GlobalGiving.org: Food, Shelter and School for Orphans in India

December 2011 Report

C.P.Kumar — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:34:13 GMT

Crafts

Report from LH.

First of all I would like to say Namaste to the River Fund for their continuous support since 2005 and to Global Giving
and like minded donors from different parts of the world.

All the children at "little HEARTS orphanage" Nellore are doing very well.

Last month children celebrated Diwali festival by lighting Candles and by firing crackers. It was joy filled day for all the children.

On 11th 6 member group of Americans (Ms.Jessica Martin, Ms.Sue, Ms.Kim, Ms.Sheila, Ms.Kelly and Mr.John Leeson visited little hearts and spent 2 days with children and bought play things for children and the group donated Rs.7,690 to little hearts. Once again this group proved that Americans are generous and very friendly people. Thanks to Jessica and group.

Through Ms.Jessica, we have received one more donation of Rs.4,500/- from Ma Jaya. Ma Jaya is always very loving and caring of children. Once again thanks to Ma Jaya.

On 21st Mr.Tony and his friends visited little hearts and distributed Dinner Steel plates and steel glasses to all the children.

On 21st Ms.Priyanka (Pinky) who is studying 1st year dental medicine and regular visitor to little hearts donated mats to Little hearts.

The Right Now Foundation, UK has donated Rs.34,800 to buy new clothes to all the children for Christmas and New Year 2012. Thanks to The Right Now Foundation.

On 22nd we have received a call from Women & Child Welfare Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, requested us to give short stay for an HIV mother of 3 children. They stayed at little hearts for 3 days and left back to their place.

This is an expensive month for Little hearts because spent money for repairing Bath Room, Toilets and painting work done inside walls.

Kindly accept my apologies for delay in submitting report to quarterly report to GG as my mother hospitalised due to
Galbladder, Pancrease problems.

Sincerely,

C.P.Kumar
HEARTS

Update - February 2011

C Prasana Kumar — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:05:14 GMT

One of our older girls

Thank you so much for your kind and continuous long term support for "little HEARTS orphanage" since 2005.

On 25th of this month the "little HEARTS orphanage" will be entering into 7th year! Grateful to Global Giving for your love and kindness towards orphans, abandoned and neglected children of Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh State of India.

30th of January we have celebrated "Fun Day" which was supported by The Right Now Foundation, U.K. Among 348 children from all 12 children's homes, little hearts college boy Kiran was selected and bagged BEST student award by Mr.Stewart Botting, Chief Consultant of The Right Now Foundation.

Last month The Right Now Foundation, U.K. donated 2 LCD screen Computers with Internet facility. One Computer for older boys and girls to learn and another for kids to play games. Manager Raghuramaiah is teaching computers to all the kids three times days a week.

All the children are busy now with their studies due to Annual Examinations. Three of our students are appearing for Common Examinations for 10th standard. After passing Common Examinations only they go for College (Intermediate or Eleventh standard). The three students names Ramu, Mahesh and Ashok very regularly attending school and after having dinner again they are going to tutoring to study more hours and sleeping there. Their school Head Master Mr.Madhu Mohan Rao who is my childhood friend is paying personal and special attention to our three boys.

All the children are happy and feeding with nutritious food. Please see the pictures.

New clothes!

December Update

C.P. Kumar — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 18:39:44 GMT

Children's Park Nellore India

We had unexpected heavy rains twice, experiencing cold and cold winds after 48 years of Andhra Pradesh State weather report!

I was busy as usual in my job. Last month children celebrated Diwali festival by lighting candles, fire crackers etc., with lot of fun and joy. All the children studying well and getting very good marks in school. Both the tutors are regularly coming to Little Hearts to teach all the subjects and helping children's home work. At present one Manager and two sub staff working at little hearts.

Last month, local people donated pillows and blankets to all the children of little hearts. Last month we have paid Rs.3,500 electricity bill for 3years! Electricity Board shown mercy and charged us minimum for all the 3 years, a new electricity consumption meter was also fixed by the electricity department. For Kiran we have paid Rs.3000/- as college fee. Recently we bought a new iron cupboard to keep records, children things for Rs.3,850/-. For Christmas and New Year clothing, the Right Now Foundation, U.K. donated money. Rs.800/- to each child to buy two pairs of new clothing for Christmas and New Year. November was an expensive month! Total expenditure was Rs.49,000/-. Due to heavy cold and cold winds few children fallen sick and now they are doing well. For weekends we take all the children to Children's Park, Sea and Police Parade grounds to play.

