Physical Health India Project #6625

Provide Care for 30 Vulnerable Children in India

by Blossom Trust

Project Report | Jul 5, 2022
Dayspring Home Quarterly Update ! April - June 2022

By Mercy Annapoorani | Executive Director

Dearest Friends and Supporters,

At Dayspring Home, we keep working towards a world in which children and women are empowered and supported and therefore we keep actively operating in Virudhunagar, India to provide children with a better life.

Thanks to your precious and constant support we have reached June 2022 and all the children living at Dayspring Home are living in good conditions. During the Summer months, Dayspring has welcomed 5 new girls, of which 4 are aged between 14 to 18 and one girl of 7 years, who are now settling in and receiving care from our wonderful caretakers. Two of the older girls are currently in the process of preparing and getting admitted into college.

With your financial contributions and the care of Dayspring Home’s dedicated and loving staff, the children have been able to continue their normal day-to-day life during the past three months -- watching movies, playing games on the Dayspring grounds, going to school and doing homework together.

Education and Schooling

Education is a major priority for Blossom Trust and at Dayspring Home. After the Summer holiday break, the children have resumed their classes starting from mid-June. Two of our older girls have graduated and received their diploma from the Government Industrial Training Institute. At the moment, they are still living at Dayspring Home, supporting the caretakers in organisational activities and ensuring the other children’s wellbeing. At the same time, they are applying and preparing for higher study programmes depending on their skill level.

To support students in their education, in the past month construction works have been conducted at Dayspring Home to renovate the computer room. Bookshelves have been built and the space has been cleaned up and reorganised to create a study room for all the children where they can read, do their homework and use computers.

Furthermore, thanks to your generous donations, the Dayspring Home staff has been able to buy new school bags and uniforms for the children to use during the new school year.

During the Summer break, some of the older children were invited to an information day organised by a technical college in the district. The programme consisted of games, dancing activities and a quiz.

Home Management Committee Meeting

In the past few months, the Dayspring Staff attended multiple routine Home Management Meetings with the Government’s Child Welfare Department to discuss the general well being of the children. The Child Welfare Committee expressed their approval and suggested to further improve the children’s comfort by connecting the outside bathroom building to the living area. At the moment, the engineering plan is finished and ready to be executed.

Health and COVID-19

In the past months, all the children attended a regular routine health check-up at the private hospital, including blood tests to monitor haemoglobin levels, checking possible skin problems, vision or hearing issues. The check-up was well concluded for everyone with no noteworthy issues being identified. Regarding the COVID-19 virus, all the children at Dayspring who are eligible for vaccination (e.g. everyone of 12 years and older) have been fully vaccinated.

Celebrations

Birthdays are very important for kids, especially for those who suffered from poverty, chronic illnesses, family loss and traumas. At Dayspring Home we pay great attention to the emotional needs of our children and never forget about their special days. In May and June, 6 children celebrated their birthdays with cakes, balloons and gifts. Some kids celebrated their birthdays together, while others had a separate birthday. Two of the Dayspring girls share a birthday on the 28 June and therefore celebrated this special day together with cake and presents.

The past three months were full with celebrations and exciting activities for the children living at Dayspring Home. At the beginning of April, the kids celebrated Mariamman Hindu festival and went to see the festival parade at night in the town centre. We concluded the Pongal festival by taking the children to an Exhibition where they enjoyed ice cream, dinner, and went on various exciting amusement park attractions. In May and June, the Dayspring children also attended an Animal Exhibition, and celebrated Blossom Trust’s 30th year of service.

Dayspring Organic Farm

Since the beginning of the year, activities at Dayspring Farm have proceeded successfully thanks to the efforts made in the past year (2020-2021) to resume activities after the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, the reconstruction of two poultry sheds as well as the availability of a new tractor suitable for small-scale farming strongly helped in boosting activities at Dayspring Farm.

The farm is currently producing sustainable seasonal crops such as tomatoes, brinjals and spinach that are being used to provide the children with a healthy and nutritious diet. Our sustainable farm will also soon welcome new ducks and chickens to produce eggs.

Thanks to your precious and constant support and contributions we have been able to take care of children living at Dayspring. Without your help many of the above mentioned activities would not have been possible. Blossom Trust and Dayspring Home children would therefore like to express their immense gratitude to all of you.

With Best Wishes and Sincerest Gratitude,

Mercy Annapoorani,

Executive Director
Blossom Trust /
Dayspring Home

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Mar 8, 2022
Dayspring Home Update - 5 March 2022

By Mercy Annapoorni | Director Blossom Trust and Dayspring Home

Dayspring Children Ready for Their Pongal Meal

Dear Donors & Supporters,

We have successfully reached the third month of 2022! Our Children are healthy and living a normal life thanks to your generosity and support. This is why, dear donors and friends, we would like to thank you for contributing to our children's wellbeing.

