siddhpur which is by the foothills of the Vindhyachal Range of mountains. The reason for his respectable income is the well that has been made on his property. That enables him to water his field so that he can reap from what he has sown. His two children went to another school before, but after hearing about Ebenezer and the Benefit scheme, the parents decided to enrol them into the program that Ebenezer School could offer.
The parents are very satisfied with the system and the parent-teacher meetings, that they have promised to spread the good news about the sponsorship program to people they meet. The two children are happy with the curriculum and all the activities at the school.
Name Class Age
Arun Kumar 8th 14 Years
Anuj Kumar 6th 12 Years
Anil Kumar 6th 11 Years
Radhika Devi 2nd 7 Years
Arun, Anuj, Anil and Radhika come from a very poor family. The father, Mr. Jitender Kumar, is the only one in the house with an income. He works in the Domestic Gas Departement in Karwi. He is from an area not far from the school campus called Tezipur. He only makes 6000Indian Rupees per month, which has made the family’s financial situation, very challenging.Naturally, putting his children’s needs for education on the agenda has been hard at this point.
The team from Ebenezer school came to the family’s house on a Monday. Luckily, the father was home that day because of a day off. When the teachers first approached Mr. Jitender Kumar, he refused to talk to them. After some time, he let them talk and they got to explain about Ebenezer School and the partnership with Glocal Aid, and how that could benefit their family. The father seemed intrigued, but he was very clear that the school fee was an issue.One of the teachers called the Headmaster and explained about the financial situation in this particular family. The family was originally offered concession for one child, but after the talk with the Headmaster, they decided to give it to two children. The father teared up in gratitude when he heard it, and signed up all four children.
Today Mr. Jitender Kumar is very happy and proud of how his children are progressing, and he is sending special thanks to Glocal Aid and its partners for the opportunity they have been given. When people ask him how he manages to finance school fees for his children, his immediate and eager response is “the sponsor program run by Glocal Aid and partners”.