Orwald who is HIV+ is also doing very well and recently we have received his medical records from Mumbai. Yesterday, I sent a letter to the local Government ART center for transfer and treatment. Today he went to the ART for doctor checkup. He is on ART. Special nutritious food like milk, egg, green leaves providing to him.

Please give our love to all friends for their love and kindness.

Rickshaw ride home

Links:

sponsoring organization

New Tutor and Fall Update

C. P. Kumar — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:01:57 GMT

By browsing web pages of Global Giving, Ms. Avni and Krunal from Mumbai which is 1200kms. away from Nellore (Little HEARTS orphanage), found our work and contacted me to send an 18 years old HIV infected boy whose both parents died of AIDS. Finally, safely he reached to Nellore and he is on ARV Therapy. In an Auto Rickshaw accident in Mumbai his both legs are not working and he is struggling to walk. He was the best dancer in his area and also got the best Football goal keeper award! He speaks English, Hindi and Marathi.

Recently he started teaching English and Hindi to Little Hearts children and songs as well. He is very happy now for all the facilities provided at Little Hearts, before reaching Nellore, he was taking shelter in an Auto Rickshaw! Few days ago a local Foundation distributed blankets and pillows to HIV infected children, on that day I have introduced him to the Electronic and Print Media. He hugged and touched my foot for being one of our family members. We are providing him extra nutrition i.e. egg, milk and fruit every day according to the UN guidelines.

All of our children at little hearts are doing very well in education, mainly girls getting first or second ranks in their classes. Recently we have taken a decision to give monthly pocket money to the elder boys and girls. Kiran is regularly attending college and paid Rs.2000/- as part of college fee and Rs.500/- for annual examination fee. Two tutors are regularly attending for evening tutoring to teach and help with their home work for all subjects. The Right Now Foundation has sanctioned 2 computers to little hearts. Very soon these computers will be installed at Little Hearts children to become computer literates!

Due to Quarterly Examinations all the children at Little Hearts are very busy with the studies.

Rural Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr. Deva Kumar and Circle Inspector of Police (CI) Mr. Jayarami Reddy visited Little Hearts to spend time with the children and also promised to help these children in near future.

With the kind support of River Fund we have been feeding all the children with nutritious food like egg, milk, fruits, chicken and fish since 2005! Those who visiting little hearts expressing their satisfaction and sharing happiness with children.

Links:

The River Fund, Inc.

HEARTS Orphanage Site Visit

Bill Brower — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 08:52:33 GMT

Bill Brower is a Field Program Officer with GlobalGiving who is visiting our partners’ projects throughout South and Southeast Asia. On June 8th & 9th he visited the Little Hearts Orphanage in Nellore, India. His “Postcard” from the visit:

The facilities at HEARTS’ orphanage seemed basic but adequate for the 42 children currently living there. As the kids grow they will need more space and they’re hoping to add a floor to address this. The children, all from the “untouchable” class, looked healthy and appeared happy. I saw the home at about half capacity as many of the children go to stay with other family members in the summer for 5-10 days (Little Hearts provides transportation money and pocket money to do so).

According to the founder CP Kumar, about 80% of the children are “full” orphans having lost both parents, and 60-70% of the children have lost parents due to AIDS. The orphanage usually doesn’t take in children who are HIV-positive because according to CP Kumar they are “too big of a risk”. They have 2 boys and 1 girl who are infected.

While the project description claims Little Hearts is working to fight the stigma against HIV/AIDS, it sounds like this is not actively being done. They have taken women to get tested, but it appeared that the organization does little beyond this and support the children.

This is a highly founder-driven organization and CP Kumar was open with their financial records. Other organizations in the area steal 90% of the money they receive according to CP Kumar and so he was eager to show me they were part of the other 10%. He even showed me bank account details on his mobile phone. Everything appeared to be in order (though I’m far from a certified accountant).

The true test of the success of an orphanage in my opinion is how well the children transition out of that environment as they get to be adults. HEARTS is too young of an organization to tell, but there is little doubt that these children are in a better situation than they would be otherwise.

New Year - New Boys

Jaya Canterbury-Counts — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:15:26 GMT

First of all, we would like to wish all of our donors a Happy and Blessed New Year'10 greetings from the heart of HEARTS.

We have been running the "little HEARTS orphanage" successfuly since February 2005.

Children are growing faster at LH! 5 years ago children who were in 5th class now 10th class and after annual examinations, 2 boys will go to college studies which are expensive.

One of our boys, Ramu who is studying 9th class won the first prize and a Memento among 800 children at District level Chess Competetion who works in local salon for holidays and earns money for his younger sister who is staying at Government's Girls Hostel.