World challenges are not to be forgotten and at Blossom Trust, we persevere in the work of the women and children of our community in Virudhunagar, India.

Celebrations -

Christmas

Thanks to your additional donations last December, we were able to facilitate a wonderful Christmas celebration, including a Christmas Tree, costumes, and a festive meal. Furthermore, with your support, we provided gifts for the children and made sure to also buy additional clothing and shoes for the new school year.

Pongal

Shortly after the start of 2022, Dayspring celebrated Pongal, a harvest festival that also emphasizes the importance of family and community ties. In this spirit, the Dayspring family gathered for the occasion to cook and have a sumptuous meal, dance to music and decorate farm animals as a part of a long-honored pongal tradition. The two day celebrations were concluded with warm feelings and hope for an ever better year ahead.

Birthdays

During February, we also celebrated the birthdays of two of the children. We bought cake for each of them to mark the occasion.

COVID-19 and General Health and Welfare

Following some lockdowns at the start of the year, all schools have reopened starting in February. Thus, all the children at Dayspring have resumed their education in-person. To further ensure their safety having re-entered schools, we have also started to vaccinate girls who are now eligible to receive vaccinations. So far 5 girls have been vaccinated.

In terms of the general health and well-being of the children, regular checkups for the children have continued without issues. A scheduled eye check-up was well concluded with no issues being identified. Some girls who had recently experienced menstrual issues were taken to the hospital and are being treated in a timely manner. Most children have otherwise been in great health.

Dayspring Farm

Our farm has welcomed new livestock and some new dogs. Two adult dogs and 6 puppies have joined the premises.

Schooling and Education

As mentioned previously, schooling has now begun in-person. Two of the girls in grade 10 and one in grade 9 who are at critical stages of their secondary education are also able to travel to school via bicycle everyday. Two other girls have also successfully completed their final coursework and are set to graduate.

To support students in their continued education, Dayspring’s library has been stocked with books covering a range of topics relating to their coursework and beyond. We have also purchased sports equipment (a basketball and 2 footballs) to encourage physical activity at Dayspring.

Your support through the past few months has helped us continue to support the children at dayspring. Without your generous contributions many of the activities listed above would not have been possible. Thus, Blossom and the dayspring children want to conclude this report by conveying our heartfelt gratitude.

With Best Wishes and Sincerest Gratitude,

Mercy Annapoorani,

Direct, Blossom Trust Team and Dayspring Home

Girls Dressed Up and Ready

Links:

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Nov 5, 2021
November 2021 Dayspring Report

By Swati Batchu | Project Coordinator

Dayspring Children Lighting Firecrackers

Dear Donors & Supporters,

Everyone at Dayspring Children’s Home and Farm would like to extend our thanks once again as we approach the holiday season. Since our last update, things have progressed for the better for the children at Dayspring as India has slowly opened back up after the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is thanks to your generosity, kindness, and well wishes that the children at Dayspring were able to overcome these difficult times. We hope this report will give a transparent and informative look into how the children are currently doing.

COVID-19

After the second wave of the pandemic subsided, there has been a steady and welcome reopening of services in Virudhunagar. All the kids are healthy and energetic, and children with pre-existing illnesses or who are immunosuppressed have been keeping up with their medical check-ups as well. While the vaccine rollout for those under age 18 is not yet underway in India, all the staff at Dayspring have been vaccinated.

Farm

The farm now has six new goat kids, as well as one new cow calf. The animals are in good health and are being taken care of by farm staff.

Schooling

Local schools will be open for all grades starting November 1st, allowing the dayspring children to resume in their in-person education. Two of the children, Nandini and Mareeswari, have completed their classes for grade 12 and are set to graduate from a government Industrial Training Institute after a final round of examinations. Online English classes have continued smoothly as well. We are also planning for some back-to-school shopping (books, school bags, etc.) for the kids as local schools have reopened starting November 1st .

Celebrations

The children celebrated a lively Diwali this November. The occasion, also known as the festival of lights, is a prominent Indian festival that symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. Dressed in new festive outfits, the children enjoyed delicious food for lunch and dinner and lit firecrackers. Diyas (lamps) also adorned the premises of Dayspring home. It was a memorable occasion for all the children at Dayspring.

Renovation work

The premises of Dayspring are also in the process of being renovated, just in time for Diwali. A thorough cleaning of all the children’s rooms is underway, followed by repainting of the walls. We are excited to share the progress of these efforts in future reports, as we continue to make headway.

We sincerely thank you for all your generous contributions to Dayspring so far. Your donations go a long way to helping Dayspring and its children thrive and we hope that we have made this apparent through this report as well. You have been central to our efforts to give these children a bright future and we are certain that this partnership will continue to bear fruit in the future as well. Do look forward to our future updates on how the children are doing and the impact your donations are making!

Dayspring Home Decorated for Festivities

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