Special Collector, one of government higher officers and his Doctor wife visited LH and presented a bicycle for older boys. Steven (Manager) taking care for all children and paying more attention on studies because annual examinations begins in the months of March for 10th class and April for 1st to 9th class children. 2 Tutors regulary attending for tution every evening from 5:30PM to 7:30PM to teach all subjects.

NEWS: A few days ago 13 years old new boy joined with Little Hearts who left home 2 months ago whose mother died and father got remarried. His name is Munindhra and has been working as a child labourer. This boy Munindhra wants to attend school and be admitted into LH. I am happily agreed and invited Munindra to join with LH. Now he is very happy and excited to join with our children.

This after noon I have received a phone call from a Medical Shop owner about a 4 years old boy who was at the Medical shop and missed from his parents. The Medical Shop owner Mr.Suresh requested us to take the 4 years old boy to Little Hearts. Soon after his call, immediately I called my brother to rescue the boy.

Little Hearts is growing!

P. Kumar — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:43:00 GMT

All the children at little hearts are doing very fine and studying well. Because of Swine Flu, our state government has announced holidays for all private and government schools. Most of the children left to their villages to celebrate "Dasara Festival" in these holidays. At present we have been accommodating and feeding 41 children, 4 full time staff. 2 part time staff are tutors and they come regularly every evening from 5:30PM to 7:30 PM to teach all subjects. Now little hearts is packed with 41 children and 4 full time staff and we need at least one more big room on the top of first floor which costs about 3 to 4 lakh Indian Rupees. We are spending nearly 37 to 40 thousand rupees for little hearts each month and 3 more months money left in the Bank.

News

C.P. Kumar — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:08:19 GMT

The children are doing very well and feeding them with nutritious food, providing medical care, in a single word "everthing" what children need and expect from us. The food and accommodation which is mixed with LOVE.

At present we have been feeding 38 children. Among them most of the children are HIV/AIDS full orphans and some of them are abandoned.

Feeding them with nutritious food like Milk, Egg, Fruits, Snacks and once in a week Chicken or Fish. To wash clothes of little ones we have engaged one woman, to teach all subjects engaged 2 tutors in addition to government school and to take care of maintenance recently we have appointed another male figure who is 28 years old and also full orphan. He is staying with the children at little hearts.

In February, Chandra Reddy Degree College final year students presented little hearts Refrigerator worth of 10,000 but that's not sufficient to keep things. So from our fund we have added another 5000 rupees and bought 15000 rupees worth double door refrigerator. From this academic year which begins on 12th June, we are planning to provide them with very good education. To suceed in our lives on this planet, we need to have EDUCATION. Many thanks to al our donors!

Visitor postcard: The Definition of Love

Shelley Seale — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:45:21 GMT

Shelley Seale visiting the orphanage

Recently, Shelley Seale visited “Food, Shelter and School for AIDS Orphans in India.” Of her visit, she wrote:

How do you explain love? How do you begin to describe and comprehend the forces of compassion, faith and dedication that can so define a person that he will spend the hours of his life loving those whom no else stops to notice? Those whom he has no obligation to care about, no reason to work for, and no reward other than the knowledge that he is making some small dent in the endless tide of need.

The best you can hope to do is to stand outside a small, nondescript building on a dusty street in the middle of India, and watch two dozen once-homeless children rush out to greet the man who didn’t allow them to fall through the crack. Here in the state of Andhra Pradesh, where 30% of adults have HIV/AIDS, C.P. Kumar and his family took in 26 abandoned children. The epidemic has created a secondary human rights crisis – the orphaning of children on a massive scale.

These are the silent disasters. For the past fifteen years C.P. has cared for these children left behind in the wake of the AIDS epidemic. C.P. Kumar works as a clerk in the government during the day, but spends most of his evenings with the children.

For hours we played games and sang songs. Eager students brought me their schoolwork and stood by, nervously and proudly, as I pored over it. Most of the children were very young, ranging from four to ten years old, with only a couple of twelve or fourteen. The oldest was an eighth-grade girl called Sutrasini. When she wasn’t playing chess she followed me quietly, watching with the interest an almost-adult exhibits in the actions of a grown-up.

Sutrasini and the others attended school right down the street, and C.P. and his wife Mamatha - along with their own two sons, Prince and Boon - provided a loving surrogate family. Little Hearts was truly a place for children who had nowhere else to go. Often a teacher or other local official would bring a child to Little Hearts; in other cases C.P. heard of situations in the local community and offered to take in the orphans.

Every day C.P. poured through local newspapers for stories of orphaned or abandoned children. Sadly, they appeared all too frequently, each more heartbreaking than the last. One article appeared under the headline “How Long This Darkness?” Three brothers had recently lost their parents to AIDS and had only an elderly grandfather left to support them. The grandfather used to work as a field laborer, but that income was not enough to support three growing boys and he began to supplement his meager salary by begging. Local villages refused to take them in. The reporter ended the article by urging the government and NGOs to come forward and help them. When C.P. called about the children, he was told that he was the only person who had.

I asked C.P. how he could possibly accept the three boys – he was already well past capacity with the twenty-five children living at Little HEARTS. He gazed back at me for a long moment of silence before answering, “If not me, who? If not now, when?”

Links:

Read more about Shelley Seale's visit on her blog

Progress

Jaya Canterbury-Counts — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:07:33 GMT

The second floor is nearly completed at Little Hearts ... and a good thing too because we now have 30 children! Several of the new children (orphans) are HIV+. Stigma is such an issue in Nellore that by mainstreaming these children we are hoping to avoid some of the worst stigma. We believe that all children have a right to a happy life as well as food, shelter and health care.

Field Visit

Jaya Canterbury-Counts — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:56:45 GMT

The boys

This was my first visit to Little Hearts and the children certainly stole my heart. My son and I spent some few days with them in January '08. Please read Meredith Landis' update from last August for more detailed information. As the children get older and they are growing every day, the need for a second floor is more urgent. The are literally outgrowing the space they currently have! The children are well cared for and loved. Even though many of them have suffered so much ... they have lost their parents to AIDS, violence often witnessing that directly, they are happy and they also look after each other. The children are also interfaith ... there are Hindus, Muslims and Christians in the mix. We loved Little Hearts and the children. Thank you all who have given so generously.

The girls

The children crowded into two auto rickshaws for the ride home!

Little Hearts

Jaya Canterbury-Counts — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:22:33 GMT

Village children.

I will be visiting this project on the 5th of January and will update more when I return home. These kids have no one but us to look after them. Thanks to Mr. Kumar for his care and commitment to these children. Thank you for your generosity this past year.

More village kids.

Observations from a project visit

Meredith Landis — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:35:16 GMT

Photo - CP Kumar and the children of his orphanage

Nellore, a city located in Andhra Pradesh, India has the second highest occurrence of HIV/AIDS in the state. 13% of the 14-28 year olds living in Nellore are infected. Sadly, most AIDS victims die before the age of thirty, leaving behind children and families. Besides the AIDS epidemic, poverty, political instability and corruption plague Nellore.

C.P. Kumar was from a large family of eight children. All eight children lived together in the cramped conditions of this hutch. As a young, idealistic man, Kumar completed his education from a free government school and decided he was going to change the world. When C.P. Kumar returned from school, he became aware of the horrible conditions in which the children in his town were living - conditions even worse than from his own childhood. He witnessed children on the streets while their parents were drinking away their wages and beating their spouses. C.P. Kumar realized that if action wasn’t taken, these homeless kids would cause huge problems for society.

On June 18, 1991, C.P. Kumar opened an orphanage for 10 orphans of HIV/AIDS victims. The orphanage is located on the very site where the thatch hut he lived in as a child was located.

C.P. Kumar and his family spend much of their free time at the orphanage. C.P. Kumar works as a clerk in the government during the day, but spends most of his evenings with the children. With the help of two staff members, the orphanage is now home to 25 girls and boy that range from 2-13 years old. The children attend free government school during the day, and also have tutoring in the morning (6-8am) and in the evening back at the home. Also, there is a pediatrician that volunteers to treat the children as needed.

Future Plans: With further funding, the Little Heart Orphanage hopes to add a second floor in order to separate the accommodation for the boy and girls. As these children approach puberty, the separation becomes culturally important. Additionally, the orphanage hopes to institute programs that will educate and raise awareness of the dangers of contracting HIV/AIDS.

A recent donation through GlobalGiving of $500 led to the installation of several new toilets and showers in the orphanage.

Photo - I get to play with the kids

Photo - the bathrooms that were built with GlobalGiving donation

Update

Jaya Canterbury-Counts, M.Ed. — Thu, 10 May 2007 18:07:17 GMT

Eating

HIV/AIDS is spreading quickly in India, with 5 million infected adults. As in other poor countries, this will result in millions of orphaned and destitute children.

With the funding to date, we have built additional toilets on the second floor for the children in anticipation of completing the building to care for more children. At present we support 26 children: Seven children are attending Nursery School which is at a back side street of the Little Hearts. The remainder of the children are studying at the Government School which is just a two minute walk from the orphanage. To date, no children are infected with HIV.

Children spelling H

Stretching